On the morning of 10 October, at the Linguistic and Human Sciences High School in Mesoraca, a particularly significant meeting took place between the Carabinieri and around three hundred students from the Petilino high schools.
The initiative, promoted by the Carabinieri, was born in the aftermath of an episode in which some young people filmed on video the rescue intervention following a road accident in which an Army patrol was involved, accompanying the images with disrespectful comments towards an injured soldier.
The meeting, based on dialogue and reflection, had the objective of transforming a negative episode into an opportunity for collective growth and strengthening the bond of trust between young people and the police, who have always been close to the world of school and promoters of values such as respect, legality and solidarity.
Present to represent the Carabinieri were the Provincial Commander of Crotone, Colonel Raffaele Giovinazzo, the Commander of the Petilia Policastro Company, Captain Ludovico Paterni, and the Ordinary Marshal Carmelo Capraro, Commander of the Petilia Policastro Station.
The mayor of Petilia Policastro Simone Saporito, the mayor of Roccabernarda Luigi Foresta and the vice mayor of Mesoraca also took part in the initiative, expressing the closeness and solidarity of their respective municipal administrations with the Carabinieri.
The school directors, Prof. Antonella Parisi (Mesoraca High School) and Prof. Tiziana Fiorino (Institute “Margherita Hack” of Petilia Policastro), underlined in their speeches the importance of the educational role and the example that the Carabinieri represent for the new generations.
Colonel Giovinazzo, in his speech, reiterated the value of the relationship between the Army and young people, defining it as “a bridge that unites two worlds that are only apparently distant”, based on dialogue, trust and mutual respect. He also recalled how the Carabinieri operate daily with dedication, a spirit of service and sacrifice, representing a point of reference for safety and legality in every community in the area.
The meeting ended with a moment of strong emotional impact: some students read personal reflections and short texts with which they publicly distanced themselves from the offensive behavior of some peers, expressing solidarity and gratitude to the Carabinieri for the service carried out every day to protect the community.
The Mesoraca meeting was thus transformed into a concrete example of how, through dialogue and sharing, it is possible to rebuild bridges of trust and strengthen the values of respect and civil coexistence – cornerstones of the relationship between the Carabinieri and citizens, especially the youngest.