It
is hard to pinpoint the origins of the mafia, their whole existence is built
on secrecy. One of the oldest mafias is the Camorra
of Naples. They began at least 3 centuries ago, perhaps even more. They started
by controlling gambling businesses, then branched out into other “activities”.
Sometimes their gangs would be built along boundary lines, and sometimes along
familial lines.
My
own family line comes into contact with the mafia through my great grandfather.
He was dropped off at an orphanage in Italy when he was only a week or two old.
When he was nine years old the mafia bought him, sent him to the United States
and made him pay them ten percent of all that he earned. He continued to pay
them until the day he died.
On
one hand it is easy to see the misdeeds that the mafia does, after all, my
great grandfather paid them many times over for the money they spent to send
him to the states. But on the other hand the mafia has played an essential role
in helping many people, albeit in a roundabout way. As The Best of Sicily magazine puts it, “The Mafia was not a cause of
Sicily's social problems so much as a reflection or symptom of them.” Without
that mafia, my family would be locked in a downtrodden part of Italy.
