En Conférence avec l’homme qui fait peur à la Mafia, et pour qui facebook l’a sauvé: Roberto Saviano. A man for whom life is like a prison, wanted for dead by certain Mafioso who have not digested Saviano’s revelations. As he details his experience as an investigative reporter, as an infiltré of the Camorra, as a person whose life has been turned up side down after he sought to tell the truth and expose the presence and power of crime organizations in Italy, one can only be surprised by his oddly optimistic and grateful attitude.
Saviano wants to begin by underlining that he believes in the power of words, be it against the mafia or not. For him, words have given him the possibility to continue living. While he could have had the possibility to disappear, with Finland offering asylum, Saviano chose not to run away. He instead chose police protection, living in hiding and in permanent presences of his seven bodyguards. He has also chosen to face criticism from the likes of Silvio Berlusconi, who recently stated that people like Roberto Saviano damage Italy’s reputation. Nothing more needs to be said as this reflection in itself sums up the nature of Berlusconi’s character and concerns. Roberto Saviano has chosen to stand up for what he believes in, and he believes that talking about the Camorra and exposing crime organisations is the only way to resist these powers… Refusing to be silenced. Refusing to be intimated. After all, the mafia does not merely use arms to kill, but they use defamation and slander to intimidate; they attack a person’s honour and reputation in order to deter those who may so much as consider reporting and investigating on criminal organisations.
Roberto Saviano explains that despite his strange misadventure, he is hugely lucky because the situation in which he finds himself in today, is merely a reflection of the success of his investigation and the threat that he, this young Italian from Naples, poses for these Mafia bosses. After all, had his story created no interest, had he had no readers, there would have been no media-hype, no million sales of "Gomorrah" and no film.
Finally, as he details how fellow investigative journalists can get in touch with him, he adds that facebook saved him. As he can no longer go the pub, Facebook has become his equivalent; a place for him to socialize with others all in the presence of a nice, cool beer.
Cheers to that, and cheers to him for accepting this rare public appearance.
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