BOLZANO. It was a life-changing journey Andrea TremoladaToday responsible for the social area of the Red Crosssymbol of welcome in Bolzano. It was the first summer of this century, he was 20 years old. «I finish high school and enroll in university: biological sciences in Florence. My dream since I was little, I couldn’t wait. However, it happens that my mother suddenly leaves us. The friends of the scout association then suggest me the last destination before going to study: Kosovo. Let’s go to Malisheva, a central village in the Balkan region. There we welcome back the children and their families who had moved away due to the conflict. I live with them for days, weeks, months. I meet people, I listen to stories, I see episodes that make me change my perspective. I realize that I don’t want to leave anymore.” Upon returning to Italy Tremolada abandons his studies, and therefore his aspiration to become a biologist, to immerse himself in the world of the most unfortunate. He began as a night operator in the newly created “Volunteer” to manage the first cold emergency center in Bolzano, set up in a wing of the indoor stadium in via Resia. At 25, the experience of being a street worker, with a camper, in the gardens of the Bolzano station (“a hot soup to make yourself known and then to be yourself, without limits or masks because those who live on the street realize it if you’re fake”).
2011 is marked by the Arab Spring. Italy is terrified by the large flow of migrants looking for a new life: «197 people arrive in Alto Adige in one year – Tremolada recalls – but it wasn’t like today. Some oppose with words, others act. On May 2, 2012, three incendiary Molotov cocktails were thrown against our “Fischerhaus” structure in Vandoies. I didn’t know how to explain to the guests that everything I said about having arrived in a safe place was still true.” 2014 is characterized by a more important flow. The “Mare nostrum” operation leads to the safety of thousands of people and our territory also does its part, or at least tries to. «On February 21st we go with a SAD bus, escorted by the police, to Verona airport to welcome the first 40 Eritreans who were supposed to stay in the province. At the “ex Gorio” Refugee Center everything is ready, we are ready, we have cleaned the rooms, prepared the beds. We return to Bolzano just before midnight, the people welcomed are tired and go to sleep. At 6 the next morning there was no one left, driven by the desire to reach their destination they had left the center. Another important lesson: we must not think that our help necessarily responds to people’s migratory dream which we welcome. They just wanted to continue their journey north.”
Tremolada, how many people have you seen arriving in Bolzano without a euro?
Tens of thousands. Some remained, the majority left immediately or upon obtaining the residence permit. Bolzano is not a destination, it is a dot on the world map, unknown to most people and very often those who find themselves here do not do so by free choice. Others are attracted by the fact that South Tyrol offers more possibilities than other regions. I can’t say if it’s true: I see people sleeping in the same dorm for 23 years.
How many make it?
The cold emergency structures make the difference on 5% of the total, broadly speaking. About a third of the guests have applied for international protection and until they are at altitude they cannot sleep anywhere except in the dormitories. The real drama is that of the workers.
Meaning what?
The house is almost never rented to a foreign person, even if they have a regular employment contract. Many are employed in catering, others in printing shops. For example, those who work in the hotel sector are denied the possibility of sleeping in hotels. And then Bolzano has the enormous housing problem: this is also why the cold emergency structures suffocate.
How is the situation?
To date there is no longer anyone on the waiting list. Who lives outside because he chooses to do so.
As of a few weeks ago, there were 140 people on the waiting list.
At the end of November, an area of Civil Protection responsibility was opened, behind the former Alimarket. Initially, anyone who had been on the list for at least four weeks had to enter. Governor Arno Kompatscher objected and let everyone in. There were 240 of them inside. It was a nice gesture. Then in mid-December they were transferred to the former Inpdap in via Pacinotti, a structure that we fixed up like never before.
How?
Those who enter know that they will not become a notary the next day, but they are aware that they can take their life back into their own hands. To put them in this psychological condition we added small details compared to traditional structures: plants and paintings to make people feel at home. We spoke with those who designed the structure. The bathrooms are made in a certain way, at the entrance there is a little corner where we want to put some chairs and a table. Entering such an environment activates positive thoughts. Otherwise it would remain a sterile service.
And who sleeps rough? Does he do it because he couldn’t carry out his illicit “activities” inside the dormitories?
Yes, many choose the path of crime: they know that inside the centers there are very specific rules. Others refuse because they have a fairly safe place on the street and leaving it means running the risk of losing it. That said, everyone must be given the opportunity to stay warm.
Has Bolzano changed compared to the past?
It remains a schizophrenic city. Because when there is an emergency it acts, and even well. However, in the past we often waited for a tragedy to happen before intervening: one above all that of 19-year-old Mostafa, who died of cold two years ago in an industrial area. There should be more dialogue between politics and the technical part, therefore the volunteers and managers who work there.
There have been complaints from several residents of Oltrisarco about the structure in via Pacinotti.
Many are not pleased to see 250 homeless people near their homes. An annoyance dictated by fear, and in a certain sense I can even understand them. It is also our mistake because sometimes we need to raise awareness and make people understand the contours behind it: we intend to propose meetings and conferences with citizens to explain who is in these dormitories. Their stories.
(foto DLife)