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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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all this craving for school

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was a Malian boy, Ali,

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who had spotted me because

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we had spoken a little French

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and one day I saw him arrive at my house

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I don't live in the village,

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there is about a mile of dirt road.

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

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«Io voglio imparare l'italiano».

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We are three guys who embarked on this

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'little school' adventure 
in 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 guys,

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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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This has to be understood.

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They are afraid, 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
(a Peruvian resident)

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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 ? I'm crazy...

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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

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teeth, peculiar 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 who thank you for

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being there, thanking you for being there,

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looking forward for you

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to teach them something.

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(Car noise...)

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Laura, Andreas' student

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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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Madou, student of the school

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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

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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 thirty

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minutes, it's difficult, 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,

279
00:19:03,413 --> 00:19:07,413
I'd like to study and learn

280
00:19:07,413 --> 00:19:10,878
a job, for example a welder.

281
00:19:10,878 --> 00:19:14,878
(Noise spring water, chirping...)

282
00:19:44,445 --> 00:19:46,861
Italy saved me in the sea,

283
00:19:46,861 --> 00:19:49,258
in Italy I went to school

284
00:19:49,258 --> 00:19:51,674
and I would like to continue studying,

285
00:19:51,674 --> 00:19:54,594
I don't know what will happen afterwards.

286
00:19:54,594 --> 00:19:57,700
Poggio alla Croce is my village.

287
00:20:01,090 --> 00:20:02,675
The path is chaotic,

288
00:20:02,675 --> 00:20:04,673
one cannot expect to follow

289
00:20:04,673 --> 00:20:06,540
a preordained thread:

290
00:20:06,540 --> 00:20:08,958
it would kill this kind of school.

291
00:20:08,958 --> 00:20:15,289
So you have to follow the wind.

292
00:20:15,289 --> 00:20:17,847
An example would be when

293
00:20:17,847 --> 00:20:20,403
Samba had written the curriculum

294
00:20:20,403 --> 00:20:21,744
on the computer,

295
00:20:21,744 --> 00:20:24,511
then of course you try to help:

296
00:20:24,511 --> 00:20:26,010
"Samba, what does this mean?

297
00:20:26,010 --> 00:20:27,054
What's this...?"

298
00:20:27,054 --> 00:20:28,404
Then we read:

299
00:20:28,404 --> 00:20:32,404
"driving experience", so I ask:

300
00:20:32,404 --> 00:20:34,429
"Samba, what did you drive?"

301
00:20:34,429 --> 00:20:36,839
He light up immediately and says

302
00:20:36,839 --> 00:20:39,663
"Cow!"

303
00:20:39,663 --> 00:20:41,204
and a whole other discussion

304
00:20:41,204 --> 00:20:42,206
started from there

305
00:20:42,206 --> 00:20:43,892
about how things change over time,

306
00:20:43,892 --> 00:20:45,162
how they change in Africa,

307
00:20:45,162 --> 00:20:46,224
how they change here.

308
00:20:46,224 --> 00:20:48,234
This is an example of digression.

309
00:20:48,234 --> 00:20:51,800
It's a people-centred school, essentially

310
00:20:51,800 --> 00:20:55,800
(Soft music, dialogue in the background..)

311
00:21:55,321 --> 00:21:57,571
We all have attics full of old computers

312
00:21:57,571 --> 00:21:59,521
and we don't know what to do with them.

313
00:21:59,521 --> 00:22:01,380
It's a problem because we have to take

314
00:22:01,380 --> 00:22:05,790
them to the eco-center and so we've been

315
00:22:05,792 --> 00:22:08,178
spreading this information:

316
00:22:08,178 --> 00:22:09,589
"Do you have an old computer?

317
00:22:09,589 --> 00:22:12,469
You don't know what to do with it,
is that a problem for you?

318
00:22:12,469 --> 00:22:15,379
Instead of giving it to the
recycling centre, give it to us,

319
00:22:15,379 --> 00:22:20,302
we install a free software operating
system, i.e. Linux

320
00:22:20,302 --> 00:22:24,018
a lightweight version of Ubuntu

321
00:22:24,018 --> 00:22:27,409
that fits into old computers

322
00:22:27,409 --> 00:22:29,487
and easily "resurrects" them.

323
00:22:29,487 --> 00:22:32,254
The Ubuntu operating system

324
00:22:32,254 --> 00:22:35,665
is so called because it is a concept

325
00:22:35,665 --> 00:22:37,983
from southern Africa and

326
00:22:37,983 --> 00:22:40,952
Nelson Mandela in a beautiful

327
00:22:40,952 --> 00:22:43,304
video that we used
for a work with the students,

328
00:22:43,304 --> 00:22:46,539
describes it with a little story:

329
00:22:46,539 --> 00:22:48,809
"Once upon a time, when a traveller

330
00:22:48,809 --> 00:22:51,228
arrived in a village and he was

331
00:22:51,228 --> 00:22:53,383
tired, thirsty and hungry, no one would

332
00:22:53,383 --> 00:22:55,508
ever ask him any question,

333
00:22:55,508 --> 00:22:58,089
they simply brought him something to drink

334
00:22:58,089 --> 00:23:00,036
and food. This is Ubuntu, that is

335
00:23:00,036 --> 00:23:02,787
thinking about the other being aware

336
00:23:02,787 --> 00:23:04,976
that this creates a community

337
00:23:04,976 --> 00:23:07,716
that lives well if we all do that."

338
00:23:07,716 --> 00:23:10,346
Ubuntu is a great African philosophy,

339
00:23:10,346 --> 00:23:14,480
a great African thought...

340
00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,480
that before getting to the help

341
00:23:18,480 --> 00:23:20,812
it starts with the fact that we're all

342
00:23:20,812 --> 00:23:23,704
brothers, if I help one person

343
00:23:23,704 --> 00:23:25,830
that person can help

344
00:23:25,830 --> 00:23:27,748
another person close to me,

345
00:23:27,748 --> 00:23:29,746
therefore a general connection

346
00:23:29,746 --> 00:23:32,632
of society in that we all consider

347
00:23:32,632 --> 00:23:34,622
ourselves brothers and sisters.

348
00:23:34,622 --> 00:23:36,683
What happened in Poggio alla Croce

349
00:23:36,683 --> 00:23:38,932
is Ubuntu, it's definitely

350
00:23:38,932 --> 00:23:40,732
authentic Ubuntu.

351
00:23:40,732 --> 00:23:43,952
(Chorus of African children...)

352
00:23:43,952 --> 00:23:48,336
I think that following a principle

353
00:23:48,336 --> 00:23:53,387
where helping someone will help me

354
00:23:53,387 --> 00:23:55,668
in turn is good for both, better than

355
00:23:55,668 --> 00:23:58,043
fighting with each other,

356
00:23:58,043 --> 00:24:00,530
even though in fight wins may be

357
00:24:00,530 --> 00:24:04,120
happier than the loser.

358
00:24:04,120 --> 00:24:06,575
This principle guides my whole life

359
00:24:06,575 --> 00:24:12,005
since I started reasoning I have always

360
00:24:12,005 --> 00:24:19,995
used the time I had available 
in social activities.

361
00:24:19,995 --> 00:24:24,069
But not for “goodism”, not because

362
00:24:24,069 --> 00:24:27,713
I am good and consequently must do good,

363
00:24:27,713 --> 00:24:31,544
help others, help beggars, no.

364
00:24:31,544 --> 00:24:34,758
Maybe I am led by selfishness,

365
00:24:34,758 --> 00:24:38,056
I think I earn something this way

366
00:24:38,056 --> 00:24:42,956
and so live a better life, be serene.

367
00:24:42,956 --> 00:24:47,118
You get a lot of rip-offs, but not like

368
00:24:47,118 --> 00:24:50,318
those you get when fighting and losing.

369
00:24:50,318 --> 00:24:56,172
More like opportunities that leave

370
00:24:56,172 --> 00:25:01,891
a bitter taste in our mouth 
but do not create

371
00:25:01,891 --> 00:25:07,288
big problems. (Opportunities) 
that I know I must seize.

372
00:25:07,288 --> 00:25:13,702
There were problems of an almost racist
nature in Poggio alla Croce, so to speak,

373
00:25:13,702 --> 00:25:17,030
and I stepped in for that too.

374
00:25:17,030 --> 00:25:19,508
It was my way of doing things.

375
00:25:19,508 --> 00:25:22,032
I'm a migrant myself in Poggio alla Croce,

376
00:25:22,032 --> 00:25:23,942
moving from town to the country.

377
00:25:23,942 --> 00:25:26,231
I choosed to and almost from start

378
00:25:26,231 --> 00:25:29,589
And I tried to integrate 
myself into the association.

379
00:25:29,589 --> 00:25:31,669
here in Poggio alla Croce,

380
00:25:31,669 --> 00:25:35,050
because it was natural for me.

381
00:25:35,050 --> 00:25:37,119
It is a way of living,

382
00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:42,939
no heroism, it's normal
I think everybody

383
00:25:42,939 --> 00:25:46,539
can understand this.

384
00:25:46,539 --> 00:25:48,079
Marcie, canadian teacher

385
00:25:48,079 --> 00:25:51,429
When I hear the word Ubuntu
it strikes according with me

386
00:25:51,429 --> 00:25:54,112
because it means “humanity”.

387
00:25:54,112 --> 00:25:57,370
And in hebrew religion we have a word

388
00:25:57,370 --> 00:25:59,400
which I just learned

389
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:03,400
“tikkum olam”, which means

390
00:26:03,400 --> 00:26:05,410
healing the world.

391
00:26:05,410 --> 00:26:07,745
So I see how they connect together

392
00:26:07,745 --> 00:26:09,752
and it's really quite beautiful,

393
00:26:09,752 --> 00:26:13,752
because slowly slowly people are
one by one

394
00:26:13,752 --> 00:26:17,780
healing the world and show humanity.

395
00:26:17,780 --> 00:26:20,134
We must concentrate on this positive part

396
00:26:20,134 --> 00:26:22,424
of the world because if we don’t,

397
00:26:22,424 --> 00:26:25,114
if we do nothing, we are doomed.

398
00:26:25,114 --> 00:26:27,800
So for me, coming here is a small small

399
00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,174
thing but it has a lot of 
meaning in my life

400
00:26:31,174 --> 00:26:39,619
This idea of Ubuntu, this idea 
of refurbishing computers,

401
00:26:39,619 --> 00:26:42,578
objects tools that were doomed to be

402
00:26:42,578 --> 00:26:46,344
thrown away, is what inspired also

403
00:26:46,344 --> 00:26:49,769
this community to act and slowly to

404
00:26:49,769 --> 00:26:57,738
re-generate itself. This is what actually
means our motto “We need you”.

405
00:26:57,738 --> 00:27:01,778
That motto, in fact, means just that.

406
00:27:01,778 --> 00:27:05,778
Our local community was re-generated

407
00:27:05,778 --> 00:27:09,210
by your arrival, thanks to your spaceship

408
00:27:09,210 --> 00:27:11,611
with you, little black men, 
because it generated

409
00:27:11,611 --> 00:27:16,608
into us a new need to 
co-hoperate, to leave

410
00:27:16,608 --> 00:27:20,608
our homes and our sofas, 
forget about tv,

411
00:27:20,608 --> 00:27:23,597
get out trying to solve together a problem

412
00:27:23,597 --> 00:27:26,607
for the benefit of the whole community.

413
00:27:31,778 --> 00:27:34,148
Samba, student

414
00:27:34,148 --> 00:27:40,198
(words from a malian rap song, 
music in headphones)

415
00:27:51,570 --> 00:27:54,430
I am Samba and I come from Mali,

416
00:27:54,430 --> 00:27:57,996
I am an artist

417
00:27:57,996 --> 00:28:02,709
but before when I sang with my friends

418
00:28:02,709 --> 00:28:08,162
my family was against me making music,

419
00:28:08,166 --> 00:28:11,305
but I love it so much.

420
00:28:11,305 --> 00:28:15,521
In 2016 I went first to Algeria

421
00:28:15,521 --> 00:28:21,173
then also to Libia

422
00:28:21,173 --> 00:28:24,963
Then I arrived here two years ago.

423
00:28:24,963 --> 00:28:27,698
I have a complicated life,

424
00:28:27,698 --> 00:28:36,149
I would like to be an artist

425
00:28:36,149 --> 00:28:44,457
a rapper like many italians 
(Ghali, Sfera Ebbasta..)

426
00:28:44,457 --> 00:28:48,457
I would like to do what they do

427
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don’t really know what happened

428
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we have all changed

429
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I found out they changed in relation to us,

430
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in the begining they would just pass by,

431
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
just give us a little smile but when they

432
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
realised we really liked them…

433
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I cannot speak for all, but for people like me.

434
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When we see a new one we stop him

435
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with a “ehi”, and if he is tall tell him

436
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to bend down or we can’t reach him, and he

437
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
calls us and we say “grandmas and grandpas”

438
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and he replies “grandpa,grandma”,,

439
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We speak italian so we try to make

440
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
ourselves understood and when we see

441
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they reaaly don’t understand we gesture

442
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like this..to make them bend down

443
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And so they learn and when they pass

444
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they ask “nonna, need help ?”..

445
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
”no, not today, tomorrow”.

446
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Some know some english and so I tell them

447
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
“tomorrow” and they understand.

448
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I always said I have No room at home but if

449
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I did I would happily take one in One, two,

450
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
depends on how many I could take in

451
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If the house were mine, because in my view

452
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they also need to be understood, to feel

453
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the good not just through a smile. There are

454
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
essential things in the life of all, but they

455
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
leave their families flee from

456
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very bad systems, suffer hunger.

457
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Maybe we are unable to give them

458
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
these things We are just two or three that

459
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are really fond of them straight from our

460
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
hearts not from our mouths

461
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And they can feel it, as soon as they see

462
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
us they come for a kiss, for some food,

463
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for biscuits, as with a little child that

464
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
needs to be taught to speak.

465
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Some we see more often and there is a contact

466
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We spend time but is not wasted time,

467
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it is good time. People who saw us doing

468
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that in the beginning were critical

469
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But now they say “it is true they make

470
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
themselves loved, but how did you do it ?”

471
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How ?, well we talk to them!

472
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And soon or later they understand…

473
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Slowly things got more stable.

474
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
These kids are very nice

475
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They hurt nobody, they salute everybody,

476
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they pass they call you, we reply,

477
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at least I do, others won’t.

478
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The village is quiet now,

479
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it showed the worst of itself because

480
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
misleading informations help produce

481
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
bad reactions. Then you learn, you see, you

482
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
live and living with them is also nice.

483
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The way I see it, these kids were like jailed

484
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
without this group of people that taught

485
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
them italian and other things ..

486
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what would they do ? Lock up thirty kids

487
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a CAS, what for ? For nothing I think,

488
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If they are not made active

489
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what can they do ?

490
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They are all young kids in their twenties….

491
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
what can they do ?

492
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
If they do something, if it is possible

493
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to make them do something, work, play..

494
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
then it is different. They can be useful

495
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but you must train them, let them in,

496
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
something impossible to do in two-three months

497
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Then you have to overcome distrust.

498
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Seeing a black man by your side

499
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
has some effects. But in the end it means

500
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nothing. If you learn to know him he is

501
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like me after all Even if I don’t know you

502
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
we share the same opinion

503
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This is logical I think

504
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The first village I saw after entering Europe

505
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
was Poggio alla Croce

506
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will never forget because they gave

507
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a new life, an unforgettable experience:

508
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the people, the joy, they gave me a respect

509
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
for society, from day one when they

510
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
took me around to look for a job, to take

511
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the driving licence, to school..

512
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I thought “look, these people ask

513
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
nothing of you, but give you a lot,

514
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a new life..I must give something back”

515
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and thought it would be good to go on

516
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with them, helping them also phisically”

517
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In my life I will never forget

518
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this village and the people

519
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who know me, as well,

520
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My family,even if not in Italy,

521
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they know Poggio alla Croce!

522
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is a big joy for them too,and in my view

523
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
if they ever meet an italian or european

524
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
person they will respect them because

525
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they have given a good thing, a new life

526
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to their son.

527
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In future I would like to help with the school,

528
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I don’t speak italian well but I could help

529
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with the Pakistani who don’t speak english

530
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and have not studied. I could be

531
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
an interpreter between them and an italian

532
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
explaining the rules and other things.

533
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It would help them but also one way

534
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to give someting back to society, to the village.

535
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You are integrated in this society but now

536
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you are teaching other peopleto integrate in society

537
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so that they can do good new things.

538
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have a lot to learn still, but people

539
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
from Poggio gave me a nice life, something

540
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
difficult to explain in words, but I will

541
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
always try to give something back to this

542
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
unforgettable, beautiful village.

543
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This initiative (the school) helped people

544
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who did not know each other to get in touch,

545
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
collaborate, become friends..Not only the migrants

546
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have a school for italian and mathematics

547
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but we all from the village have learnt to mix,

548
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
live together and it is much better.

549
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Another memory that I have and I think

550
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I will never forget is the second day

551
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that I came back to the school and it was

552
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the birthday of the great Duccio,

553
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
our mascot. He was one year old

554
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and at a certain point during the mini

555
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
buffet that his mum had prepared for us

556
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the boys opened a bag and pulled out

557
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a little wooden cart, all coloured

558
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and you could see that it was homemade,

559
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the kind that I could find

560
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in my grandmother's attic.

561
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They were pieces of wood assembled with

562
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this rope attached to pull the cart along

563
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with wheels it was really well made.

564
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It was handcrafted by them

565
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and the gift was really appreciated by

566
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Duccio because among the many toys here at

567
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
home, fantastic toys that play, sing,

568
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
shout, this simple wooden cart made with

569
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
pieces of wood and buttons... he liked it

570
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
immediately and played with it without

571
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
knocking it on the ground as he does

572
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with other toys after thirty seconds of

573
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of holding it in his hands and

574
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
throwing it away.

575
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Also because, maybe, since when he was

576
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a baby, as soon as he was born, we tried,

577
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
both me and my partner, to integrate

578
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Duccio together with these guys,

579
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
without letting him live this experience

580
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
as if it was something outstanding

581
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
but as if they were our relatives, our

582
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
friends, our brothers and he really laughs

583
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when he sees them, he goes towards them

584
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
my son is 18 months old...

585
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
He has practically become the mascot

586
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the shelter because every time they see

587
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
him they call him: "Duscio, Duscio"

588
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you can see that when there is "Duscio"

589
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they smile and I am really

590
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
happy about that.

591
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It's a cliché, but I want my son to become

592
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a citizen of the world, not a citizen of

593
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poggio alla Croce.

594
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So... everything's fine... and work?

595
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Dialogues not intelligible...)

596
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Duscio! Hello Duscio...

597
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And bread? Bread? Bru

598
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Madou explains the recipe for bread,

599
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
oil and salt in his own language)

600
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
cocò...? bru, cocò... And oil?

601
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

602
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
tulù bru, tulù, cocò...

603
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
So: bru, tulu, cocò!

604
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You are good!

605
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yeah, good.

606
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Laundry noises...)

607
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
My name is Omar and I come from Senegal,

608
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I have been in Italy for two years.

609
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I've arrived in Poggio alla Croce

610
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I'm happy, I've met many people.

611
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they teach a bit of Italian and I became

612
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
friends with these people I go to school,

613
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I did the grape harvest and

614
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the olive picking.

615
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They helped me to find a good job,

616
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I found a mother and a father,

617
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I only miss my brothers but my mother

618
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and my father are close to me,

619
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
they are Paola and Gabriele.

620
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They are very good,

621
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
all of them in Poggio alla Croce

622
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
are very good.

623
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Pruning noise...)

624
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When a foreigner comes here and leaves

625
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
his homeland, he still has this nostalgia,

626
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he believes that where he goes

627
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
he will perhaps find a welcome, a smile.

628
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
When he comes and finds rejection it is

629
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a moment of great difficulty, a sadness.

630
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We are all foreigners to someone else,

631
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I too am a foreigner and I arrived here

632
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in 2000 and now 19 years have passed

633
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and I am here as a priest

634
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in Poggio alla Croce.

635
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They give the idea that they have somehow

636
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
taken the destiny of their lives back

637
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
into their own hands.

638
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The transformation of course,

639
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and this is perhaps one of the

640
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
significant aspects,

641
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is not just about them:

642
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it is always wrong to focus on 'them'.

643
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Things work when the context allows

644
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
itself to be changed and in this sense

645
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this is a positive reaction

646
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the population.

647
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Old ladies who were perhaps terrified

648
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in those famous, awful meetings

649
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at the beginning can now call them,

650
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when the woodcutter unloads a ton of wood

651
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in front of their house and for them

652
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
there is the problem of taking it to the

653
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
garden, bringing it inside...

654
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and so, as they say, they call a couple

655
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of these "big guys" and say

656
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"will you bring it inside?"

657
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and clearly these guys do the job

658
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in ten minutes and they maybe pay them

659
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
a cappuccino or give them some money.

660
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In this way a normal life has been

661
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
recovered, it is healthy normality that

662
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
makes up the real civilisation

663
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of a population.

664
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And by the way, and this moves me,

665
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the people who are now with me and

666
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who have involved me in this adventure,

667
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
two in particular, two women who started

668
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
this adventure, are the same people

669
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
who welcomed me twenty-six years ago

670
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
when I arrived here in San Polo.

671
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
And this is important for me, because

672
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was a beautiful experience that I had

673
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and that I want to give

674
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to others, to them.

675
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What is the name of this dish? Mafe

676
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How do you make it?

677
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Just meat, vegetables...?

678
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How do you manage this dish?

679
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Meat, some vegetables... tomato...

680
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Peanut... Peanut butter Good...

681
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
.opala...show him, show him...

682
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Ah! Is this opala? Yes, this is opala.

683
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
How do you do it, do you have

684
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
to clean, cut?

685
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Yes, clean, cut... Good! Bravo!

686
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
I'll let you guys work

687
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
while I watch and help you.

688
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
What is this white thing?

689
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Poular: "Bantara"

690
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and how do you cook it?

691
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Does it take a long time?

692
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In Senegal yes, I don't know in Europe...

693
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
because if it is fresh it cooks

694
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
very quickly if it is old

695
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it takes longer...

696
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Music, kitchen noises...)

697
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
This sort of migrants' Barbiana

698
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
at Villa Viviana in

699
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poggio alla Croce closes.

700
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Today there is a great silence

701
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
since these young people who

702
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
had brought life back to the

703
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
depopulated village two years ago

704
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
were forced to leave.

705
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
(Music...)

706
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
They left in a hurry without warning,

707
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
some things are still there.

708
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The Cristoforo cooperative,

709
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
which ran the centre, is leaving because

710
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
its budget, reduced from 35 to 21 euros

711
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
per migrant, has already had to close

712
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
5 out of 17 centres and this

713
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is only the beginning:

714
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the situation is no longer

715
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
financially sustainable.

716
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Some thirty migrants arrived in

717
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poggio alla Croce, in the municipality

718
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of Figline and Incisa, two years ago

719
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
amidst the mistrust and protests of

720
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
the few inhabitants of the village.

721
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
The result was a unique experience

722
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of integration until now, when they were

723
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
suddenly and forcibly moved to another

724
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
centre in Sesto Fiorentino.

725
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Today was the last day of study at

726
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poggio alla Croce, it was a school

727
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
where foreigners learn a lot of things,

728
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
it was the school where we learned

729
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
everything we needed to in Italian, in

730
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
English and above all Italian culture.

731
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
At this time it is very difficult to be

732
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
away from the inhabitants of

733
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Poggio alla Croce or to be away from our

734
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
teachers. We are very sorry but we have

735
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
not chosen, we tell you that we do not

736
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
have many words to say because living

737
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
with you has been very beautiful.

738
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
You must be proud of yourselves for all

739
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
that you have done and are still doing:

740
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
you have created an incredible and

741
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
unforgettable history in your little

742
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
village, a village where humanity

743
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
is respected a lot.

744
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
For some people, living with African

745
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
boys is a bore or a sin.

746
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
But with you it was not like that,

747
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
always with smiles, nice words

748
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
without swearing or distinction of skin.

749
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
We were lucky to live a moment of this

750
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
journey with you, after the study

751
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in Poggio we understood that each of us

752
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
must be the master of our own destiny.

753
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
Thank you for teaching us a good attitude

754
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
how to behave in Europe, thank you for

755
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
making us understand that we should not be

756
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
like people who are delinquents or

757
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
beggars. I will never forget you,

758
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
warm regards....

759
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
In my opinion, this story of the Poggio,

760
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of the little school, is really a love

761
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
story because we volunteers love each

762
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
other, because we are together

763
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
in a special way, and we with the guys,

764
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
and they love us, real friendships have

765
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
been born, it's a love story.

766
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
It is these small gestures, these tales

767
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
of everyday life that make our experience

768
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
so special. It is what makes you say:

769
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
"I care about you" It is the most

770
99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999
precious gift we can take home.