Raffaele Capperi

"I have a disease that causes facial malformations, breathing and hearing problems, but it does not damage brain activity. It hit me half of the face and very little of the left side. I asked myself many times why, as a kid, I always blamed myself and I couldn't accept myself for who I am ".

Raffaele Capperi is 27 years old and suffers from the rare Treacher Collins syndrome; in his young life he has already had to undergo 7 surgeries, but above all he has suffered the violence and arrogance of many insensitive people around self.
«I was made fun of a lot, even by adults, and I couldn't understand why all this. The hardest moment of my life was in high school, I was afraid of people's reactions as soon as they saw me. When I was made fun of, I hardly ever talked about it at home, I locked myself in my room and kept everything inside ».

Raffaele had to face many difficulties and went through very dark moments, but in the end he found the courage not to be overwhelmed and choose life; he also started making videos to raise awareness of bullying. Precisely for this reason, last year he was appointed Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic with the following motivation: for his personal commitment in raising awareness against bullying and discrimination.
“Maybe even those negative comments made me accept myself for who I am. Beauty is not only the external aspect, beauty is also the internal aspect; don't stop only on appearances.
I understood that each of us is beautiful as it is and that we should not be ashamed of who we are ". And he concludes with an advice addressed to young people who are still victims of bullies today: «Talk to your family or some friend who loves you very much, or assert yourself, respond but without using violence because violence does not lead us anywhere. ; even with kindness many things can be solved. My motto is "be kind" ».


Roberto Lerda
NP March 2022