12 years, one month and 16 days have passed since that day when Antonino Bartuccio, the former mayor of Rizziconi (Reggio Calabria), said no to the ‘Ndrangheta and reported it, ending up under guard with his wife and two children. Al Giffoni, on the occasion of the presentation of the short ‘Il quaderno di Tommaso’ which tells his story, responds to ANSA’s question whether it was worth it with a yes from which to take an example: «It was worth it, every day is worth it, because what has been done is not something that only concerns my family, even if the greatest effects have reverberated on my family, those most difficult to overcome. It was really complicated to explain to our children, immediately after the arrests, when we ended up under guard. But they were always close, always next to me and the whole family, always proud because they understood well that what had been done was right, that it had to be done, it was the only way. We must react if we want things to change, because they will never change if we remain inert. Some of us have to do it and unfortunately someone has to pay this price.”
In the film that will be presented to the children of Giffoni there are Antonio Gerardi in the role of Bartuccio, Carolina Crescentini and the young newcomer Samuele Aprile in the role of Tommaso. The work was born from an idea of the National Council of the Order of Labor Consultants and was created by its Studies Foundation in collaboration with the Festival.
In 2014, Bartuccio denounced mafia infiltration in his municipality, becoming a witness to justice under guard, together with his wife Mariagrazia Squillaci (labour consultant) and their two children. Squillaci was also there in Giffoni, defined by her husband as the ‘backbone’ of their family and their history: “We are a very united family, the boys understood, I am with him in everything and for everything and we face anything together, for better or for worse” she says, visibly moved.