In ancient Greece, justice was the order of the day. Plato considered it “virtue par excellence”, “the highest welfare”. To him, justice was so important that his philosophy became centered on its very concept. His philosophical views were a direct consequence of an unjust event he had endured earlier in his life, the death sentence of his own master, Socrates. “Socrates the good”, “Socrates the wise” had been condemned, betrayed by his own city. Plato had been deeply hurt by such an event. However, it was an experience that allowed him to establish brand new concepts of truth, beauty and fairness, which had been manipulated and corrupted by the Athenian Polis and needed to be reformed.

“Justice”. One word, many emotions; or rather, a word that should stir such emotions. Perhaps many mixed, contradicting and unclear feelings, but one thing’s for sure. When one proclaims this word out loud, it shouldn't cause indifference.

February 1998, Cermis (Trentino). American pilots were flying at a lower height than militarily permitted. Such carelessness resulted in a tragic accident; the plane rushed a wire of one of the sky cable cars, killing twenty Italian civilians. Many issues arose on how to handle the matter. The Italian prosecutors asked for a trial for the four Marines responsible for the casualty, but the judge of the preliminary investigations decided that, according to the London NATO Convention of 19^th June 1951, the case had to be handled by the US Military Justice. The soldiers were dismissed and allowed back to USA, where they were acquitted of the accusations of premeditated murder and manslaughter.

July 2019, Rome. Two American young adults having just reached eighteen, F. L. Elder e G. C. Hjorth, kill a sergeant, Mario Cercilleo Rega. They were accused of murder, injury, attempted extortion and resistance to public official. After many attempts of the lawyers to exonerate the culprits by proving the Italian police wrong, the trial eventually started, in Italy, at the end of the following February.

February 1998, Miami. Dale Pike, son of Anthony Pike (the handler of a famous hotel in Ibiza), is killed. Chico Forti, an Italian TV entrepreneur that moved to USA some years before, was charged with murder and given a life sentence. Chico Forti has kept declaring himself innocent for twenty years now, claiming it a judicial error. His version is justified since there is little to no evidence against him. On May 2012, Chico’s lawyer, together with an Italian criminologist, demanded a review of the case from the Foreign Minister, Giulio Maria Terzi from Sant’Agata. The next Minister, Emma Bonino, expressed interest in the case, as well as some celebrities such as Fiorello and Jovanotti. At the moment, Chico Forti is still in prison, not asking for acquittal but at least for a review of the evidence, and a new trial.

What do these three events have in common? Twenty skiers killed in Cermis, Cercille Rega and Chico Forti. These reports tell us the vicissitudes of Italian victims, stories of cruelty and inequity at the hands of Americans, and how Italian justice hasn’t properly defended its people.

The US Government promptly handles every situation, helping its citizens and at least offering them the possibility to be sued in their own Country, by its laws, oftentimes letting them free despite heavy accusations. These Italian victims weren’t treated the same. The families of those who died in the Cermin accident will never have justice delivered, forever aware of the fact that the murderers of their loved ones weren’t properly judged. Those close to Cerciello Rega are still waiting and hoping that the Italian Court will remember and honor the officer’s death ; Chico Forti is considered a criminal due to the fact that he can’t prove the misconduct of the Miami police department during his trial.

Many other cases deserve our attention and commitment. Today, much like in Plato’s era, we are living in a historical moment that confuses and convinces people to follow the wrong role models. People are persuaded to take selfish decisions, prevented from discerning good from bad, and choosing what is right for us to do. There are a lot of concepts that are really hard for us to grasp and accept. Concepts that are considered old-fashioned in this world, where everything is allowed and that so many times doesn’t reward those who deserve recognition. Justice is one of these concepts. People believe that justice is only a Court or judicial matter but in reality, it is not. Justice is a daily value, a universal value that everybody from every country have to demand from their own government. If we can’t do it, at least we must look back, to more than two thousand years ago. We can look up to Plato, who turned a personal cause in a example to edify citizenship, social ethics to define the “right” behavior of an entire city. We can look up to him and fight for what we think is right. We have to stand up and don’t be indifferent, for if each of us was committed to defend justice, the world would surely be a better place.

Idea by Camilla Armellini