[ad_1]
When the Italian photographer Leticia Batalja died on April 13, the biggest shock to those of us who wrote about her was that she did not die murdered by the mafia. For almost 5 decades she fought fearlessly against this criminal organization.
E “ARMED” with her camera 35 mm, she published ne media terrorn e mafiaes sicilianenepermit picturewidower te its troops massacred from bullets qe iperkisninpublic servants, innocent passers-by and mobsters.
Later Batalja u engua sof local politicians and activists, for her missing em controlortribe of streets and squares of Palermo. it won moree Whatmime intErnAtionAle ABOUT her activity as a photojournalist ne Sicilypermes imagingwidower that captured beauty, poverty, the soul, AND perhaps the most famous, island violence.
Her first years working as a photojournalist in te dailyn e Palermos, L‘Hour, transuan with the first mafia killings of public figures in the 1970s, AND with years of World War II temafia in the 1980s. The struggle for power and profits illegal, confronted the rural clan of Korleonesled by Salvatore Rina, against major clans operating in Palermo, the capital of region te Sicily.
Tall HIM conflict, shooting with arme automatic and explosions of autobombs became common in Palermo and citiescemetery peripheral. Politicians in Rome reacted by appointed as prefect of ri te Palermo Gen.n Karlo Alberto Dala KieMr.a.
But only 4 months me byeDala KieMr.a, his wife, Emanuela Karraro and bodyguard Domeniko Russo u killedin one attempted attack on September 3, 1982. Murder of deriving KieMr.estogether with Fr.e te police chiefs, prosecutors and investigators, i bene honest citizens to feel hopeless and abandoned.
There were dayse when BatalHere duhej to rush te go by anew city to another, to photograph some bodies of people te killede:mobsters, judges, policeepoliticsane and journalists. Mafia killings became so common, about 600 only tall years 1981–1983, so that she qeround up sometimes accidentally on stageen of crime.
Such was the case and photos sof the famous corpse of Piersanti Matareles, former president of the Region of Sicily. January 6, 1980, she was riding in the car se bashby me the daughter of her and colleague her photojournalist Franko Zekin, when without a small group of people who were mbledhur about a car.
it e fired spontaneously its apparatus from the car window, catching the moment when Serjo Matarelorthe current president of Italy, yes tentnte to help his brother, qe just was shot in one attempted attack. picturerealized by BatalHere ABOUT violencene mafieswere published regularly on the front page of “L‘Ora”.
it exposed them a lote of them ne formsto me te medha ne exhibitions qe organized togetherewith Zekin in central Palermo and schools e zones. Ne kete menyreit forced people to face what e had denied:qe the mafia existed and qe she killed.
Of course, most likeWhatthe Illyrians were ne fact aware of the influence of the criminal organization. they e dinin se public parks were nen control of smugglereve te drugs. About 80per sed of businesses në Palermo, of paid regularly mafiaewidower ae finee, to protect businesses Theirs.
But the images of massacres qe had caught up with her camera Bataljor,made it impossible to continue closing the eyes. on gradually Werat nisente diffns. Starting from 1983, a group of prosecutors and police officers te pakompromented, began to arrest moreemembers of the mafia.
Over 450 of them came out ne te famous Super-court qe started in YEAR 1986. Strengthening trust te the public to system of justice, brought between the years 1985-1990 a social, cultural and political revolution. People e zakonshembut also new city council members began tor challenge OPEN mafiaen.
it periudhe u became known as “Spring of Palermo”, and Bataljwas one by the protagonistsOctober.
In 1985, she was elected a member of the council MUNICIPAL. Together with the mayor, Leolukin Orlando, Bataljdid it work to stop control of Palermo from the mafia.
Mafia leaderses and their political allies, had left intentionally schools, historic palaces and kindergartens qe to be destroyed, on purpose the collapse of neighborhoodwidower downtown and building aty te pallateve te reHere.
Bataljor was convinced that offering i ACCESS free per all citizenst in the gardenstparks, beachestand placest historic, was essential to creating a culture te Respectt and evaluationt for Palermo and its heritage. Through her projects to make Palermo more beautiful and me to liveeshme, Batalja rifitoi block after block controlled spaces me EARLY by the mafia.
She worked with other city council members in nisma te such like removal of abandoned cars, creating a pedestrians downtown and per reconstruction of public gardens. In the streett and squarest e controlled by the bosses of mafiawhere CHILDe ALSO a look or wrong word can bring ae violent revenge, the actions of Bataljas challenged directly Mafiaand gained widespread supporte te PUbLICut.
Journalist Antonio Rokuco worked often me BatalJanuary. He remembered how she wentnte IN ae neighborhood and shoutste: “I know who you areni. benches do not belong to you. Those u belong to everyone. If you do not return them within an hour, I will t‘iu rrenoj! ”. An hour later, the benches were rikthyen serish nepark.
during thee YEARS 1992–1993, a series attacks me bombs took the lives of judges Giovanni forgivekone, ae from architectet and Super-trial; FranWhateska Morvilosprosecutor in court e Palermos and his wife; and Paolo Borselinos, qe HAD togethereworked closely with Falkonen and had investigated his murder.
togethere me to loseen jetentrupees and passers-by in Sicily, Rome, Milan and Florence.
with ato sulmeknown as “Stmassacre strategy”mafia sulmoi simbolet e justice, government, finance and culture. The purpose of its was to scareto politicians, that t‘i weakened laws against organized crime.
But those acts causeuan even more public feedback, AND mafia nisi te kaloje in illegality and topnte silently its diverse criminal activities. This change marked adistancing from attacks SPECTACULAR me bomborassassinations and shootings on city streets. But the mafia threat still remains. Tani viktimat e its pesoJohe Fr.e qe called “Lupara bianca”pra BODIESt e their burn or shperbehen ne acid. / “The Conversation ”- Bota.al
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link