Country of origin: chechnya
Year of settlement: 2017
Age on arrival: 36
City: turin
Gender: female
Language of the interview: Italian
[i] Are you a bit tense?
[r] Yes.
[i] Why is that? Don’t I scare you?
[r] No, I’m always scared and I don’t like it.
[i] No, you don’t have to think about it, it’s just one more thing, don’t pay attention to it. Let’s just chat. You’re a beautiful woman, really, congratulations.
[r] Thank you.
[i] Congratulations. Have you lived here long?
[r] A year and a half.
[i] Here in Colloretto?
[r] Yes, in Colloretto.
[i] And where did you live before?
[r] Before coming here I lived in Sweden for 8 months.
[i] Where in Sweden?
[r] In Sweden I was in a small town called Sevro.
[i] And then you moved here to Italy?
[r] Yes.
[i] And before Sweden?
[i] Russia.
[i] Were you born in Russia?
[r] Yes.
[i] Where in Russia?
[r] In Chechnya.
[i] In which city in Chechnya? Where exactly in Chechnya? Where were you born?
[r] In Grozny, the capital of Chechnya.
[i] You were born in Grozny.
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] And is your family originally from Grozny?
[r] Yes.
[i] And were your parents also born in Grozny?
[r] Yes, they were.
[i] And what did your parents do?
[r] My father is no longer with us, he died. My mum is still alive.
[i] And what jobs did they have when you were a child?
[r] Me?
[i] No, I mean your parents.
[r] My mother worked in a shop as a salesperson. My father had several jobs that I don’t remember now.
[i] No problem.
[r] Because he died 20 years ago.
[i] Many years ago.
[r] He was ill.
[i] I see, so you were born in Chechnya in Russia, they speak Russian there too?
[r] Yes.
[i] Can you also write in Russian?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] Did you study Russian?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] What did you study and for how long?
[r] I went to school for 11 years and then university.
[i] Which university did you attend?
[r] It’s a university that doesn’t exist here. The degree is related to oil. My profession is technological.
[i] So technological engineering?
[r] Yes, but I didn’t work in my profession, I had another job.
[i] And what job did you have?
[r] I worked as a clerk in an office, like INPS here in Italy.
[i] Yes, like for contributions and things like that?
[r] Yes.
[i] There, in Chechnya?
[r] Yes, in Chechnya.
[i] Did you work there for a long time?
[r] 7 years, 7 years.
[i] So how many languages do you speak besides Russian and Italian?
[r] My mother tongue is Russian, and I speak a little English.
[i] Ok, and Chechen?
[r] I speak Chechen, it’s my mother tongue.
[i] The Chechen language, then Russian and a little English.
[r] And a little Italian.
[i] And where did you go to university, in Chechnya or in Russia?
[r] In Chechnya.
[i] In Chechnya, did you graduate in Chechnya?
[r] Yes, in Chechnya.
[i] And you were an employee.
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] And what are you doing here now? Here in Coloretta?
[r] I’m doing an Italian course here, because this year I’m doing the third grade.
[i] Do you like it?
[r] Yes, I don’t study much because I don’t have time because I have small children.
[i] Do you have children?
[r] Yes, a boy and a girl, the boy is 3 and a half years old and the girl is 8 months old.
[i] She’s very small, so you have a lot of work to do.
[r] Yes.
[i] Being a mum is an important job. And do you teach them Chechen as a language? How do you talk to the children?
[r] I speak Chechen, Russian and Italian.
[i] So they must be very well-educated children, multi-lingual you might say.
[r] My son is now in the first year of nursery school and speaks Italian very well.
[i] So you get on well with him?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] Where does he go to nursery school? Here at Coloretto?
[r] Yes, here at Colloretto.
[i] Does he have lots of friends?
[r] Yes.
[i] And does he get on well?
[r] Yes, very well.
[i] And do you get on with the other Coloretto mums? Can you talk to them?
[r] Yes, when we see each other at school, I’ve been to 2 birthday parties of my son’s friends.
[i] Did you go?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] And have you ever invited any of his friends to your house?
[r] From school?
[i] Yes, have they been to your house?
[r] No.
[i] Would you like them to?
[r] Yes, yes. A family of our friends from the Ukraine, her daughter is in my son’s class.
[i] Of course.
[r] She came but other mothers didn’t.
[i] Not yet.
[r] Italian ones not yet.
[i] Would you like that?
[r] Yes.
[i] But can you cook?
[r] Yes.
[i] Can you cook Chechen food?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] And what are the typical dishes of Chechen cuisine that you can make at home?
[r] I don’t know the correct name in Italian. There are sweet and savoury dishes such as a meat dish with tortellini pasta.
[i] With pasta?
[r] Yes, with pasta. Another dish but I’ve forgotten what it’s called in Italian. With sauce.
[i] Tomato sauce?
[r] No, not tomato but with garlic.
[i] Alio?
[r] Alio, yes.
[i] Alio onion.
[r] Yes, onion.
[i] What is this dish called in Chechen?
[r] In Chechen?
[i] What is the dish called in Chechen or in Russian?
[r] Translated into Italian?
[i] No in the original language.
[r] Ah in the original language.
[r] ‘Gigi Golnerch’.
[i] Gigi Golnerch. And would you like to invite Italian mothers to taste Gigi Golnerch?
[r] Yes.
[i] And instead of Italian cuisine, where did you learn to cook?
[r] No, I just want to learn a little.
[i] You want to learn?
[r] Yes.
[i] But who else lives here with you? Is it just you and your children?
[r] My husband too.
[i] Your husband is here too?
[r] Yes.
[i] He’s Chechen too.
[r] Yes, yes.
[r] And what does he do here?
[r] He’s in his third year of secondary school and also doing a course in mechanics.
[i] And what did he do in Chechnya?
[r] He wasn’t there for long.
[i] Where is he from?
[r] Moscow, Russia.
[i] He’s originally from Moscow?
[r] Yes, he worked in Moscow because of problems.
[i] And what did he do?
[r] Insurance.
[i] Insurance?
[r] Yes, yes.
[i] Is he now doing a mechanics course?
[r] Yes.
[i] Are you happy here in Colloretto?
[r] Yes.
[i] Would you like to continue living here?
[r] Yes, because it’s a quiet place and I like it.
[i] Is there anything you would like to have here in Colloretta that is missing? A service. Something that is not there and that you would like for yourself or for the children?
[r] I always say that everything is fine for me. There’s no playground for the children.
[i] There’s no playground. So a playground for the children.
[r] Yes.
[i] Is everything OK with the transport and everything else?
[r] Yes.
[i] For the coach and all that.
[r] The coach is a bit difficult because this road is difficult.
[i] And would you like to raise your children here in Colleretto?
[r] Yes.
[i] Good, good. Can you tell me your name again, I can’t remember it?
[r] [name].
[i] Thank you very much [name], it was a pleasure chatting with you.
[r] Thank you.