FALCONE - BORSELLINO PATRONS DE PROMOTION / PROMOTION PATRONS
When the assassinations of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino took place between the spring and summer of 1992 the history of our Country changed. Their deaths in that year left us with a painful emptiness, robbing us of their presence, their daily sacrifices against crime, their permanent smile even when facing the worst kind of danger. Nevertheless, their sacrifice has not been in vain given that since then we Italians have not been left alone, and it has sown a stronger meaning of the word State in all of us . It has helped to awaken the sleepy souls who thought of the Mafia phenomenon as intangible or non-existent and it has inspired the young men and women to look to the future. Above all, it has instilled in all of us a love for our Country and the will to never give up. Never. Indeed, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino are without a shadow of a doubt two Italian heroes. However, today, twenty years after those horrible events of ’92, time goes by allowing us not so much as to forget but to spoil their memory through a tired rhetoric or dangerous indifference. Therefore we must hold fast to the facts, the pain, the meaning of their deaths, their dedicated work that has been interrupted but must still be finished. It is in this book “Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino - 20 Years Later” with the beautiful collection of photos by ANSA that we can vividly remember them. This work is not only an important historical record it has also seeds of words and actions which rouse us and remind us of our duties as citizens. Remembering is not something static but a constant stimulus towards tomorrow.
“The war against Mafia – Paolo Borsellino said- must be a cultural movement to make everyone accustomed to the beauty and scent of freedom as opposed to the stench of moral compromise”. Remembering is most of all our civic duty to the victims, to ourselves, to our Country and to the community. And that “sweet scent of freedom” is a moral obligation learned in institutions, at home, at work and above all in the schools which are to educate and train young people and to develop their awareness of being responsible and conscious citizens. And this is where more than anywhere else during these years, the two judges persevered in their civil and civic duty for the good of Italy, boosted by the students’ commitment and enthusiasm throughout the peninsula. “Men come and go but their ideas remain. Their moral tensions remain and will continue to walk on other men’s legs ”, Falcone once said. If we consider the values of democracy, respecting the laws, respecting each other, committing to the community, and if we treasure all of this we can pass it on to the future generations and the hope of our Country will continue to live through our youth. The many martyrs who gave their lives defending human dignity and freedom, among them Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, are the examples we must look up to and are immortalized in these photos. They are examples not to regret but to emulate in our fight for justice and Good. Everyone, through small daily gestures, are called upon to be servants of the State. Francesco Profumo Minister of Education and of the University of Research.