Ed. Longnesi
pp. 304
"Living in the shadows, you can better follow the state, the security of citizens. In reality it is a life full of light. And of sacrifice, of course, but we all do it very willingly ". There is the carabiniere, there is the special forces man, there is the husband and the father. It is a life at 360 degrees that told by the commander Alfa in his latest book, I live in the shadows. The commander Alfa is one of the founders of the special intervention group, Gis, of the Carabinieri.
Over forty years of field service, a lot of experience and many awards, both abroad and in Italy, the last one being the Golden Cross of merit from the Carabinieri. Around Italy to promote the book, he tells of himself, of the birth of the GIS (Special Intervention Group, ed) but also of his private life, of boyish memories, of how grandfather Ciccio instilled in him his first love for legality and therefore the choice of field made as a child, against any type of mafia. At his presentations there is always a large audience eager to meet him, to shake his hand. Many are young and it is an excellent sign: evidently, there is still a desire for heroes of justice to lead by example.
The commander Alfa is a man of great charisma and is a great communicator, we see that he loves being around people. But he had to learn loneliness and to speak above all with his eyes: those who make a certain choice of life, those who work in secret for our safety, for their own safety and those who live next door - because the mafias do not forgive, never - can not show the face, must hide it in the mephisto, the black balaclava that also covers the mouth. He tells it himself in the book, where the operational life is coupled with the family, where the love of country is one with the one for the affections, wife and children in the first place, and friends. And there are episodes, even the dangerous and tamed uprisings (one for all, that of Trani supercarcere of 1980), the importance of being a team and knowing how to move in unison, like a perfect musical score. And the many missions abroad, including Iraq and Nassiriya with the other incursors of the Consubim and the Ninth, with the memory of the devastating attack on the Maestrale base where five soldiers died, the cooperator Marco Beci, the director Stefano Rolla and twelve carabinieri including Enzo Fregosi, one of the five founders of GIS.
It is a window on a certain world, the one described in the book, where the reader manages to identify himself, almost to follow the stories directly, as in a cinematographic sequence, where however fiction does not exist, where everything is true and not fictional at all. , only well told. It makes us smile or indignant, whether it is the arrest of Cesare Casella's jailers or the release of other kidnapped hostages like the little Patrizia Tacchella and here the carabiniere is added to the father, to duty the heart.
In Rome, event organized by the SQUAD SMPD association, I live in the shadows was presented twice last 24 June: the morning at the National library, the afternoon in the Pietro da Cortona hall of the Capitoline museums with the journalist Clara Salpietro to act as moderator. Starting from what he wrote, the commander tells stories of life lived, as a man of law as a family man.
"I wrote the book for two reasons: the first, because the proceeds will go to charity for the children of the hospital oncology in Castelvetrano. The second, to raise awareness of these guys in GIS, their life, the fact that for those who make such a choice does not even exist the joy of going to a concert and enjoy it to the end, because you must always be ready to leave within thirty minutes. For a boy, it is a truly sacrificed life. The goal is to make Italians understand that these children are also willing to lose their lives for the country. We are the only armed force (carabinieri, ed) who works in the territory, as a police force, including stocks to magistrates and special interventions, where we risk a lot, but we gain a lot of experience".
The GIS were born at the behest of the then Minister of the Interior Francesco Cossiga, with very active political terrorism. The aim, yesterday like today, is to take the criminals possibly alive, to save the hostages if they are there, to intervene in conditions of extreme danger.
"We are all paratroopers, because before accessing the GIS we pass through the Tuscania regiment, we all come from the same training, so the boys already possess the required qualities. After the course they have a year of field experience", Says the commander.
"In '78 our story began, at the beginning "sweeping" the Special Forces of the other countries as Israelis, Germans, Englishmen, Americans. And slowly we have come to make ourselves respected and appreciated all over the world and also to teach our techniques. In almost forty years we have gone from being mistreated because Italians, so the usual stereotype of pizza and mandolin, to being considered at the top, so much so that now are the others who copy us".
Some values are absolute, non-negotiable. And it is important to pass the baton to the new generations, but they must be informed.
"Young people do not need teachings, they need examples, especially if we talk about certain values that are handed down from generation to generation, the sense of country, the pride of being Italian. I also go to schools and I try to make boys understand the beauty of legality and we can do it, because we are an example. And the boys are interested, so much so that then they want to know what features you must have to enter the Gis. I tell them that if they want to live an exciting life despite the many sacrifices, where you never get bored, if they want to challenge themselves every day, where every test passed there is already another one to face, the GIS makes for their".
We often forget that a heart beats inside a uniform. Next to the team, to the action, to their duty, there is also a family that is required to maintain secrecy, there is a woman, there are children who would cry to the world that their father saved a child and they can not even write it in the class theme. In the book, as well as in the words of Commander Alfa, admiration for women is unconditional.
"All women deserve applause, they are the pillar of everything. When you are in the operational area, you know you have to be ready to do your job, trying to do your best to get back from your affections ... Besides the sense of country, I like to talk about the importance of women, respect that is due.
Women make enormous efforts in every family, let alone the wife of one who does our job and who, often and willingly, because of our absence, must do everything alone, starting with the education of children. I always thank my wife: the sacrifices she had to face were many, together with the worry of knowing her husband around, in the theaters of war or in the most difficult situations. And thank you because it allowed me to do my job standomi next door. It is not a simple thing, nor a foregone conclusion. My other colleagues have not been so lucky, between us there is a very high percentage of separations. I must say that the only regret I have is that I have not enjoyed my children's childhood. I found them great, they also accused me of having been a selfish father but then, through this book and the previous one, they understood things about me and got closer, it was important ...".
The thought of the Commander Alfa goes to young people because they are the future, because it is important to pass on to them the witness of the values of the State. And because they rediscover the beauty of being together over technology, which is also important.
"The boys today, with new technologies, are all behind the screen of the computer or mobile phone, even to say hello and are sitting close. Once, when there was less technology, there was more talk. In reality, by sending an email instead of talking to each other, time is lost. If you discuss it first, it's better. But at work, technology has helped us a lot. Now, as an operator of the GIS I can not explain why, but I assure you that it has simplified the situations that until ten years ago were very difficult. But it is important to remember that behind the technology there is always man".
Giusy Federici
