Spring 2017,
in the province of Florence,

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

of a group of migrants.

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

(Background music and kitchen noises)

I AM BECAUSE WE ARE

Piera, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

In these last few years a lot has changed

Things were different before

people were different

They often came into the centre.

Now they stay at home,

the village is less lived in.

Before we were all in my shop.

Most of the world,

most of life took place around it.

A place to meet, to understand each other,

maybe argue with different opinions

but still have a dialogue. It was easier

it was life... I mean it was life

Andreas, project creator

Poggio alla Croce could be defined

as “a small Switzerland”

Located in a beautiful spot

between Chianti and Valdarno

Residents are active and cooperative

In summer a nice festival is organized

attracting people from both valleys

When problems arise, like ice in winter,

informations flow over the internet.

Looked like and ideal place

Then in April 2017 the “bomb”:

thirty migrants coming in the “palace”,

a former hotel middle of village

It sounded as if a spaceship full

of little black men was about to land

(tense music)

Black men are coming, black men are coming

We are all with our hairs raised,

very worried, me too to be honest because

Even if you hear a lot of good

but also bad about these youngsters

The strongest reaction, intense and wide,

was an immediate refusal,

a “belly” reaction that caused

an immediate decision

to collect signatures against,

in less than three days

230 signatures were collected

even if we are some 190

Attilia, a teacher in migrants school

A first meeting was held

one and half year ago in summer

before the migrants arrived,

so we did not know them

They had no face for us, they had no name

I don’t live in Poggio alla Croce,

I come from a nearby village

During the meeting there were

some very aggressive people,

I guess they were sincerely scared

Martin, parson of Poggio alla Croce

Their reaction was not due to being bad.

Behind there was also a reality

that must be told. It must be told that

none was pepared because none

had been alerted that these foreigner,

these migrants were coming

Noise of iron hammering

Paolo, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

Someone started collecting signatures,

and I agreed only because I wanted to know

where would these kids be hosted,

what did they come for then it became

clear that this was not the reason

they did not want to welcome them

So I said my signature was extorted

and was not in agreement any more

Luana, a resident in Poggio alla Croce

They told us

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

we are scared..

I have an 18months old little girl

who won’t be able to walk outside anymore

They asked us to sign against

but I refused

and became the black sheep...

They are simply black

and this is not easy to accept

Integration is not easy, not easy.

Also on their side

There was a bad feeling around,

an awful atmosphere

My legs trembled, really.

I recognized kids that I knew

when they were little children.

And now as grown ups they were scared

and said they did not want the migrants

because their life would change,

it would not be possible

anymore to go quietly around in Poggio.

No more walkabouts but they shouted

all this in a really aggressive way..

and I started to tremble and was unable

to tell what I meant,

that I felt very sorry to see children

who had grown up together and were

used to share… and I remember

there were also coloured children

in our classes and all played together

and had now become so

And now I was more scared of them

than of the incoming migrants.

I could sense a rage and violence

that really frightened me

(laundry noise)

When the spaceship with the little

black men had actually landed

we managed to organize

a first circle in a room under

the church that our parson Martin

put at our disposal

for the rest of the story

we organized a first circle

where we played,

by arranging ourselves on the chairs

in a completely random way,

so mixed up, a little bit of them and

a little bit of us.

We sticked a piece of paper on the wall

and each and one of us started to write

Andrea Formiconi, italian, speaks italian

Then casually pointed the felt-pen towards

one or the other and they wrote in turn

Each and one of us wrote his name,

which country he came from,

which language he spoke,,,

This simple game basically opened up

a whole world, a universe

because it turned out that with

fourteen-fifteen of them there were

twelve-thrteen languages spoken

Then we discovered illiterates,

you could tell by the unlikely way they

held the marker...

In fact they did not write the name but

drew it. At the same time

some of them attended school

and to one extreme there was a guy

that had escaped while in his fourth year

of mathematics at university.

This helps understand the enormous

range of stories and different human

situations hiding behind this stereotype

which we call with univocal names:

the migrant..

which prompts the image of the

little black man, always the same, and his

standard story.

Absolutely not!

(gentle music)

(kitchen noises)

Malò

I think that the spark that triggered

all this craving for school

was a Malian boy, Ali,

who had spotted me because

we had spoken a little French

and one day I saw him arrive at my house

I don't live in the village,

there is about a mile of dirt road.

he arrived alone, with paper 
and pencil, telling me:

«Io voglio imparare l'italiano».

We are three guys who embarked on this

'little school' adventure 
in Poggio alla Croce

without really knowing what to expect.

We felt the urge to do something

to help these guys,

and we thought that teaching them

italian language was the thing to do

also to improve their trust in themselves.

As we are scared of them blacks,

they are scared of us whites

This has to be understood.

They are afraid, they are afraid of us.

The funny thing is that a lot of people

were involved who had nothing .

to do with teaching.

People like Marcie who is canadian

with very little italian but

she taught italian.. and Willy
(a Peruvian resident)

who is still with us who reads

and does dictation

and anything else with them.

I teach in primary schools

on Tuesday when finished

With my class, often very tired like last

year when I taught in first

I sit in the car and say to myself

“why do you do it ? I'm crazy...

you should go home to rest or make dinner”

then I close my eyes and think

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

the missing energies” and there I go

and afterwards I am happy because you get

there and see those smiles with white

teeth, peculiar of black people

those happy eyes...

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

waiting for you who thank you for

being there, thanking you for being there,

looking forward for you

to teach them something.

(Car noise...)

Laura, Andreas' student

I arrived here a bit by chance,

I got to know this experience

thanks to Andreas, his stories

in university classrooms and I decided to

to come and have a look.

The question I get asked most often

is why I'm doing this, especially because

what strikes me about me is the fact

that I come from almost 90 kilometres

almost two hours by car anyway

just to get here.

It's not easy to explain,

because the reason

lies in so many little things:

gestures, looks, emotions,

the feelings you have when

you get in touch with these people

which in the end are lives

are experiences, are worlds

with which you come into contact

and of which you often know nothing.

(Traffic noise...)

(Country noises, chirping...)

(Squeaking bicycle...)

(Background music...)

Madou, student of the school

I go to school in Figline Valdarno

every day, On Mondays and Tuesdays

I go by car but the other days

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

but it is difficult to return

because it takes an hour and thirty

minutes, it's difficult, It's tiring.

When I was in Africa I didn't go to

school and fortunately I found myself in

Europe and met the people who

are helping me

and enrolled me in school.

My goal is to learn the Italian language

I would like to stay in Italy,

I would like to work to help

my family in Africa. Therefore

I have to concentrate on studying,

it's my goal.

My name is Madou Koulibaly, I come

from Guinea and I'm 20 years old.

I arrived in Italy a year and

two months ago, it was a very

difficult trip, I can't forget it,

It was very dangerous.

I sacrificed my life

to seek my fortune in Europe

and thank God I entered Italy

on 13 June 2018

and I was transferred

to Poggio alla Croce.

I met some very good people who

treated me like one of their own,

they are like my parents here,

not only me but all the Africans

who live in Poggio alla Croce.

I would like to continue studying,

if there is a possibility,

I'd like to study and learn

a job, for example a welder.

(Noise spring water, chirping...)

Italy saved me in the sea,

in Italy I went to school

and I would like to continue studying,

I don't know what will happen afterwards.

Poggio alla Croce is my village.

The path is chaotic,

one cannot expect to follow

a preordained thread:

it would kill this kind of school.

So you have to follow the wind.

An example would be when

Samba had written the curriculum

on the computer,

then of course you try to help:

"Samba, what does this mean?

What's this...?"

Then we read:

"driving experience", so I ask:

"Samba, what did you drive?"

He light up immediately and says

"Cow!"

and a whole other discussion

started from there

about how things change over time,

how they change in Africa,

how they change here.

This is an example of digression.

It's a people-centred school,

essentially.

(Soft music, dialogue in the background..)

We all have attics full of old computers

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

It's a problem because we have to take them

to the eco-center and so we've been

spreading this information:

"Do you have an old computer?

You don't know what to do with it,

is that a problem for you?

Instead of giving it to the

recycling centre, give it to us,

we install a version the Linux

operating system, a lightweight version

that fits into old computers

and easily "resurrects" them.

The Ubuntu operating system

is so called because it is a concept

from southern Africa and

Nelson Mandela in a beautiful

video that we used

for a work with the students,

describes it with a little story:

"Once upon a time, when a wayfarer

arrived in a village and he was

tired, thirsty and hungry, no one would

ever ask him any question,

they simply brought him something to drink

and food. This is Ubuntu, that is

thinking about the other in the knowledge

that this creates a community

that lives well if we all do that."

Ubuntu is a great African philosophy,

a great African thought...

it's about getting to the help

it starts with the fact that we're all

brothers, if I help one person

that person can help

another person close to me,

therefore a general connection

of society in that we all consider

ourselves brothers and sisters.

What happened in Poggio alla Croce

is Ubuntu, it's definitely

authentic Ubuntu.

(Chorus of African children...)

I think that following a principle

where helping someone will help me

in turn is good for both, better than

fighting with each other,

even though in fight wins may be

happier than the loser.

This principle guides my whole life

since I started reasoning I have always

used the time I had available in social activities.

But not for “goodism”, not because

I am good and consequently must do good,

help others, help beggars, no.

Maybe I am led by selfishness,

I think I earn something this way

and so live a better life, be serene.

You get a lot of rip-offs, but not like

those you get When fighting and losing.

More like opportunities that leave

a bitter taste in our mouth but do not create

big problems. There were racist

symptoms around and that is way

I decided to get involved but basically

it was my way of doing things: I am a migrant

myself in Poggio alla Croce, moving from town

to the country.

I choosed to and almost from start

it was natural to decide joining this association.

It is a way of living, it is normality,

no heroism, I think everybody

can understand this.

When I hear it, the word Ubuntu has an impact

because it means “humanity”.

In jewish religion we have an expression,

“tikkum olam”, that literally means

“fixing the world”.

And I noticed how relationships

developed here; it is really beautiful,

because people one by one are slowly

“fixing the world” and show humanity.

We must concentrate on this positive part

of the world because if we don’t,

if we do nothing, we are doomed to fail.

For me coming here to Poggio is a little thing

but it means a lot in my life.

This idea of Ubuntu, to re-generate computers,

objects tools that were doomed to be

thrown away, is what inspired also

this community to act and slowly

re-generate itself. This is what means

the motto “We need you”

Our local community was re-generated

by your arrival, thanks to your spaceship

with little black men, because it injected

into us a new need to co-hoperate, to leave

our homes and setties, forget about tv,

get out and try to solve together a problem

for the benefit of the whole community.

(words from a malian rap song, music in headphones)

I am Samba and I come from Mali,

I am an artist

But before when I sang with my friends

my family was against me making music,

but I love it.

In 2016 I went first to Algeria then to Libia

Then I arrived here two years ago.

I have a complicated life,

I would like to be an artist

a rapper like many italians (Ghali, Sfera Ebbasta..)

I would like to do what they do

I don’t really know what happened

but we have all changed

I found out they changed in relation to us,

in the begining they would just pass by,

just give us a little smile but when they

realised we really liked them…

I cannot speak for all, but for people like me.

When we see a new one we stop him

with a “ehi”, and if he is tall tell him

to bend down or we can’t reach him, and he

calls us and we say “grandmas and grandpas”

and he replies “grandpa,grandma”,,

We speak italian so we try to make

ourselves understood and when we see

they reaaly don’t understand we gesture

like this..to make them bend down

And so they learn and when they pass

they ask “nonna, need help ?”..

”no, not today, tomorrow”.

Some know some english and so I tell them

“tomorrow” and they understand.

I always said I have No room at home but if

I did I would happily take one in One, two,

depends on how many I could take in

If the house were mine, because in my view

they also need to be understood, to feel

the good not just through a smile. There are

essential things in the life of all, but they

leave their families flee from

very bad systems, suffer hunger.

Maybe we are unable to give them

these things We are just two or three that

are really fond of them straight from our

hearts not from our mouths

And they can feel it, as soon as they see

us they come for a kiss, for some food,

for biscuits, as with a little child that

needs to be taught to speak.

Some we see more often and there is a contact

We spend time but is not wasted time,

it is good time. People who saw us doing

that in the beginning were critical

But now they say “it is true they make

themselves loved, but how did you do it ?”

How ?, well we talk to them!

And soon or later they understand…

Slowly things got more stable.

These kids are very nice

They hurt nobody, they salute everybody,

they pass they call you, we reply,

at least I do, others won’t.

The village is quiet now,

it showed the worst of itself because

misleading informations help produce

bad reactions. Then you learn, you see, you

live and living with them is also nice.

The way I see it, these kids were like jailed

without this group of people that taught

them italian and other things ..

what would they do ? Lock up thirty kids

in a CAS, what for ? For nothing I think,

If they are not made active

what can they do ?

They are all young kids in their twenties….

what can they do ?

If they do something, if it is possible

to make them do something, work, play..

then it is different. They can be useful

but you must train them, let them in,

something impossible to do in two-three months

Then you have to overcome distrust.

Seeing a black man by your side

has some effects. But in the end it means

nothing. If you learn to know him he is

like me after all Even if I don’t know you

we share the same opinion

This is logical I think

The first village I saw after entering Europe

was Poggio alla Croce

I will never forget because they gave

a new life, an unforgettable experience:

the people, the joy, they gave me a respect

for society, from day one when they

took me around to look for a job, to take

the driving licence, to school..

and I thought “look, these people ask

nothing of you, but give you a lot,

a new life..I must give something back”

and thought it would be good to go on

with them, helping them also phisically”

In my life I will never forget

this village and the people

who know me, as well,

My family,even if not in Italy,

they know Poggio alla Croce!

It is a big joy for them too,and in my view

if they ever meet an italian or european

person they will respect them because

they have given a good thing, a new life

to their son.

In future I would like to help with the school,

I don’t speak italian well but I could help

with the Pakistani who don’t speak english

and have not studied. I could be

an interpreter between them and an italian

explaining the rules and other things.

It would help them but also one way

to give someting back to society, to the village.

You are integrated in this society but now

you are teaching other peopleto integrate in society

so that they can do good new things.

I have a lot to learn still, but people

from Poggio gave me a nice life, something

difficult to explain in words, but I will

always try to give something back to this

unforgettable, beautiful village.

This initiative (the school) helped people

who did not know each other to get in touch,

collaborate, become friends..Not only the migrants

have a school for italian and mathematics

but we all from the village have learnt to mix,

live together and it is much better.

Another memory that I have and I think

I will never forget is the second day

that I came back to the school and it was

the birthday of the great Duccio,

our mascot. He was one year old

and at a certain point during the mini

buffet that his mum had prepared for us

the boys opened a bag and pulled out

a little wooden cart, all coloured

and you could see that it was homemade,

the kind that I could find

in my grandmother's attic.

They were pieces of wood assembled with

this rope attached to pull the cart along

with wheels it was really well made.

It was handcrafted by them

and the gift was really appreciated by

Duccio because among the many toys here at

home, fantastic toys that play, sing,

shout, this simple wooden cart made with

pieces of wood and buttons... he liked it

immediately and played with it without

knocking it on the ground as he does

with other toys after thirty seconds of

of holding it in his hands and

throwing it away.

Also because, maybe, since when he was

a baby, as soon as he was born, we tried,

both me and my partner, to integrate

Duccio together with these guys,

without letting him live this experience

as if it was something outstanding

but as if they were our relatives, our

friends, our brothers and he really laughs

when he sees them, he goes towards them

my son is 18 months old...

He has practically become the mascot

of the shelter because every time they see

him they call him: "Duscio, Duscio"

you can see that when there is "Duscio"

they smile and I am really

happy about that.

It's a cliché, but I want my son to become

a citizen of the world, not a citizen of

Poggio alla Croce.

So... everything's fine... and work?

(Dialogues not intelligible...)

Duscio! Hello Duscio...

And bread? Bread? Bru

(Madou explains the recipe for bread,

oil and salt in his own language)

cocò...? bru, cocò... And oil?

tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

So: bru, tulu, cocò!

You are good!

Yeah, good.

(Laundry noises...)

My name is Omar and I come from Senegal,

I have been in Italy for two years.

I've arrived in Poggio alla Croce

and I'm happy, I've met many people.

they teach a bit of Italian and I became

friends with these people I go to school,

I did the grape harvest and

the olive picking.

They helped me to find a good job,

I found a mother and a father,

I only miss my brothers but my mother

and my father are close to me,

they are Paola and Gabriele.

They are very good,

all of them in Poggio alla Croce

are very good.

(Pruning noise...)

When a foreigner comes here and leaves

his homeland, he still has this nostalgia,

he believes that where he goes

he will perhaps find a welcome, a smile.

When he comes and finds rejection it is

a moment of great difficulty, a sadness.

We are all foreigners to someone else,

I too am a foreigner and I arrived here

in 2000 and now 19 years have passed

and I am here as a priest

in Poggio alla Croce.

They give the idea that they have somehow

taken the destiny of their lives back

into their own hands.

The transformation of course,

and this is perhaps one of the

significant aspects,

is not just about them:

it is always wrong to focus on 'them'.

Things work when the context allows

itself to be changed and in this sense

this is a positive reaction

of the population.

Old ladies who were perhaps terrified

in those famous, awful meetings

at the beginning can now call them,

when the woodcutter unloads a ton of wood

in front of their house and for them

there is the problem of taking it to the

garden, bringing it inside...

and so, as they say, they call a couple

of these "big guys" and say

"will you bring it inside?"

and clearly these guys do the job

in ten minutes and they maybe pay them

a cappuccino or give them some money.

In this way a normal life has been

recovered, it is healthy normality that

makes up the real civilisation

of a population.

And by the way, and this moves me,

the people who are now with me and

who have involved me in this adventure,

two in particular, two women who started

this adventure, are the same people

who welcomed me twenty-six years ago

when I arrived here in San Polo.

And this is important for me, because

it was a beautiful experience that I had

and that I want to give

to others, to them.

What is the name of this dish? Mafe

How do you make it?

Just meat, vegetables...?

How do you manage this dish?

Meat, some vegetables... tomato...

Peanut... Peanut butter Good...

.opala...show him, show him...

Ah! Is this opala? Yes, this is opala.

How do you do it, do you have

to clean, cut?

Yes, clean, cut... Good! Bravo!

I'll let you guys work

while I watch and help you.

What is this white thing?

In Poular: "Bantara"

and how do you cook it?

Does it take a long time?

In Senegal yes, I don't know in Europe...

because if it is fresh it cooks

very quickly if it is old

it takes longer...

(Music, kitchen noises...)

This sort of migrants' Barbiana

at Villa Viviana in

Poggio alla Croce closes.

Today there is a great silence

since these young people who

had brought life back to the

depopulated village two years ago

were forced to leave.

(Music...)

They left in a hurry without warning,

some things are still there.

The Cristoforo cooperative,

which ran the centre, is leaving because

its budget, reduced from 35 to 21 euros

per migrant, has already had to close

5 out of 17 centres and this

is only the beginning:

the situation is no longer

financially sustainable.

Some thirty migrants arrived in

Poggio alla Croce, in the municipality

of Figline and Incisa, two years ago

amidst the mistrust and protests of

the few inhabitants of the village.

The result was a unique experience

of integration until now, when they were

suddenly and forcibly moved to another

centre in Sesto Fiorentino.

Today was the last day of study at

Poggio alla Croce, it was a school

where foreigners learn a lot of things,

it was the school where we learned

everything we needed to in Italian, in

English and above all Italian culture.

At this time it is very difficult to be

away from the inhabitants of

Poggio alla Croce or to be away from our

teachers. We are very sorry but we have

not chosen, we tell you that we do not

have many words to say because living

with you has been very beautiful.

You must be proud of yourselves for all

that you have done and are still doing:

you have created an incredible and

unforgettable history in your little

village, a village where humanity

is respected a lot.

For some people, living with African

boys is a bore or a sin.

But with you it was not like that,

always with smiles, nice words

without swearing or distinction of skin.

We were lucky to live a moment of this

journey with you, after the study

in Poggio we understood that each of us

must be the master of our own destiny.

Thank you for teaching us a good attitude

how to behave in Europe, thank you for

making us understand that we should not be

like people who are delinquents or

beggars. I will never forget you,

warm regards....

In my opinion, this story of the Poggio,

of the little school, is really a love

story because we volunteers love each

other, because we are together

in a special way, and we with the guys,

and they love us, real friendships have

been born, it's a love story.

It is these small gestures, these tales

of everyday life that make our experience

so special. It is what makes you say:

"I care about you" It is the most

precious gift we can take home.