From Nigeria to Italy and beyond
Florence, Italy
Institutions involved
NGOs, Religious Bodies
Initiative Typology
University policies on access to higher education, Intercultural integration (neighborhood associations, religious bodies…) , Work opportunities, Community participation (in migrant community associations), Language or/and culture courses
Problem addressed
Once in Italy, the protagonist of the story ran into a number of difficulties. Not only because she arrived as a slave, and was forced into street prostitution: despite the only support she received from an anti-violence centre, the problems she encountered were due to huge barriers linked to racist stereotypes. This has caused her some difficulties in having a continuous working career, as well as lasting friendly and sentimental relationships.
Resilience strategies addressed by women
The importance attributed to studying as a positive factor, that she inherited from her father, had a considerable weight in making the interviewee achieve results in terms of economic improvement. During the period she lived in her country of origin, Nigeria, another important factor that had allowed her to resist, and not to give up, was hope. Despite numerous difficulties encountered both in Nigeria and Italy, she has achieved good results in terms of education and training: she earned a university degree in Education, and continues studying English as she dreams about moving to Canada one day.
Description of the integration initiative implemented
Once in Italy, the interviewee was welcomed by an anti-violence centre for women. Social and employment integration programmes promoted by the anti-violence centre had played a great weight in her integration process. These programmes included language courses, vocational training, as well as psychological support helping women to get out from traumatic experiences: these strategies are aimed at making women achieve social self-confidence, on the one hand, and economic security, on the other.
Personal story
The protagonist of the story was born in Ilesa, Nigeria. She was raised by her father as her mother left shortly after she was born. Her father, a teacher, got Alzheimer's disease, hence she was constrained to interrupt her studies in order to help financially her family. Her work experiences in her native country were limited to collecting plastic garbage (garbage collector) and reselling it.
Precarious economic situation pushed her to embrace the idea of leaving her country in search for better living conditions. A possibility was offered by a man who had introduced himself as a member of a religious organisation that could have helped her to leave for Italy and find a job there.
The travel arrangements were not simple: on one hand, it was not easy to get documents; on the other, she had to provide for the relevant financial contribution. Finally, in 2005, at the age of 25, she reached Italy.
The interviewee stated that she had not suffered any kind of sexual or else abuse during her long and tiring journey. On her arrival in Italy, she was welcomed by the contact person indicated by the man in Nigeria, who had explained her the real reason of her arrival, i.e. street prostitution. During her 36-hour "training", she was constrained to watch porn movies, and got indications by the "madame" on how she should have behaved on the streets. The turning point was given by the umpteenth abuse suffered by the madame, which led her to denounce her situation. She was accommodated in a community housing women victims of trafficking. Thanks to social and work integration programmes, she embarked on a training programme in a vocational school, promoted in collaboration with the university network and a church organisation. Shortly after, she resumed her studies, finished her secondary education, and graduated in Educational sciences. During her studies, she worked as in-home caregiver, and the experiences was not easy at all due to strong prejudices based on the colour of her skin. She currently works as a cultural mediator at schools, and a caregiver at a senior centre.
Due to her migratory experience, the interviewee has primarily changed as a woman: on the one hand, she feels the need of having a man and a family; at the same time, she experiences a social seclusion that, combined with discrimination, has influenced her choice not to establish strong friendly nor sentimental relationships.
According to the interviewee, her gender identity has not affected her migrant status: in this perspective, she observes a certain equality of treatment reserved in professional and educational environments to both migrant women and men.
Despite having found a certain balance at professional level, the interviewee believes that she could still do a lot: in this sense, she feels rather confident about the possibility to go to Canada where, due to migration policies, it seems to be easier to settle in both bureaucratic and legislative terms.
Analysis of the initiative and individual story
In terms of a success story construction, the migratory experience faced by the interviewee had followed a rather linear pattern. It can be divided into two parts: the first one that regards her travel, the relevant arrangements, her arrival in Italy, and the sexual exploitation she suffered as a migrant woman; the second implies her social and educational involvement that has brought about a certain, though slow and gradual, improvement, reached through the support offered by associations, in particular NGOs dealing with women victims of trafficking in terms of their social and working integration.
Results and Impact
Along with the initiatives that have positively impacted the interviewee’s experience in Italy, the set of resilience factors that has brought her story to see successful outcomes must definitely be considered as well.
