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| Exiled Italian victim of 'Ndrangheta defies the Calabria mobsters | Exiled Italian victim of 'Ndrangheta defies the Calabria mobsters |
| (7 months later) | |
| It was the severed rabbit's head that did it. | It was the severed rabbit's head that did it. |
| Rosy Canale, a courageous anti-mafia activist, had had threats before. But when the bloodied head arrived at her parents' house in a neat little package on her 40th birthday, she fled. | Rosy Canale, a courageous anti-mafia activist, had had threats before. But when the bloodied head arrived at her parents' house in a neat little package on her 40th birthday, she fled. |
| Behind her, she left the ruins of a project that posed a subtle but direct challenge to Italy's most ruthless organised crime syndicate: the 'Ndrangheta, the mafia that began life in Calabria, the "toe" of the Italian boot. | Behind her, she left the ruins of a project that posed a subtle but direct challenge to Italy's most ruthless organised crime syndicate: the 'Ndrangheta, the mafia that began life in Calabria, the "toe" of the Italian boot. |
| Canale knows all about its brutality. She used to own a restaurant and disco in the region's biggest city, Reggio Calabria, and the 'Ndrangheta wanted to push drugs there. "I was to turn a blind eye," she said, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location in the US. "If I had done so, I'd doubtless still be in Reggio Calabria, driving round in a brand-new Ferrari." | Canale knows all about its brutality. She used to own a restaurant and disco in the region's biggest city, Reggio Calabria, and the 'Ndrangheta wanted to push drugs there. "I was to turn a blind eye," she said, speaking by telephone from an undisclosed location in the US. "If I had done so, I'd doubtless still be in Reggio Calabria, driving round in a brand-new Ferrari." |
| Instead, she refused. And the 'Ndrangheta took its revenge. Canale was kicked and pistol-whipped almost to death. "Nearly all my teeth were broken. So was my upper jawbone. They broke my collarbone, several ribs and a leg. It was eight months before I left hospital. The doctors had to reconstruct my mouth and for a long time I had to be fed through a tube. At one point, my weight dropped to 39kg," she recalled. | Instead, she refused. And the 'Ndrangheta took its revenge. Canale was kicked and pistol-whipped almost to death. "Nearly all my teeth were broken. So was my upper jawbone. They broke my collarbone, several ribs and a leg. It was eight months before I left hospital. The doctors had to reconstruct my mouth and for a long time I had to be fed through a tube. At one point, my weight dropped to 39kg," she recalled. |
| After being discharged, Canale left for Rome and the start of three years of rehabilitation. "I needed to learn to speak again because my tongue had also been damaged," she said. "Even today, I can't run, though I can walk. And my right hand was so badly injured that I can't play the piano any longer. This is the price I paid for being an honest person." | After being discharged, Canale left for Rome and the start of three years of rehabilitation. "I needed to learn to speak again because my tongue had also been damaged," she said. "Even today, I can't run, though I can walk. And my right hand was so badly injured that I can't play the piano any longer. This is the price I paid for being an honest person." |
| Canale said she was lurching from one bout of depression to another when, on 15 August 2007, the 'Ndrangheta unwittingly changed her life again. Six people were shot dead in a St Valentine's Day-style massacre outside a pizzeria in the German town of Duisburg, where they had been conducting a mobsters' initiation ritual. | Canale said she was lurching from one bout of depression to another when, on 15 August 2007, the 'Ndrangheta unwittingly changed her life again. Six people were shot dead in a St Valentine's Day-style massacre outside a pizzeria in the German town of Duisburg, where they had been conducting a mobsters' initiation ritual. |
| Half of the victims were from San Luca – a hill town in Calabria perched between the mountains and the sea, which had become the arena for a lethal feud between rival 'Ndrangheta families. As the hunt for the killers pressed ahead, the prefect – the local representative of the interior ministry – launched a contest for projects to give a new and different life to San Luca. Canale decided to enter. "I was annihilated as a person," she said. "The only way out I could see was to work for others. Perhaps then my pain could be put to some use." | Half of the victims were from San Luca – a hill town in Calabria perched between the mountains and the sea, which had become the arena for a lethal feud between rival 'Ndrangheta families. As the hunt for the killers pressed ahead, the prefect – the local representative of the interior ministry – launched a contest for projects to give a new and different life to San Luca. Canale decided to enter. "I was annihilated as a person," she said. "The only way out I could see was to work for others. Perhaps then my pain could be put to some use." |
| It is hard to overstate the courage – or recklessness – needed for a victim and target of the 'Ndrangheta to countenance working in San Luca, often described as the organisation's spiritual home. The town's mobsters enjoy a unique authority within the 'Ndrangheta. The nearby sanctuary of Santa Maria di Polsi is traditionally where the organisation has held its clandestine summits. | It is hard to overstate the courage – or recklessness – needed for a victim and target of the 'Ndrangheta to countenance working in San Luca, often described as the organisation's spiritual home. The town's mobsters enjoy a unique authority within the 'Ndrangheta. The nearby sanctuary of Santa Maria di Polsi is traditionally where the organisation has held its clandestine summits. |
| Canale's project, which was accepted, had three phases. The first was to set up a playschool. The idea was to get the children of San Luca off the streets and, at the same time, involve their mothers in a way that could drive a wedge between them and the 'Ndrangheta. Women have long played a prominent role in Calabria's mafia, carrying messages, keeping accounts and hiding fugitives. | Canale's project, which was accepted, had three phases. The first was to set up a playschool. The idea was to get the children of San Luca off the streets and, at the same time, involve their mothers in a way that could drive a wedge between them and the 'Ndrangheta. Women have long played a prominent role in Calabria's mafia, carrying messages, keeping accounts and hiding fugitives. |
| Canale had limited success with phase two – the creation of soap-making and lace-making businesses, to be staffed largely by women – and never got as far as phase three, the founding of a women's centre. But the playschool was still running long after the last of the other projects had folded. | Canale had limited success with phase two – the creation of soap-making and lace-making businesses, to be staffed largely by women – and never got as far as phase three, the founding of a women's centre. But the playschool was still running long after the last of the other projects had folded. |
| The survival of the school, however, came to rely on Canale's readiness to dig into her savings and the willingness of her 12 helpers to provide their services for nothing. Eventually, the women told her they needed some kind of payment. | The survival of the school, however, came to rely on Canale's readiness to dig into her savings and the willingness of her 12 helpers to provide their services for nothing. Eventually, the women told her they needed some kind of payment. |
| Canale said they would have been happy to work for €250 (£200) a month: "I told them they should hang on, and I'd soon get some funds to pay them." | Canale said they would have been happy to work for €250 (£200) a month: "I told them they should hang on, and I'd soon get some funds to pay them." |
| She approached the local authorities and then the national ones, asking for €30,000 to keep her project alive. "I wrote to everyone, from the president of the republic down. Everyone knows what I do and who I am," she said. "No one replied." | She approached the local authorities and then the national ones, asking for €30,000 to keep her project alive. "I wrote to everyone, from the president of the republic down. Everyone knows what I do and who I am," she said. "No one replied." |
| The end came when she found herself without the money to pay the electricity bill. By then, two things had happened: Canale had decided to write a book about her experiences and, she said, she was again being threatened. | The end came when she found herself without the money to pay the electricity bill. By then, two things had happened: Canale had decided to write a book about her experiences and, she said, she was again being threatened. |
| "In February, some men came to my parents' home in Rome posing as postmen. They said they had a letter. My mother opened the door and they pushed past her. They told her that, if I published my book, they would cut me into pieces and feed me to the pigs. A book creates awareness," added Canale. "And it remains." | "In February, some men came to my parents' home in Rome posing as postmen. They said they had a letter. My mother opened the door and they pushed past her. They told her that, if I published my book, they would cut me into pieces and feed me to the pigs. A book creates awareness," added Canale. "And it remains." |
| The threats continued after she fled to the US, with the result, she said, that the police in Rome had told her 18-year-old daughter not to attend school. "She is shut in the house. She cannot go out," said Canale, whose plans for a book are nevertheless going ahead. It is due to be published on 8 October. "I'm not the sort of person whose mouth they can shut," she said. | The threats continued after she fled to the US, with the result, she said, that the police in Rome had told her 18-year-old daughter not to attend school. "She is shut in the house. She cannot go out," said Canale, whose plans for a book are nevertheless going ahead. It is due to be published on 8 October. "I'm not the sort of person whose mouth they can shut," she said. |
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