In both Rome and Turin, we were able to meet and speak with refugees and immigrants who have made their way to Italy despite numerous obstacles. Many are now struggling with even more challenges as they build their lives in a new country.
From a guesthouse hosting Syrian refugees south of Rome, to the refugees making a home in the abandoned buildings of Turin’s Olympic Village, all of the people we met have a unique story to tell about how they came to Italy, what they want to do here, and where they want to go. These individual desires, hopes, fears, and dreams are what can sometimes be lost in the stories about the “refugee crisis,” and the thousands of people risking their lives as they journey toward safety and a better life.
But it is the personal story which does matter, which is why it is important to understand, as some of the refugees in the Olympic Village in Turin told us, not just the reality of many migrants coming to Italy and the rest of Europe right now, but the original economic and political factors which have propelled them to come here.