Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
Psychosocial Notebook - IOM Publications - International ...
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Chapter 5 • Giuseppe De Sario, Laura Corradi, Patricia Ruiz, Enrica Capussotti<br />
children. All five interviews took place within the Casa di Accoglienza,<br />
Betagna, a shelter-house managed by the Caritas volunteers and the San<br />
Vito Church. The church’s elderly priest, Don Peppino, is a very open person,<br />
respectful of other religions and cultures, and extremely popular in<br />
Brindisi because of his enthusiastic full-time commitment to helping those<br />
seeking refuge on the Puglia coastline. Much of his time is spent picking<br />
up refugees who have just stepped onto the beaches, from their boats,<br />
placing them in the care of local families, and raising funds for their needs<br />
throughout the community.<br />
The following observations hinge on the interactions of two elements. The<br />
first concerns the narratives of individual and collective suffering before<br />
and after the war, particularly those recounting the death of a person<br />
(family, friend or acquaintance), and the fear of death (of those close to<br />
them, for those who have engaged in a close relationship, and of the whole<br />
Kosovar Albanian community).<br />
The second factor was my specific mindset about death. At the time of<br />
the research, I was myself mourning a personal loss. This affected both my<br />
attitude during the interviews, and the subjects’ responses. I should add<br />
that I felt emotionally involved in their narration of their grief. The<br />
experience/knowledge of these matters that they embodied had found an<br />
empathetic listener.<br />
The Centre: Florence<br />
Florence, at the geographical centre of Italy, is one of the nation’s richest<br />
towns, attracts tourists from all over the world, and is one of the largest<br />
shopping destinations for those searching for “authentic” Western culture.<br />
The town has become a refuge for the Romany from Kosovo, some of<br />
whom were interviewed by Enrica Capussotti. She evokes the experience<br />
thus:<br />
The seven Roma I interviewed in Florence had arrived there because<br />
members of their families were already living in the city. This follows the<br />
traditional migration strategy, where the presence of already established<br />
networks serves as a primary reason for choosing a destination.<br />
Florence, also, has its “peripheries”. Today, one of the most prominent of<br />
these is the area where immigrants from the East and South of the world<br />
have come to live. By “peripheries” I refer not only to the area geographically<br />
located outside the city’s centre, but also to the places in the city<br />
itself that are perceived as “marginal” in the local sense: the railway-<br />
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