EBOLI – Cico is back at the Pam supermarket. To ask for alms like every day. “I am Nigerian, I have lived in Battipaglia for 4 years, I had never suffered violence like this” he says. Many elderly people surround him. To express solidarity. To tell him not to give up against the violent. Many Ebolitans feel ashamed of the beating of the pack. Cico speaks little: “They came out from all over, I don’t know the people who hurt me.” An elderly lady is indignant: “Next time call me, I’ll come and get them with the club.” Cico smiles, his eyes still show so much fear. People ask him about his injuries. The Nigerian takes off his hat and shows the head injury. A white patch covers the five stitches. On the body, the African bears the other marks of the beating. The doctors gave him seven days of rest. He is already back to “work”. To ask for an offer, from the customers of the supermarket. The certificates of solidarity follow one another relentlessly. Until another old man snorts: “But that’s enough now, let him work and with all this confusion you make him lose the money from the offers.” Cico turns and smiles. Happy with the affection around him. “This city has become unrecognizable,” says Giuseppe P. – we hope for a quick reaction from the prefectural commissioner. ” Words of condemnation came Thursday from Cosimo Naponiello, owner of the supermarket: “This beating reminds me so much of the Eighties, when people used to go around armed with sticks in the city.”
The political reaction. The PCI of Alfonso Del Vecchio intervenes on the matter: «Eboli too is reaping the fruits of an unprecedented social and cultural void. The victim could have been anyone, a very Italian homeless like one of their peers. A gang of thugs who play at being heroes by damaging a car or a shop window, throwing stones at a dog or a window, provoking anyone on the street. Undisturbed, between general indifference and the lack of deterrents. There is an urgent need for social services dedicated to young people who can direct them towards sporting or cultural activities that distract them from the dynamics of the herd ».
The investigation. The investigation into the beating is in its infancy. The Eboli carabinieri, under the orders of Captain Emanuele Tanzilli and Lieutenant Massimo Di Franco, would have identified three minors. Among them is the son of a member of the Pig clan. Many boys in the pack had their faces distorted by the hood of the sweatshirt and the anti Covid masks. Identification, however, will not be complicated. There are images from private cameras. The shopkeepers of Viale Amendola are sure: «This is the group from Piazza Carlo Levi. Always them. They peddle drugs, fight and cause damage all day ”. The pride of the pack is evident. In piazza Carlo Levi they park in the evening, without masks. They attack black men. A few years ago, near a pharmacy not far from the clearing, another black boy was beaten up. Always for futile reasons. The beating at the Pam supermarket took place at two different times. The Nigerian was leaning against the railing when three underage boys arrived behind him and set the dog on the black man. Cico reacted, instinctively hitting the bully. Laughing at each other, the minors left. A few minutes later the pack arrived. For the racial and cowardly beating, ten to one.