Cerignola, the experience of young people on Terra Aut who say "no to the mafia" with "E!State Liberi!"

It's been an intense week. Exhausting, emotionally charged, dynamic, and full of developments. Now it's time to leave, pack, and take stock. The legality camp "The Fresh Scent of Freedom – Transforming Horror into Beauty," organized as part of the "Campi E!State Liberi" (E!State Free Camps) program, concluded with a lengthy assessment. Like every year, these camps guide participants through a deeper exploration of some of Libera's key themes in local regeneration. For a week, the confiscated Terra Aut property, managed by the social cooperative Altereco, welcomed a group of over twenty young people and adults from Rimini and two volunteers from the Rimini Spi Cgil (Italian General Confederation of Labour) for days of work and training on the property named in memory of Peppino Impastato.

"A group of young people from Rimini and the surrounding province put themselves to the test, leaving the city and getting their hands dirty in the countryside of Terra Aut (Cerignola) to say 'no' to the mafia, and to turn this into commitment and a desire to learn," says the social cooperative Altereco . "Today marks the end of a shared journey, but they have picked up the baton, now the commitment continues... it's important to choose which side to take and work." During the camp, the young participants had the opportunity to explore the issues of valorizing and promoting the social reuse of assets confiscated from the mafia. They met families of innocent victims of the mafia, listened to stories, learned about social projects, and attended the theatrical performance "Stoc Ddò – Io sto qua," produced by Meridiani Perduti and staged by Sara Bevilacqua, which tells the story of Michele Fazio, a young man from Bari who was accidentally killed by organized crime.

And more: they participated in the "Anti-Fascist Pasta" event , met representatives of the SPI CGIL Foggia and Libera Foggia, where, guided by Giuliano Sereno , Federica Bianchi , and Don Antonio Campo, they learned about the Candelaro neighborhood, the activities taking place at the Sacro Cuore parish, and the reasons that led the Libera Foggia garrison to settle in that part of the city. They visited the Centonove/Novantasei shop, which in Foggia's Piazza Cavour no. 3 sells ethical and fair trade products liberated from the mafia, and whose name, right from its name, reaffirms the importance of the law on the social reuse of confiscated assets. They discovered places and properties that once belonged to organized crime and which have now become places of work, rights, redemption, economics, and inclusion.

"A special thank you to the educators and all the members of the cooperative who have focused their energies over these days to make this program a success. We are not stopping; our activities continue," concludes Altereco . The Terra Aut camp was one of eight organized during the summer thanks to the commitment and collaboration between the Libera Provincial Coordinators present in the area and local social cooperatives and associations. The camps offered participants meaningful and educational experiences aimed at learning about the social anti-mafia initiatives developed in the area, which have triggered the process of transforming horror into beauty.

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