Country of origin: mali
Year of settlement: 2016
Age on arrival: 18
City: turin
Gender: male
Language of the interview: Italian
[i] Good morning.
[r] Good morning.
[i] Will you please introduce yourself?
[r] Of course, my name is [name] , I’m 21 years old, I’m Malian.
[i] Well you told me you were from Mali, do you have anything to tell me how you lived in Mali? Did you have a family? How did you spend your life there? Could you please tell me about it?
When I was 8 years old I started going to school so I went to primary school for 6 years then after that I went to middle school for 3 years.
[r] During this journey in my free time I went to play with my friends I also went to help my mom.
[i] Well, why did you only do 3 years of middle school then stop going to school?
[r] Yes, because my father was too old, so I decided to quit school to help my father.
[i] Soon after you left school, what did you do?
[r] When I left school I went to work, I worked in the country as a farmer and I went to look for other jobs to help my mother but she also worked in a restaurant so over the weekend I went to help her.
[i] Did you then stay there in Mali for a long time before you left Mali?
[r] I didn’t really understand the question
[i] How long were you in Mali right away before you left for Europe?
[r] Yes, I left school in 2014, I stayed there to work, then in 2015 I left Mali.
[i] When did you arrive in Italy?
[r] I arrived in Italy in November 2016
[i] You came to Sicily, didn’t you?
[r] Yes, I arrived in Catania, Sicily. Then from there they took me to Turin by Red Cross, from the Red Cross the Frassati Cooperative welcomed me here in Sant’Antonino now I live here
[i] So you didn’t live in Catania for a long time?
[r] No, in Catania I was just something like 4 hours the time to make the identification
[i] You got to Settimo Torinese first, didn’t you?
[r] Yes, I was in Settimo Torinese for a month.
[i] So then from there the Frassati Cooperative came to get you?
[[r] Yes, of course, then from there they brought me here to Sant’Antonino di Susa
[i] So, you’ve only been here for two years, but how did you speak Italian like that?
[r] Thank God. I go to school, I also had friends to play with so they explain things to me things tell me things the names of things in Italian, so I memorize them
[r] I also did a training, then I worked with Italians, they also tell me the names of things, then I remember
[i] Yeah, but I think you went to school to learn Italian, right?
[r] Yes, I did the CPIA to learn the language, then I got the Media License, all at the CPIA.
[i] So now you’re eighth grade, too?
[r] No, I’m not married and I don’t have children.
[i] Now here in Italy are you married have children?
[r] No, I’m not married yet, I’m still single.
[i] Did you do anything else besides school?
[r] At school I’d like to do math to increase my experience, but I haven’t studied well yet.
[i] Have you made any other formations besides the CPIA? Have you worked?
[r] Yes, I did another training, a course as a multi-purpose collaborator in the accommodation facilities in Giaveno,
[[r] They gave me the diploma of this course so now I’m able to do this very well
[i] So now you’re either continuing this course or you’re working or doing an internship?
[r] Yes I am doing an internship, but I would also like to do some training I would like to learn other new things.
[i] What would you like to learn again? Do you want to continue doing what you are doing now?
[r] Yes, I would like to be a famous cook, so I would still like to learn. for me I haven’t started yet so I have to learn more.
[i] Do you have other things to tell me? How did you live here in Sant’Antonino? How are the people?
[r] Yes, I had some difficulties, when I arrived I didn’t understand the language but now I don’t have this difficulty anymore so I feel good, then I have many friends now, we go to school together, we play together, so I can say that I feel good here.
So continue your life here in Italy or do you want to go somewhere else?
[r] Yes, I would like to stay here in Italy because now I can say that I speak both Italian and French well, of course I studied in French but now I speak Italian better I find that French is more difficult than Italian
[i] Do you have any other things to tell me that maybe I forgot to ask you?
[r] Maybe you have.
[i] So tell me…
[i] Do you miss them?
[r] Yes, I miss them so much, that’s obvious
[i] Now do you think this interview’s gonna be enough to figure out who [name] is?
[r] Yes!
[i] Thank you for agreeing to answer our questions.
[r] Thanks to you.