Hello everyone! It's Louise.
Today, I'd like to share with you two actions in which I recently participated. They taught me a lot, both on a human level and in terms of the concrete challenges involved in welcoming and supporting migrants in Italy.
Welcoming migrants on their arrival at the port
Two weeks ago, I went with Marco D’Aurizio (President of Caritas Jesina) and other workers of Caritas Ancona to welcome a group of 276 migrants who had arrived on the Ocean's Viking (a boat that rescues migrants at sea) at Ancona’s port. We were there at 8am, under grey skies and a cold wind, ready to hand out breakfast: a bottle of water, an apple, a filled brioche, and tea for those who wanted it.
The reception was very closely supervised by the police, which made the organisation very rigorous, but also a little tense. At first, we let people sit down, take time to eat and warm up. But soon, the police were pressing us to get the migrants onto the buses waiting nearby. So, we had to adapt our welcome: the colazione bags were distributed quickly, and migrants were invited to drink their tea standing up in the tent and throw their cups away as soon as they'd finished.
This situation was frustrating. The language barrier complicated communication: we spoke in English and Arabic, but many of the migrants had little or no understanding of these languages. In addition, it was difficult and felt unsensitive to see their fatigue and confusion, and still having to rush them like that.
Nevertheless, to be there for them, even briefly, and to offer them a little comfort, was a very powerful and human experience.
Accompanying a family on a daily basis
For the past month, I've been spending several times a week with an immigrant family, consisting of a mother and her three boys aged 6, 8 and 11, who are living in the old ESC apartment above Caritas (See Rio's article on our new house), while waiting for a more stable solution. However, several weeks passed, and it became clear that finding suitable accommodation would still take time. Moreover, the children cannot attend school until September.
Given that the children don't speak Italian (they were born and raised in France), and that I'm French myself, I was asked to do small Italian classes and fun activities to help them integrate in the future. Rio (my fellow ESC volunteer) is also involved in this project, and together we decided on a schedule of days when we could see them. We decided that, while I was with the children, Rio could give Italian lessons to the mother. This isn't always easy, as the children are at very different school levels, and that we're not teachers!
To help us, Rio created a “whiteboard” where he wrote down all our observations, as well as ideas for games that could allow us to teach words in a fun and informal way. We were also able to count on the help of Nayra from Vicolocorto, who gave us good advice on how to organise the activities with the children.
Even though I know that what we're teaching them is only a tiny part of what they'll have to learn, it's gratifying to see that they're happy to be there and that they're gradually making progress.
The next activity on the agenda: a treasure hunt! I prepared one during one of my first times with them, and they enjoyed it so much that they ask me to do it again every time!
These experiences have touched me deeply and given me another understanding of the realities of immigrants. Each experience is a lesson in humanity and solidarity that fuels my desire to get involved on a daily basis.
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