SU_T_21

[i] Good morning.
[r] Good morning.
[i] Would you like to introduce yourself, please?
[r] Yes. My name is [name]. I was born on 18 February 1992 in Ivory Coast, specifically in Ire, which is a small town in Ivory Coast. I’m not married, I have a daughter that I miss very much.
[i] Do you have family in the Ivory Coast?
[r] Yes. In the Ivory Coast I have my mother, my father and I have six little brothers.
[i] Are they older than you or…?
[r] No, they’re younger. I’m the first child in the family.
[i] When you were in the Ivory Coast did you go to school?
[r] Yes. I studied for 8 years. I did the first cycle, as they say in French, from maternity to boarding school.
[i] You did it for 8 years?
[r] I did it for 8 years.
[i] So what did you do after school?
[r] Then I did two years as a mechanic and after that I did a car apprenticeship, so I got my licence and then I became a driver in 2013. When I was 21.
[i] Did you do other things during this period?
[r] No, because first I was a mechanic and then I was a car apprentice and after that I became a driver.
[i] And you were a driver for how long?
[r] I was a driver from 2013 until 2016 when I left my country.
[i] Did you do this driving for someone or did you do it for yourself as a job?
[r] No, I did it for someone because I was a lorry driver, I transported goods, like moving goods from a big shop to a supermarket.
[i] Was it for a company?
[r] Yes, because my boss had a big company and he also had some supermarkets.
[i] So you did this for 3 years?
[r] I did this from 2013 to 2016, so we can say 3 years.
[i] After that, did you leave your country?
[r] Yes, then I had some problems and I had to leave my country.
[i] So, what year did you arrive here in Italy?
[r] I arrived here in Italy on 19 November 2016, in Mezzina. We disembarked in Mezzina, in the south of Italy, in the region of Sicily.
[i] Then you arrived in Turin?
[r] Yes, afterwards they chose 50 of us and sent us to the Red Cross in Turin.
[i] After the Red Cross?
[r] After the Red Cross we were welcomed by a cooperative named after Frassati and with the cooperative we began to study, to integrate, to understand European life.
[i] Did you continue along this path for a long time?
[r] I did this for a year, a year and a half because as soon as we arrived we started studying, then after a few months they sent us to do the third year of secondary school which went well. Then after the third year of secondary school I started an apprenticeship as a tyre fitter, then after three months I did another nine months of apprenticeship. After that they hired me on a three-year contract. Now I’m really happy doing this job because I’d never done it before, I learnt everything here. I also met some really great people, my colleagues are really nice too, they don’t make me see that there’s a difference in skin colour or not, we’re all there, they tell me we’re all the same, we do everything together.
[i] So did you do anything else apart from school?
[r] No, here in Italy first of all I went to school and then after school I started my apprenticeship.
[i] Where do you live now?
[r] I still live in the same place where I arrived, in Sant’Antonino di Susa.
[i] How long have you been here now?
[r] I’ve been here in Italy for two and a half years now.
[i] Are you still with the cooperative?
[r] Yes, I am still with the cooperative because I haven’t got my papers yet. I’ve applied and I’m waiting for the result, so I have to be with the cooperative. Maybe later on, if I get my papers, I’ll leave the cooperative, but for now I’m still with the Frassati cooperative.
[i] So you feel good here?
[r] Yes yes, in the Frassati cooperative there are really good people, good people who listen to people. I really don’t know how to describe those people there, but they are very good, very good.
[i] Now can you tell me the difference between the [name] that was in the Ivory Coast and the [name] that is here in Italy?
[r] The [name] that I had in the Ivory Coast has really changed because there are so many things over there that I didn’t know. I was living in the wrong way, I didn’t know many things, I was walking around without understanding how life works, there was no one to listen to me, to teach me about life. But here I’ve met people who have helped me understand many things, so I can say that the [name] that was there has changed, really changed.
[i] Did you have other dreams in life?
[r] My dream was to see my parents together, living together, but now, thank God, thanks to the work I’m doing here and the life I lead here, my parents are talking to each other again. I hope they get closer because it’s my biggest dream. Other things, I can say that my biggest dream is also to be able to meet my daughter, I haven’t seen her for a long time. So, that’s my dream.
[i] Then, any other dreams in life, other than seeing the family again?
[r] Any other dreams?
[i] Do you want to continue the work you’re doing or do you have to do something else?
[r] I can say that I would never agree to change jobs because the place where I work has welcomed me in a way that I could never leave. Because when I arrived I knew almost nothing, they taught me everything, they gave me the opportunity to make mistakes, to say what I didn’t like, what didn’t make sense to me. We have a saying that goes: ‘If someone lends you a hand, don’t jump at your luck and run off with the money’. ‘First you have to take the luck and then run after the money’, as we say. The people I work with there are really great, they’ve helped me a lot, they’ve given me everything I never imagined having, so for nothing in the world would I ever leave that place. My dream is to stay there, work, respect everyone, live my life.
[i] You have a daughter, but were you married before? No, I wasn’t married, I had a partner I lived with, then when I had some problems I ran away, she had to get married because she couldn’t stay like that. And I understand that, it’s because she went almost three months without hearing from me, maybe she thought I’d left her, so she had to start her life again. I hope to have a girlfriend so I can live my life, with my daughter too, let’s say with me. Now you’re not married or engaged? Nothing, I’m not married, I’m not engaged, this is how I am. Is there anything else you’d like to tell me that I may have forgotten to ask you? I can’t say that I’ve said everything, because I think this project is very important for us because it helps us to make ourselves known and understood in life. Yesterday I was also in Ulzio where I did an interview, there were many young people from different countries who listened to me and I think they understood what I said. I hope to be able to explain my life, my story to people, to make them understand that we who come here are not all the same, there are people who want to learn, integrate and there are people who make a bad impression. But we want people to understand that we are not all the same. It’s true that we are the same colour, but we are not the same inside. Before judging someone, you have to get to know them to understand what’s wrong and what they’ve been through, so you can walk with them. I said what I could say, what I could add. I spoke like that, if I offended anyone it wasn’t my intention.
[i] Between two lives, one in Africa and one in Europe, specifically in Italy. What is the difference between these two lives that you have noticed?
[r] In my opinion, life in Africa is much harder than in Europe. They’re not similar because in Europe, when you’re born, everything is already there for you. But over there, when you’re born, your parents do what they can for you and then it’s up to you to do the rest, like working, then taking care of the family, then taking care of your parents. Really, life in Africa is much harder than in Europe.
[i] Do you have more freedom here than in Africa? Yes, here you have more freedom to speak, to explain yourself. When I say speak, I don’t mean to tell lies, I mean the possibility to explain yourself, to say what’s wrong. But down there you have no chance to speak, even if you speak no one listens to you. So in my opinion they are two different worlds.
[i] I have nothing more to add, so thank you very much for answering our questions.
[r] Thank you, and thank you to everyone who follows us.