“The strong and sincere words spoken by Giuseppe Brugnano, national secretary of the Fsp State Police Union, following the homily of Father Rocco Predoti in the parish of the Sacred Heart in the seafaring district of Catanzaro, clearly pose a fundamental question: how long can we afford to remain spectators?”
This is what Eugenio Riccio and Lea Concolino, center-right city councilors at Palazzo De Nobili, jointly declare, picking up and relaunching the alarm raised both by the State Police union representative and by the priest, with reference to the social decay and youth distress that are manifesting themselves in an increasingly worrying manner, especially along the Catanzaro seafront.
“We cannot continue to consider what happens in the evening and at night as something inevitable or even ‘normal.’ The images of very young people in a state of intoxication, the chaotic occupation of public spaces, the absence of minimum rules of civil coexistence, must push all of us – no one excluded – to reflection and concrete action,” Riccio and Concolino declare.
“This is not the time for sterile controversy – they continue – but for shared responsibility. The police forces are doing what they can, often in difficult conditions, and deserve the full support of the institutions and the citizenry. As opposition city councilors, we want to make our contribution by proposing the convening of an open City Council, involving parishes, associations, schools, legal outposts, social workers, and the police. It would be a first concrete step towards an educational and social pact for Catanzaro.”
Regarding the city administration, Riccio and Concolino emphasize:
“We are certain that Mayor Nicola Fiorita will be able to accept this invitation in an institutional spirit, because on issues like these there are no majorities or oppositions: there is an entire community to protect and rebuild, starting from its most fragile points.”
Finally, a direct appeal to citizens:
“We know how frustrating it is to see certain episodes repeat themselves before your eyes. But it is no longer enough to be outraged on social media. Shared security is also built with the active collaboration of citizens. Those who witness serious or dangerous behavior have the civic duty to contact the authorities, to formally report what is happening. Only in this way can we help those who are called to intervene concretely.”
“Public and formal reporting should not be seen as an act of distrust, but as a gesture of love towards the city and towards those young people who today seem lost but whom we can still save, if all of us – institutions, families, and citizens – return to doing our part.”