This is all bullshit, there is no rehabilitation. What do these boys come out to go do? Work? There is NO work in Sicily.
As to this article, where the boy comes out of the program and is staring at the sea and suddenly sees everything differently for the first time, I'm gonna have to say get the fuck outta here with that garbage. Nobody's buying that.
The programme has been initiated in Calabria rather than Sicily and the lad featured is from Calabria, not that I'd suggest the situation is in any meaningful way better there than the other side of the Messina Straits.
Here is the original article I read regarding the initiative:
http://mafiatoday.com/sicilian-mafia-ndr...le-of-violence/The sentiments of the judge seem to anticipate your criticism of it quite presciently, hence his stressing the need of widespread infrastructural investment that can facilitate a sustaining network of monitoring, training, support and job opportunities for these kids once they reach adulthood and potentially give them meaningful options if they decide to turn their backs on crime.
This, given the current state of the Italian economy is sadly a long shot, however at a conceptual level its holistic 'prevention before cure' approach seems to offer more realistic prospects for long term success at actually tackling the trappings of culture that allow the strangling influence of the Mafia(s) to flourish than the mere fire fighting undertaken at present.
As for calling bullshit on the neat 'about-turn' sentiment at the end of the article, well it's a personal interest story, there's always going to be a level of sentimental fluff present, it hardly detracts from the rest of the piece.
