WEBVTT

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Spring 2017,
in the province of Florence,

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life in Poggio alla Croce is turned upside
down by the announcement of the arrival

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of a group of migrants.

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Between fear, anger and indifference,
inhabitants are looking for a solution.

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(Background music and kitchen noises)

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I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

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Piera, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

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In these last few years a lot has changed

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Things were different before

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people were different

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They often came into the centre.

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Now they stay at home,

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the village is less lived in.

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Before we were all in my shop.

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Most of the world,

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most of life took place around it.

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A place to meet, to understand each other,

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maybe argue with different opinions

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but still have a dialogue. It was easier

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it was life... I mean it was life

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Andreas, project creator

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Poggio alla Croce could be defined

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as “a small Switzerland”

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Located in a beautiful spot

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between Chianti and Valdarno

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Residents are active and cooperative

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In summer a nice festival is organized

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attracting people from both valleys

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When problems arise, like ice in winter,

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informations flow over the internet.

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Looked like and ideal place

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Then in April 2017 the “bomb”:

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thirty migrants coming in the “palace”,

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a former hotel middle of village

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It sounded as if a spaceship full

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of little black men was about to land

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(tense music)

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Black men are coming, black men are coming

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We are all with our hairs raised,

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very worried, me too to be honest because

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Even if you hear a lot of good

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but also bad about these youngsters

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The strongest reaction, intense and wide,

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was an immediate refusal,

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a “belly” reaction that caused

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an immediate decision

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to collect signatures against,

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in less than three days

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230 signatures were collected

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even if we are some 190

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Attilia, a teacher in migrants school

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A first meeting was held

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one and half year ago in summer

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before the migrants arrived,

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so we did not know them

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They had no face for us, they had no name

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I don’t live in Poggio alla Croce,

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I come from a nearby village

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During the meeting there were

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some very aggressive people,

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I guess they were sincerely scared

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Martin, parson of Poggio alla Croce

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Their reaction was not due to being bad.

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Behind there was also a reality

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that must be told. It must be told that

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none was pepared because none

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had been alerted that these foreigner,

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these migrants were coming

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Noise of iron hammering

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Paolo, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

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Someone started collecting signatures,

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and I agreed only because I wanted to know

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where would these kids be hosted,

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what did they come for then it became

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clear that this was not the reason

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they did not want to welcome them

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So I said my signature was extorted

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and was not in agreement any more

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Luana, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

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They told us

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in a year time we’ll remind you of this..

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we are scared..

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I have an 18months old little girl

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who won’t be able to walk outside anymore

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They asked us to sign against

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but I refused

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and became the black sheep...

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They are simply black

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and this is not easy to accept

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Integration is not easy, not easy.

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Also on their side

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There was a bad feeling around,

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an awful atmosphere

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My legs trembled, really.

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I recognized kids that I knew

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when they were little children.

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And now as grown ups they were scared

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and said they did not want the migrants

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because their life would change,

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it would not be possible

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anymore to go quietly around in Poggio.

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No more walkabouts but they shouted

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all this in a really aggressive way..

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and I started to tremble and was unable

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to tell what I meant,

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that I felt very sorry to see children

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who had grown up together and were

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used to share… and I remember

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there were also coloured children

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in our classes and all played together

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and had now become so

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And now I was more scared of them

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than of the incoming migrants.

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I could sense a rage and violence

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that really frightened me

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(laundry noise)

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When the spaceship with the little

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black men had actually landed

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we managed to organize

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a first circle in a room under

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the church that our parson Martin

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put at our disposal

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for the rest of the story

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we organized a first circle

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where we played,

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by arranging ourselves on the chairs

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in a completely random way,

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so mixed up, a little bit of them and

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a little bit of us.

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We sticked a piece of paper on the wall

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and each and one of us started to write

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Andrea Formiconi, italian, speaks italian

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Then casually pointed the felt-pen towards

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one or the other and they wrote in turn

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Each and one of us wrote his name,

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which country he came from,

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which language he spoke,,,

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This simple game basically opened up

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a whole world, a universe

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because it turned out that with

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fourteen-fifteen of them there were

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twelve-thrteen languages spoken

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Then we discovered illiterates,

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you could tell by the unlikely way they

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held the marker...

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In fact they did not write the name but

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drew it. At the same time

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some of them attended school

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and to one extreme there was a guy

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that had escaped while in his fourth year

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of mathematics at university.

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This helps understand the enormous

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range of stories and different human

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situations hiding behind this stereotype

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which we call with univocal names:

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the migrant..

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which prompts the image of the

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little black man, always the same, and his

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standard story.

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Absolutely not!

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(gentle music)

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(kitchen noises)

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Malò

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I think that the spark that triggered

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Three of us that embarked in this adventure

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of the “little school of Poggio alla Croce”

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without really knowing what to expect.

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We felt the urge to do something

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to help these youngsters,

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and we thought that teaching them

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italian language was the thing to do

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also to improve their trust in themselves.

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As we are scared of them blacks,

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they are scared of us whites

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They are afraid of us.

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The funny thing is that a lot of people

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were involved who had nothing .

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to do with teaching.

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People like Marcie who is canadian

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with very little italian but

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she taught italian.. and Willy

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who is still with us who reads

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and does dictation

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and anything else with them

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I teach in primary schools

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on Tuesday when finished

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With my class, often very tired like last

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year when I taught in first

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I sit in the car and say to myself

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“why do you do it ?

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you should go home to rest or make dinner”

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then I close my eyes and think

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“if it is the right thing to do I'll find

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the missing energies” and there I go

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and afterwards I am happy because you get

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there and see those smiles with white teeth

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and those white teeth of black people

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those happy eyes...

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I see Ajan, I see Dedo, the Kurds...

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waiting for you

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who thank you for being there,

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who are looking forward

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for you to teach them something.

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(Car noise...)

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I arrived here a bit by chance,

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I got to know this experience

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thanks to Andreas, his stories

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in university classrooms and I decided to

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to come and have a look.

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The question I get asked most often

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is why I'm doing this, especially because

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what strikes me about me is the fact

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that I come from almost 90 kilometres

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almost two hours by car anyway

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just to get here.

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It's not easy to explain,

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because the reason

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lies in so many little things:

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gestures, looks, emotions,

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the feelings you have when

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you get in touch with these people

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which in the end are lives

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are experiences, are worlds

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with which you come into contact

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and of which you often know nothing.

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(Traffic noise...)

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(Country noises, chirping...)

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(Squeaking bicycle...)

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(Background music...)

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I go to school in Figline Valdarno

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every day, On Mondays and Tuesdays

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I go by car but the other days I ride my bike.

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I ride my bike. It's not difficult to go,

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but it is difficult to return

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because it takes an hour and

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thirty minutes, It's tiring.

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When I was in Africa I didn't go to

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school and fortunately I found myself in

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Europe and met the people who

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are helping me

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and enrolled me in school.

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My goal is to learn the Italian language

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I would like to stay in Italy,

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I would like to work to help

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my family in Africa. Therefore

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I have to concentrate on studying,

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it's my goal.

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My name is Madou Koulibaly, I come

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from Guinea and I'm 20 years old.

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I arrived in Italy a year and

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two months ago, it was a very

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difficult trip, I can't forget it,

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It was very dangerous.

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I sacrificed my life

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to seek my fortune in Europe

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and thank God I entered Italy

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on 13 June 2018

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and I was transferred

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to Poggio alla Croce.

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I met some very good people who

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treated me like one of their own,

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they are like my parents here,

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not only me but all the Africans

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who live in Poggio alla Croce.

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I would like to continue studying,

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if there is a possibility,

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I'd like to study and learn

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a job, for example a welder.

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(Noise spring water, chirping...)

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Italy saved me in the sea,

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in Italy I went to school

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and I would like to continue studying,

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I don't know what will happen afterwards.

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Poggio alla Croce is my village.

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The path is chaotic,

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one cannot expect to follow

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a preordained thread:

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it would kill this kind of school.

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So you have to follow the wind.

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An example would be when

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Samba had written the curriculum

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on the computer,

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then of course you try to help:

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"Samba, what does this mean?

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What's this...?"

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Then we read:

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"driving experience", so I ask:

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"Samba, what did you drive?"

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He light up immediately and says

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"Cow!"

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and a whole other discussion

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started from there

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about how things change over time,

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how they change in Africa,

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how they change here.

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This is an example of digression.

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It's a people-centred school,

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essentially.

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(Soft music, dialogue in the background..)

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We all have attics full of old computers

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and we don't know what to do with them.

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It's a problem because we have to take them

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to the eco-center and so we've been

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spreading this information:

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"Do you have an old computer?

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You don't know what to do with it,

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is that a problem for you?

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Instead of giving it to the

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recycling centre, give it to us,

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we install a version the Linux

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operating system, a lightweight version

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that fits into old computers

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and easily "resurrects" them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The Ubuntu operating system

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is so called because it is a concept

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
from southern Africa and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Nelson Mandela in a beautiful

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
video that we used

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for a work with the students,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
describes it with a little story:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"Once upon a time, when a wayfarer

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
arrived in a village and he was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tired, thirsty and hungry, no one would

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
ever ask him any question,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they simply brought him something to drink

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and food. This is Ubuntu, that is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
thinking about the other in the knowledge

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that this creates a community

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that lives well if we all do that."

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Ubuntu is a great African philosophy,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a great African thought...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it's about getting to the help

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it starts with the fact that we're all

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
brothers, if I help one person

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that person can help

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
another person close to me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
therefore a general connection

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of society in that we all consider

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
ourselves brothers and sisters.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What happened in Poggio alla Croce

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is Ubuntu, it's definitely

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
authentic Ubuntu.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Chorus of African children...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I think that following a principle

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where helping someone will help me

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in turn is good for both, better than

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
fighting with each other,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
even though in fight wins may be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happier than the loser.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This principle guides my whole life

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
since I started reasoning I have always

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
used the time I had available in social activities.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But not for “goodism”, not because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am good and consequently must do good,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
help others, help beggars, no.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Maybe I am led by selfishness,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I think I earn something this way

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and so live a better life, be serene.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You get a lot of rip-offs, but not like

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
those you get When fighting and losing.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
More like opportunities that leave

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a bitter taste in our mouth but do not create

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
big problems. There were racist

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
symptoms around and that is way

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I decided to get involved but basically

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it was my way of doing things: I am a migrant

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
myself in Poggio alla Croce, moving from town

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to the country.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I choosed to and almost from start

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it was natural to decide joining this association.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It is a way of living, it is normality,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
no heroism, I think everybody

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
can understand this.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When I hear it, the word Ubuntu has an impact

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because it means “humanity”.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In jewish religion we have an expression,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
“tikkum olam”, that literally means

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
“fixing the world”.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And I noticed how relationships

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
developed here; it is really beautiful,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because people one by one are slowly

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
“fixing the world” and show humanity.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We must concentrate on this positive part

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the world because if we don’t,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if we do nothing, we are doomed to fail.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
For me coming here to Poggio is a little thing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but it means a lot in my life.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This idea of Ubuntu, to re-generate computers,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
objects tools that were doomed to be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
thrown away, is what inspired also

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this community to act and slowly

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
re-generate itself. This is what means

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the motto “We need you”

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Our local community was re-generated

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
by your arrival, thanks to your spaceship

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with little black men, because it injected

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into us a new need to co-hoperate, to leave

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our homes and setties, forget about tv,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
get out and try to solve together a problem

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for the benefit of the whole community.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(words from a malian rap song, music in headphones)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am Samba and I come from Mali,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I am an artist

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But before when I sang with my friends

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
my family was against me making music,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but I love it.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In 2016 I went first to Algeria then to Libia

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Then I arrived here two years ago.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I have a complicated life,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I would like to be an artist

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a rapper like many italians (Ghali, Sfera Ebbasta..)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I would like to do what they do

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don’t really know what happened

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but we have all changed

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I found out they changed in relation to us,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in the begining they would just pass by,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
just give us a little smile but when they

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
realised we really liked them…

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I cannot speak for all, but for people like me.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When we see a new one we stop him

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with a “ehi”, and if he is tall tell him

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to bend down or we can’t reach him, and he

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
calls us and we say “grandmas and grandpas”

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and he replies “grandpa,grandma”,,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We speak italian so we try to make

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
ourselves understood and when we see

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they reaaly don’t understand we gesture

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like this..to make them bend down

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And so they learn and when they pass

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they ask “nonna, need help ?”..

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
”no, not today, tomorrow”.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Some know some english and so I tell them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
“tomorrow” and they understand.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I always said I have No room at home but if

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I did I would happily take one in One, two,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
depends on how many I could take in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If the house were mine, because in my view

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they also need to be understood, to feel

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the good not just through a smile. There are

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
essential things in the life of all, but they

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
leave their families flee from

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
very bad systems, suffer hunger.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Maybe we are unable to give them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
these things We are just two or three that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are really fond of them straight from our

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
hearts not from our mouths

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And they can feel it, as soon as they see

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
us they come for a kiss, for some food,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for biscuits, as with a little child that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
needs to be taught to speak.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Some we see more often and there is a contact

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We spend time but is not wasted time,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it is good time. People who saw us doing

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that in the beginning were critical

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But now they say “it is true they make

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
themselves loved, but how did you do it ?”

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How ?, well we talk to them!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And soon or later they understand…

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Slowly things got more stable.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
These kids are very nice

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They hurt nobody, they salute everybody,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they pass they call you, we reply,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
at least I do, others won’t.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The village is quiet now,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it showed the worst of itself because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
misleading informations help produce

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
bad reactions. Then you learn, you see, you

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
live and living with them is also nice.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The way I see it, these kids were like jailed

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
without this group of people that taught

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
them italian and other things ..

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what would they do ? Lock up thirty kids

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in a CAS, what for ? For nothing I think,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If they are not made active

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what can they do ?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They are all young kids in their twenties….

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
what can they do ?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
If they do something, if it is possible

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to make them do something, work, play..

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
then it is different. They can be useful

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but you must train them, let them in,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
something impossible to do in two-three months

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Then you have to overcome distrust.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Seeing a black man by your side

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
has some effects. But in the end it means

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
nothing. If you learn to know him he is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like me after all Even if I don’t know you

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
we share the same opinion

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This is logical I think

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The first village I saw after entering Europe

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
was Poggio alla Croce

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I will never forget because they gave

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a new life, an unforgettable experience:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the people, the joy, they gave me a respect

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
for society, from day one when they

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
took me around to look for a job, to take

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the driving licence, to school..

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and I thought “look, these people ask

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
nothing of you, but give you a lot,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a new life..I must give something back”

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and thought it would be good to go on

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with them, helping them also phisically”

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In my life I will never forget

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this village and the people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who know me, as well,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
My family,even if not in Italy,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they know Poggio alla Croce!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It is a big joy for them too,and in my view

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
if they ever meet an italian or european

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
person they will respect them because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they have given a good thing, a new life

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to their son.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In future I would like to help with the school,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I don’t speak italian well but I could help

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with the Pakistani who don’t speak english

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and have not studied. I could be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
an interpreter between them and an italian

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
explaining the rules and other things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It would help them but also one way

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to give someting back to society, to the village.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You are integrated in this society but now

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you are teaching other peopleto integrate in society

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so that they can do good new things.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I have a lot to learn still, but people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
from Poggio gave me a nice life, something

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
difficult to explain in words, but I will

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
always try to give something back to this

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
unforgettable, beautiful village.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This initiative (the school) helped people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who did not know each other to get in touch,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
collaborate, become friends..Not only the migrants

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have a school for italian and mathematics

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but we all from the village have learnt to mix,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
live together and it is much better.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Another memory that I have and I think

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I will never forget is the second day

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that I came back to the school and it was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the birthday of the great Duccio,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
our mascot. He was one year old

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and at a certain point during the mini

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
buffet that his mum had prepared for us

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the boys opened a bag and pulled out

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a little wooden cart, all coloured

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and you could see that it was homemade,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the kind that I could find

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in my grandmother's attic.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They were pieces of wood assembled with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this rope attached to pull the cart along

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with wheels it was really well made.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It was handcrafted by them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and the gift was really appreciated by

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Duccio because among the many toys here at

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
home, fantastic toys that play, sing,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
shout, this simple wooden cart made with

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
pieces of wood and buttons... he liked it

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
immediately and played with it without

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
knocking it on the ground as he does

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with other toys after thirty seconds of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of holding it in his hands and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
throwing it away.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Also because, maybe, since when he was

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a baby, as soon as he was born, we tried,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
both me and my partner, to integrate

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Duccio together with these guys,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
without letting him live this experience

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
as if it was something outstanding

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
but as if they were our relatives, our

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
friends, our brothers and he really laughs

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when he sees them, he goes towards them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
my son is 18 months old...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
He has practically become the mascot

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the shelter because every time they see

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
him they call him: "Duscio, Duscio"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you can see that when there is "Duscio"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they smile and I am really

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
happy about that.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It's a cliché, but I want my son to become

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a citizen of the world, not a citizen of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Poggio alla Croce.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So... everything's fine... and work?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Dialogues not intelligible...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Duscio! Hello Duscio...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And bread? Bread? Bru

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Madou explains the recipe for bread,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
oil and salt in his own language)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
cocò...? bru, cocò... And oil?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
So: bru, tulu, cocò!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You are good!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Yeah, good.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Laundry noises...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
My name is Omar and I come from Senegal,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I have been in Italy for two years.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I've arrived in Poggio alla Croce

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and I'm happy, I've met many people.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they teach a bit of Italian and I became

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
friends with these people I go to school,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I did the grape harvest and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the olive picking.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They helped me to find a good job,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I found a mother and a father,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I only miss my brothers but my mother

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and my father are close to me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
they are Paola and Gabriele.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They are very good,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
all of them in Poggio alla Croce

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
are very good.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Pruning noise...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When a foreigner comes here and leaves

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
his homeland, he still has this nostalgia,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he believes that where he goes

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
he will perhaps find a welcome, a smile.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
When he comes and finds rejection it is

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a moment of great difficulty, a sadness.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We are all foreigners to someone else,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I too am a foreigner and I arrived here

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in 2000 and now 19 years have passed

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and I am here as a priest

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in Poggio alla Croce.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They give the idea that they have somehow

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
taken the destiny of their lives back

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
into their own hands.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The transformation of course,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and this is perhaps one of the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
significant aspects,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is not just about them:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it is always wrong to focus on 'them'.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Things work when the context allows

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
itself to be changed and in this sense

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this is a positive reaction

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the population.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Old ladies who were perhaps terrified

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in those famous, awful meetings

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
at the beginning can now call them,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when the woodcutter unloads a ton of wood

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in front of their house and for them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
there is the problem of taking it to the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
garden, bringing it inside...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and so, as they say, they call a couple

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of these "big guys" and say

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"will you bring it inside?"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and clearly these guys do the job

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in ten minutes and they maybe pay them

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
a cappuccino or give them some money.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In this way a normal life has been

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
recovered, it is healthy normality that

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
makes up the real civilisation

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of a population.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And by the way, and this moves me,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the people who are now with me and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who have involved me in this adventure,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
two in particular, two women who started

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
this adventure, are the same people

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
who welcomed me twenty-six years ago

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
when I arrived here in San Polo.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
And this is important for me, because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it was a beautiful experience that I had

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and that I want to give

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to others, to them.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What is the name of this dish? Mafe

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How do you make it?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Just meat, vegetables...?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How do you manage this dish?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Meat, some vegetables... tomato...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Peanut... Peanut butter Good...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
.opala...show him, show him...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Ah! Is this opala? Yes, this is opala.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
How do you do it, do you have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
to clean, cut?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Yes, clean, cut... Good! Bravo!

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
I'll let you guys work

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
while I watch and help you.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
What is this white thing?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In Poular: "Bantara"

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and how do you cook it?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Does it take a long time?

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In Senegal yes, I don't know in Europe...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
because if it is fresh it cooks

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
very quickly if it is old

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it takes longer...

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Music, kitchen noises...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
This sort of migrants' Barbiana

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
at Villa Viviana in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Poggio alla Croce closes.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Today there is a great silence

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
since these young people who

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
had brought life back to the

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
depopulated village two years ago

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
were forced to leave.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
(Music...)

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
They left in a hurry without warning,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
some things are still there.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The Cristoforo cooperative,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
which ran the centre, is leaving because

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
its budget, reduced from 35 to 21 euros

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
per migrant, has already had to close

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
5 out of 17 centres and this

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is only the beginning:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the situation is no longer

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
financially sustainable.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Some thirty migrants arrived in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Poggio alla Croce, in the municipality

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of Figline and Incisa, two years ago

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
amidst the mistrust and protests of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
the few inhabitants of the village.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
The result was a unique experience

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of integration until now, when they were

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
suddenly and forcibly moved to another

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
centre in Sesto Fiorentino.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Today was the last day of study at

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Poggio alla Croce, it was a school

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
where foreigners learn a lot of things,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
it was the school where we learned

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
everything we needed to in Italian, in

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
English and above all Italian culture.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
At this time it is very difficult to be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
away from the inhabitants of

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Poggio alla Croce or to be away from our

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
teachers. We are very sorry but we have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
not chosen, we tell you that we do not

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
have many words to say because living

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
with you has been very beautiful.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
You must be proud of yourselves for all

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
that you have done and are still doing:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
you have created an incredible and

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
unforgettable history in your little

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
village, a village where humanity

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
is respected a lot.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
For some people, living with African

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
boys is a bore or a sin.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
But with you it was not like that,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
always with smiles, nice words

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
without swearing or distinction of skin.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
We were lucky to live a moment of this

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
journey with you, after the study

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in Poggio we understood that each of us

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
must be the master of our own destiny.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
Thank you for teaching us a good attitude

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
how to behave in Europe, thank you for

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
making us understand that we should not be

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
like people who are delinquents or

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
beggars. I will never forget you,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
warm regards....

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
In my opinion, this story of the Poggio,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of the little school, is really a love

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
story because we volunteers love each

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
other, because we are together

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
in a special way, and we with the guys,

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
and they love us, real friendships have

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
been born, it's a love story.

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
It is these small gestures, these tales

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
of everyday life that make our experience

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
so special. It is what makes you say:

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
"I care about you" It is the most

99:59:59.999 --> 99:59:59.999
precious gift we can take home.