'I've lived with death threats for 10 years' Roberto Saviano - BBC News

Speaking out about the mafia can come at a price and for writer Roberto Saviano that has meant 10 years living under police protection. In a book published in 2006, he exposed the activities of the Camorra, a mafia organisation based in Naples, described as Italy's most bloody and ruthless criminal group. Matthew Price spoke to Mr Saviano, for the Victoria Derbyshire programme, about living with a death threat from the mafia.
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[@halflifeproductionz]

This man is a hero to all people who are tired and sick of organized criminal organizations worldwide. To all the young kids out there who idolize the thug gangsta lifestyle, read his books or watch the shows he created and you'll see how awful these human beings are.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

Kids are too stupid. They think it's like the movies or video games until they get caught then they tell on everybody.

[@ntocore3233]

Saviano is hated by many napoletan people because "he has ruin the images of Naples". I am Napoletan. I love Saviano.

[@masterjunky863]

Da molti napoletani deficenti

[@RejectedInch]

He's hated because is exposing the truth of how things work and not just in italy.

[@RejectedInch]

@@masterjunky863 dai conniventi in generale, mica solo napoletani.

[@RaineriRi]

They should love him.

[@VileCAESARB]

What a true man, speaking truth to power.

[@Productions-bv7zv]

Roberto Saviano is an Italian pride Grazie Roberto

[@fuggles2544]

@Paolo Santoro so you choose to overlook or downplay the work he has done in exposing the machinations of the Mafia in Italy because he has different views regarding refugees than your's.

[@lucaiv7256]

27029 e' il C.A.P. della mia città....

[@FunkyPrince]

@@fuggles2544 Well, I hope Paolo meant it in a good way, like he was complaining about italians themselves.

[@limonman1716]

@@fuggles2544 no comment. Obviously saviano play a role on Left wing Politics... he is an hypocrit.

[@PatchedThePipe]

“Follow drugs and you get drug dealers and drug addicts.. but if you follow the money? then there’s no telling where ya gonna end up” Lester Freemon - The Wire

[@codybarrier6295]

One of the greatest shows ever. Love the quote

[@Romans5_3-4]

✡️ this is where you’ll end up.

[@buddhababy2005]

'The Wire' is still one of the best tv shows to have been produced about the realities of 'the war on drugs'.

[@Fretliner]

A very brave man, the TV series based on his book and script is really strong and makes you think a lot about people's behaviour

[@cicranelnaz]

Best TV Series of all time

[@fabiokoni8478]

@@cicranelnaz don't exagerate Power and sons of anarchy are also great

[@kidustsegay3101]

@@fabiokoni8478 gomorra is the best sons of anarchy comes close

[@giobasta6918]

This man is a HERO

[@merinfraser3374]

legendary uomo

[@ThomasCorfield]

I've been living with death threats for ten years also, but that's marriage for you.

[@hugohugo2832]

I’m reading it. Absolutely superb and beautifully written which is impressive given it’s doubtless a translation

[@hugohugo2832]

@@dukevalentino I thought he was rather mesmerised by the whole scene. My overall take was these guys are utterly without scruples and are absolutely ruthless. The American mafia rule that family members are off limits. I found the idea that Naples as the engine room of the fashion world fascinating. But the biggest impression it made on me was what another world Naples is completely cut off from Italy

[@buddhababy2005]

I've been reading it too....not an easy read, as you say being a translation. However, his passion about the subject comes through & is not lost in translation.

[@martymitch8375]

Roberto, you are a real hero! wish that cancer called mafia would be wiped out for good.

[@giovannimarsala1547]

contentionmarty mitch

[@FunkyPrince]

@@giovannimarsala1547 I doubt marty meant "killing" with "wiping out", that wouldn't make us that different from the mafia.

[@kummakummakummakummakummac8606]

There's corruption everywhere so it wouldn't matter.

[@Maniahg]

You realize the bigger problem is the government who empower the mafia by not legalizing drugs right?

[@greshan7789]

The way he compares mafia organizations to a business made sense until he described their military capacity; I would argue that these organizations are so powerful that they act beyond the capacity of a corporation and more like a state.

[@dawnatkinson4307]

Is it really wise to ask how many bodyguards he has - I mean that would give the mafia info that could be useful.

[@guibredacalixto9086]

balls of steel personified.

[@MrMarkeZG]

This planet needs more ppls like mr. Saviano.. Very brave man. I wish him all the best.. Fuck mafia!

[@christophergrande8609]

Merci beaucoup ! From Midtown Phoenix Arizona

[@giobasta6918]

Quest'uomo è un EROE

[@elisa7881]

Forza Saviano! Sei forte! This man is IS a hero!

[@Sobchak2]

Thanks Roberto.

[@mikesiegenthaler4224]

Saying 'thank you' ist not enough

[@elsd1517]

The TV series is amazing, it doesn't glamourise the mafia at all. It shows the treacherous, brutal and unforgiving lifestyle.

[@tweetdezweet]

I only saw clips of it on KZbin but if I read the comments... it seems the message is lost. The adjectives thrown around to describe the series are actually celebrating the lifestyle of death and misery...

[@alexamigo4805]

What TV series? And what's the movie called? Anyone help?

[@fabiokoni8478]

@@alexamigo4805 Gomorra

[@alexamigo4805]

@@fabiokoni8478 thank you. I'll check it out

[@fabiokoni8478]

Gomorra the movie and Gomorra the series are two different stories

[@truth1901]

BBC worker people.... Welcome to your new platform :- KZbin. This is your future.

[@DaveSCameron]

Fantastic scribe and courageous young man, God bless you Sir. 🇬🇧📚

[@rosestone5091]

I would love to see a film about Saviano and how his career impacted him and his family!

[@mickmclaren580]

If you want to watch a film on the Camorra who he describes there is a series on sky called gamorrah, it’s in Italian but they have subtitles. It’s brilliant

[@g.o.8585]

Why was he dubbed in a Nigerian accent.

[@dorj1670]

I wonder if those movie actors are also in similar situation or not. Loved watching Comorra.

[@melihbilyal5876]

Roberto Saviano aka Ciro Di Marzio :D they look alike

[@kf5541]

Resemblance

[@HolisticSoul123]

Yes I was thinking that!

[@joaomiguel6220]

A true hero! Shame on the technocrats and corrupt politicians. If all politicians would be like Roberto the world would be a much better place.

[@jamesmorton5017]

The guy is an excellent writer. You can communicate the fact that there is mafia scum all over Italy but few can do it as masterfully as this fellow.

[@DaveSCameron]

Shout!

[@mrrigatone9595]

He also communicates that the United Kingdom and other countries launder the dirty money of the mafias, but when he talks about it he doesn't receive compliments but only comments like "it's an Italian problem, speak about Italy,not about us" aaah the hypocrisy.

[@billygiles3276]

The Camorra is just as much as in Britain as it is in Naples. Go to Aberdeen and your see what I mean!!! They are extremely low key though, but they and the freemasonic lodge there have a stake in every single business and public work in the city.

[@RejectedInch]

Cornwall is the same.

[@tcritt]

@@RejectedInch Lol. Sure.

[@navigatingel6104]

Masonic lodge huh? Now you know the real mob

[@Mani_Matter]

*Hero 👍*

[@mariaconway4241]

I have seen the film Gammorah Robert Saviano is a hero

[@christophergrande8609]

Our thing bro !

[@MartinsD12]

it is Ciro!!

[@markshaz8691]

Very brave man.

[@dawm12711]

I would write very STUPID man! He has NO life. Even presidents of countries have more freedom and choices than him under their protection details. He's paying an extremely 'heavy' price. I was reading an article by him named 'My life under armed guard' and to write the least it was disturbingly sad how he lives under his protection (bodyguards and security regimes) day to day. He's literally a prisoner unto himself including anywhere he goes internationally if their respective governments even agree to accept a visit by him into their countries! Not a single second or minute worth it.

[@adrianmaxable]

Brave man!

[@Martial-Mat]

How naïve was this man to think that his family would NOT be impacted but making his revelations without anonymity? He's RIGHT to feel guilty for what he's done to his family who had no choice in their exposure.That said, he's clearly provided an invaluable service in a nation whose police are seemingly utterly corrupt or powerless. The country needs rebuilding from the ground up.Of course, if drugs were legalised, a big part of this would evaporate. The world's governments have long forgotten that they exist to serve us, not to rule us.

[@Sobchak2]

How naïve are you for thinking he did not know very well what was going to happen

[@FunkyPrince]

Well you're right but he was young when he published that book, maybe he thought he would've got only some temporary threats.

[@dawnatkinson4307]

Yep well 26 year olds are still young and optimistic. What's the alternative? For everyone to stay quiet and keep their eyes closed. He did the right thing. But that is not always the easy thing.

[@andreamora104]

People should learn more before speaking about this. He wrote his book and when was published the first time it sold 5000 copies, and that was ok, so many journalist writes about Mafia. The problem was when with the second publishing the book sold 1 million copies, that was unacceptable for the boss, being exposed outside Naples. Journalists writes a lot about Mafia and normally nobody cares, his problem was that he was a good writer and the success of his book

[@Martial-Mat]

@@andreamora104 Don't be silly. The second you expose the mafia to one person of a million, you are aiming to create impact, otherwise why write the book or articles in the first place?

[@christophergrande8609]

We will learn together !!! Infinito

[@svilenkonac2084]

Love Napoli. Good people, great pizza, cheap guns 👍

[@FrankieH-79]

Svilen Konac lmao

[@RejectedInch]

cheap...untill you pay with your life.

[@jfrtbikgkdhjbeep9974]

interesting ... i just got the zerozerozero book ... damnnnn 😳

[@taomahNEGEV]

Any details of your close protection should remain strictly confidential.

[@cated4783]

#BBCnews @BBCNEWS, no captions for the deaf and hard of hearing? Come on!

[@RejectedInch]

there's a " CC" button on the video itself, push that and it activates subtitles. Not perfect, but good enough to grasp the main concepts. ;)

[@filomenafalzarano121]

Mannaggia Roby: "everything else is secondary" 😲😲😲😲😲😲❤️

[@alexamigo4805]

What TV series? And what's the movie called? Anyone help?

[@buddhababy2005]

I think the film is called 'Gomorrah' after the book.

[@jeffpatterson4774]

Gomorrah

[@jamesboss5405]

Very intresting about London

[@pentuplemintgum666]

The guy is alive because he was proactive in his protection. He and the police decided to take the first step. Organized criminal groups worth their salt don't make death threats they just kill people.

[@patrizio5196]

bullshit

[@pentuplemintgum666]

You show me 1 person who received a death threat and then was killed by the person that sent the threat, and I'll show you a thousand hits carried out without warning. If you want to kill your target you don't warn them. Dipshit.

[@riccardomallardo7779]

pentuplemintgum666 borsellino and falcone both received multiple treats before being killed

[@pentuplemintgum666]

Confirmed to be from their killers? Even if so, there are going to be a few retards. Similar to how some serial killers try to toy with the police. Which usually ends in their arrest. Also, people generally don't admit to murder if they didn't do it, but some idiots make false confessions for attention. I'm sure in some context involving mobsters they might make a threat and then follow through with it, but hunters rarely yell a warning to a deer in their crosshairs.

[@riccardomallardo7779]

pentuplemintgum666 falcone got threatened for the first time after his first trial in 1967, when he wasn't famous e yet. no one else knew who he was. cosa nostra kills only when necessary, so yeah...they pretty much warn you before they do it, sometimes warnings are enough to let people stop what they're doing. cosa nostra dislike attention, they will always try to solve problems as silent as it can be, whenever they end up on newspapers it means that was the only way available, but if they get the chance they avoid this kind of noise. serial killers get caught because they are not internal to the state unlike cosa nostra, you can't make that comparision, falcone and borsellino got themselves locked up in an isolation cell of a prison in order to work because they didn't trust any of their collaborators. that's because the state never fights cosa nostra, usually it's always one single man that fights it, in this case there were two men, and this is a surprisingly high number. they control politics, finance, newspapers (by the way incredibly nasty articles have been written about falcone when he was still alive, his description as a hero only showed up after his death). You will always be alone in front of cosa nostra, but you won't even notice that.

[@christophergrande8609]

Us yes the jails are staying at capacity and more will be built when needed!

[@christophergrande8609]

Not enough deer we’ll see ! Bravo capo !

[@TheTyrsson20]

How many bodyguards in which situation and how many armored vics... that shit is OPSEC as fuck

[@terrenceburton7903]

✊✊🌟🌟Roberto🌟🌟✊✊

[@Wunomi]

Dude decided of his own sentence by not hiding his identity and face.

[@christophergrande8609]

Trust all our lawyers !

[@torernning8652]

You can skip to 2:12. Before that just some intro you do not really need.

[@hamza274]

Ok mafia is bad but system of countries do the same things that mafia did ..but by another way

[@christophergrande8609]

My mama

[@Ikokaoniko]

L'uomo vero.

[@jakesharp3072]

He looks like l'immortale.

[@graceyacono]

He ruined his life just by publishing a book

[@christianleku2355]

For nothing in italy, i don t know in other parts of the world, but in italy never the politican do war with mafia now, because mafia is 2%of italian PIL and have industries and construction around the world, he just arrested important name of mafia but never the boss

[@christophergrande8609]

Lyb

[@fabiokoni8478]

He exposed the casalesi clan their bosses will be in jail for the rest of their lives sooner than later will happen something bad to him after all mafia never forget even after a century it could also affect your children

[@wormsali]

Illegal dumping 😁

[@christophergrande8609]

Christopher Michael Grandë Sr is the boss of the family rat we all must do now for each other I understand that can feel uncomfortable!

[@AaronfromEngland1989]

Wish they would give me a job

[@AaronfromEngland1989]

+sean anderson what

[@christophergrande8609]

Patrizia Marie DePerno waiting forever the cia to load the cdl. Do her right she’ll be washing dishes as soon as she gets home !

[@ChengMcGoldstein]

So who is paying for his protection?

[@Arcerus97]

Italian taxpayers

[@michelecorradi2700]

I pay, with my taxes. And I'll pay more If needed

[@FunkyPrince]

Really? There are problems like mafia and you're thinking about who pays his protection? That's ridiculous, it is like complaining about police, firefighters, etc... just because you pay them with taxes. We pay Saviano's protection as we pay the police, to protect us.

[@RejectedInch]

@@FunkyPrince well...there's a senator called salvini that wants to take this protection away. I prefer to pay Saviano's military escort instead the salty wages of that politician, to bh.

[@FunkyPrince]

@@RejectedInch I know, he is part of the mafia as well, Saviano also knows it. Many things he does become clear when you know that facilitating mafia may be one of his objectives.

[@farhanibrahim7919]

We find you

[@FunkyPrince]

"Cringest threats ever [Compilation] #5"

[@jfrtbikgkdhjbeep9974]

damnnnn 😳

[@glenbellefonte9620]

Really? Well how do hundreds and even thousands of cast and crew members of the tv show manage to film regularly without any trouble? I am pretty sure I recognize sensationalism when I hear it.

[@christophergrande8609]

Also all isis members like japan no homeless or women are being hurt we’ll go door to door South America too!

[@chmartin444]

Brave guy could end up swimming with the fish's tho...

[@FunkyPrince]

That's why they are brave.

[@picassoboy52]

Eventually. Everyone gets careless at some point

[@sticky59]

As DJT would say ..... 'Naples is a sh*thole'. And as far as London being the head of the money laundering operations .....nothing has changed in hundreds of years from the East India Trading days ....if you want to play, you gotta pay, and then you have their protection.

[@glenbellefonte9620]

Who knew a man named Sticky posting on KZbin would be so wise with all the answers

[@christophergrande8609]

I vote democrat!

[@mynameismynameis666]

PROPAGANDADUE / LICIO GELLI / GLADIO / PROJECT CONDOR / PLAN COLOMBIA

[@llamacebu216]

Propaganda and a bunch of CIA missions, gotcha Glad we're all on the same page Everyone knows, if the mafia or cartels want someone dead, you're dead

[@ByddinRhyddidCymru]

grass

[@FunkyPrince]

"Cringest threats ever [Compilation] #6"

[@dawnatkinson4307]

A 'grass' is someone who 'grasses up' fellow criminals - it doesn't count for normal civilians.

[@S7EVE_P]

Opening his mouth has made him a lot of money...

[@MarcoDToon]

S J Powell and he can't live a normal life because lots of people want to kill him

[@S7EVE_P]

Marco D. Toon *apparently*

[@MarcoDToon]

S J Powell I guess you belive in Illuminati, aliens in Area 51 and Darth Jar Jar, right?

[@S7EVE_P]

Marco D. Toon It's not me that's ready to believe anything people say. Get a grip ffs

[@insidiouslolx]

And so what? It's his job

[@albertocrescini2076]

Manco si degna di parlare inglese. Che vergogna, solo al sud queste cose...

[@FunkyPrince]

Eh si perché secondo te Saviano in mente c'ha che deve imparare l'inglese... C'ha ben altro a cui pensare che a imparare l'inglese, in più tu non ti sei degnato di scrivere il commento in inglese sotto un video in inglese, che vergogna.

[@zaqwsx23]

Secondo te è meglio esprimersi pienamente su certi argomenti utilizzando la propria lingua madre o scegliere di parlare una lingua che non si domina abbastanza e non essere in grado di dire tutto quello che si vuole?

[@giuseppecarrozza6003]

Al sud parlano meglio del nord l'inglese

[@RejectedInch]

@@giuseppecarrozza6003 shish!

[@sally-jb6vh]

A lot of writers are death as poor and emarginated.. They are not millionaires living in Manhattan. Mafia is not trying to kill you and never will so stop playing the victim.

[@gggz420]

why doesn’t he just move to america?

[@albertocrescini2076]

Manco si degna di parlare inglese. Che vergogna, solo al sud queste cose...

[@FunkyPrince]

Eh si perché secondo te Saviano in mente c'ha che deve imparare l'inglese... C'ha ben altro a cui pensare che a imparare l'inglese, in più tu non ti sei degnato di scrivere il commento in inglese sotto un video in inglese, che vergogna.

[@sk8city476]

si, perchè qui al nord parlano tutti inglese fluente?