Internationally acclaimed author and journalist Roberto Saviano has told hundreds of young Italians a war is being fought by the Mafia in southern Italy every day. Speaking at Rome Tre University in the Italian capital late Wednesday, Saviano, author of the top-selling book 'Gomorrah', also said many of the victims of organised crime in Italy were under the age of 35."We should remind ourselves that the criminal organisations such as the Camorra, the 'Ndrangheta and Cosa Nostra, are the organisations that have killed the most people in Europe, much more than those caused by Islamic fundamentalism, which at present appears to be the daily obsession of the security of every country," Saviano said.Saviano, who was surrounded by five bodyguards during his visit, showed a packed hall of 700 students and faculty members shocking photographs of young victims who had been killed by the Mafia in the southern city of Naples. "This is a silent war, that the media rarely talks about. Most of the victims that you will see are not over 35 years old, they are all very young," he said.
The 28-year-old author, who lives in hiding under a 24-hour police escort, spoke to the students after the screening of the film 'Gomorra' based on his book and now nominated for an Academy Award. It was the first time he had ever been invited to address a university in Italy.The students were shocked and silent as he showed them more than 20 grisly colour photos of young men most of whom had been shot to death by the Mafia. "I will show you pictures that are terrible. They are about a war that is being fought everyday in southern Italy, a war that has killed 4,000 people in my territory since I was born," said Saviano. "This is in Naples, Italy, Europe."
The author also spoke about all the industries that the Mafia had infiltrated, such as garbage collection, textiles, restaurant business, petrol, discotheques and more recently, bakeries.Saviano's international best-seller 'Gomorra' exposed the activities of Naples' ruthless Camorra crime syndicate. The book has been translated into 42 languages. The journalist carried out his own research for the documentary-style book, which denounces the activities of the Camorra and reveals how and where it operates. The film 'Gomorra' won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The movie was recently named Italy's entry for next year's Oscars, reportedly further incensing the Camorra.Saviano appealed to students to choose different leaders regardless of their political affiliation to stop the spread of the Mafia. "Voters from the Left or the Right must once and for all, regardless of their political views, choose different people to represent them," he said. Saviano stressed Italy's southern regions of Calabria and Campania were the easiest places for the Mafia to operate and even though they had had Centre-Left governments for the past 10 years it made no difference to stopping their expansion.He also said that the Italian capital Rome, was one of the Mafia's favourite places to operate."Rome is one of the favourite places for the Mafia cartels to infiltrate and operate," said Saviano.

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