The historical earthquake and appeals. The Egyptian darkness "In 1915 an earthquake destroyed much of our district and killed about thirty seconds to thirty thousand people. What surprised me most was how to comply with the villagers to accept the terrible natural disaster. In a district like ours, where so many injustices go unpunished, the frequency of earthquakes seemed so plausible a fact not to require further explanation. There was indeed surprising that earthquakes do not happen more often. Died in the earthquake because rich and poor, educated and illiterate, authorities and subjects. In the earthquake the kind realized what the law promised in words and in deeds not retained: the equality. Equality ephemeral. After the fear, dis 
collective grace becomes an opportunity for wider injustices. It is therefore not surprising that what happened after the earthquake, namely the reconstruction of buildings through the work of the State, because of the way as it was carried out of numerous fraud fraud embezzlement scams theft camorra of every kind which gave rise, it became a disaster to the poor people much more painful than the natural disaster . At that time dates the origin of the popular belief that if humanity once and will lose the skin, will not be an earthquake or a war, but in a post-earthquake or in a post-war. "
"An acquaintance of mine, fired from one of those government agencies responsible for reconstruction, told me one day a number of detailed data that were just so many crimes of engineers his former colleagues. Very impressed, I rushed to talk to some people in authority, who knew how to probe and honest, why report the crimes, not just those gentlemen I have consulted not challenged the authenticity, but they themselves were able to confirm it, but I do not recommend a "pry those facts," and added affectionately: "You have to finish school, you must create your position, you must not compromise you in business that do not concern you," Gladly "he says. "Of course it is preferable that the complaint does not begin from a boy of seventeen, but by adults and authority." We we're not crazy, "she replied indignantly. "We intend to Our only deal with facts and nothing else. "
I spoke then with some reverend priests, and also with some relative bravest, and all, proving to be less aware of those obscenities, begged me not to intrude into that hornet's nest, to think about studies, career and future. "With pleasure," I replied, "but some of you are willing to denounce the thief?" We're not mad, "they answered me shocked. "I have business that do not concern us."
I began to think seriously about whether to promote, with boys, a new "revolution" was concluded in bell'incendio an office, but the friend that I had provided documentation on the misdeeds of the engineers I dissuaded from doing so, not to destroy the evidence of the same offenses. He had more years and more experience than me and suggested I make the complaint on some newspaper. But which newspaper? "There is one" I mean my friend "who may have an interest in hosting such a complaint, is the newspaper of the Socialists." And so I wrote three articles (the first articles of my life) to expose and document in detail the shady dealings of the state engineers in my district, and sent them to the 'Next. " The first two articles were printed and immediately caused a sensation the general public of readers, but none with the authorities. The third article did not appear, as I learned later, for assistance in the preparation of an authoritative socialist lawyer. In this way I learned that the system of deception and fraud that oppresses us was much larger than it appeared, and had ramifications even invisible among the notables of socialism. The partial report, which took by surprise, however, contained material for various processes, at least for a ministerial inquiry, but nothing happened. By engineers, which I denounced as thieves and accused of the facts expressly indicated, there was even an attempt of a correction or a general denial. After a short wait, everyone returned to think their own business.
The student who had dared to launch the challenge was considered the most benevolent, impulsive boy and weird. Keep in mind that the economic poverty of the southern provinces offered little opportunity to develop young people who came by the thousands every year by schools. The only time our great industry was the use of the state. This did not require exceptional quality of intelligence, docility, but of character and political conformism. Young South, raised in an environment like that, if they had a minimum amount of pride and some human feeling, naturally tended to anarchy and rebellion. 'S access to the use of State must entail for them, even on threshold of youth, a resignation, a surrender, and the mortification of the soul. So they used to say, and it was the true foundation of southern society: anarchist at twenty to thirty conservatives.
From "Emergency Exit" (1949) by Ignazio Silone
