My crazy Italian life continues… The Reluctant Teacher Willie, originally from Peru, sits on my left. He has been in Italy for ten years and wants to learn English. Samba, a refugee from Mali, sits on my right. He speaks a kind of French dialect and he’s here to learn Italian. I volunteer twice a […]
Last night, on what turned out to be American Thanksgiving, the African refugees cooked dinner in the Poggio Alla Croce community centre kitchen. Italians know very little of African food but after long discussions with the students, a shopping list was created. Two kilos of beef, okra, onions, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, peanut butter and rice […]
On Saturday, July 1, the population of Poggio Alla Croce increased by 17 percent. Thirty African and Asian young male refugees arrived, and are now living in a refurbished hotel near the town square. The villagers were not consulted on this surge in their population and they are openly divided about the new residents. […]