The gate of the farm where, in 2016, it was killed Maria Chindamofree woman, mother and entrepreneur who paid with her life the choice not to bend to the patriarchal culture and ‘Ndranghetista, becomes more and more a garrison of legality. On the occasion of the ninth anniversary, in Limbadi, the commemorative event of 6 May – organized every year by the victim’s family members and by the “We control the lands of Maria” committee to which different organizations adhere, including the Community Center Agape, Libera, Goel Cooperative Group, Community Project South, Penelope Italia, Cco crisis as an opportunity, a one hundred thousand foundation and the center of Women’s Studies ” Villa “of the University of Calabria, with the patronage of the Municipalities of Limbadi and Church – is enriched with artistic expression as an instrument of change.
In the symbolic place where the Chindamo car was found, a garden space were inaugurated by the students of the ITG Institute of Higher Education, ITI and ITE of Vibo Valentia and a commemorative sculpture by the artist Luigi Camarilla, illuminated thanks to the support of the Artemide company in collaboration with the CCO association – Crisis as an opportunity, as part of the “We illuminate the lands of Maria”.
Lighting on May 6 is not only a symbolic gesture, it is a political, cultural, human act. It is an action that combines memory and future. «On May 6, the day when Maria disappeared, it is now a given symbol for Calabria: it speaks of freedom, rights, life. Just as we wanted when we founded the Committee, from this place we manage to reach the consciences of many people by creating a collective memory aimed at change “comments Nancy Cassalia of the” We check the lands of Mary “committee.
Daily is their commitment to transform a place marked by violence into a space of light, memory and rebirth. Crisis as an opportunity also contributes, whose founder and vice -president Giulia Minoli declares “since 2018, we are present in the Calabrian territory with paths dedicated to legality, gender education and juvenile justice, in collaboration with local partners. We promote the positive culture and realities of redemption. We turn on the spotlight on new reference models, just like Maria Chindamo, thanks to the support of Intesa Sanpaolo, Foundation with the South, Haiku Foundation, IP API group and Acea ».
In the garden, where the interventions of representatives of the institutional world followed, an extract from the theatrical show “If we said the truth” by Giulia Minoli and Emanuela Giordano, which tells the story of Maria Chindamo, to give even more value on this date, was also held.
«On this day of memory, each of us regenerates their conscience, understanding the need for a daily commitment, active and concrete against all abusive power. We are here to say that the subculture of the ‘Ndrangheta has lost. We are all and all Mary: women free to choose who to be. Free women and men of a south who changes »reiterates Maria Joel Conocchiella, provincial contact person of Libera Vibo Valentia.
As Giovanna Vingelli, director of the Center of Women’s Studies “Milly Villa” of the University of Calabria, highlights, “we must always continue to commit to promoting the understanding of the different forms of mafia power and activate personal, political and territorial transformation paths”. Agree Lucia Lipari, vice -president of the Agape Community Center, according to which “it is essential to memory beyond rhetoric, preserving a collective value. It is necessary to lay the foundations for a culture of repair that can sew the wounds that any mafia violence has inflicted on our society ».
“This commemorative event represents the expression of citizens who resist and oppose the patriarchal and violent ‘ndrangheta who can never arrest feelings, the growth and redemption paths” says Vincenzo Chindamo, brother of Maria as well as a partner and responsible for the external relationships of Goel – Cooperative Group, thanking the great social network established around the memory of Mary, but above all, confiding in the hope that this date They can become more and more a symbol of courage and resistance for all women subjugated by a patriarchal culture.