Emmanuel comes from Ghana and has lived in Palermo since 1992. In the 27 years he has worked in various professions. Emmanuel could no longer pursue his profession as an industrial mechanic in Palermo and took a job as a night watchman in a flower shop. In the film “Night Shift” he deals with the distance between him and his family living in Ghana: He was not able to visit his parents before their death and he has also not seen his son and wife for a long time. He plans to return to Ghana soon, in order to establish a poultry farm there.
Emmanuel’s summary of his time in Italy is: “The situation is difficult. There are many beautiful and good things here, but I have not become rich. Many things I imagined or hoped for differently and many things I had to give up for this. But I have learned a lot in this time and I would like to pass on this knowledge and with the many experiences I have made I would like to start a business in Ghana, preferably a poultry farm.” He wants to return to Ghana because his son lives there, along with two grandchildren whom he only knows from photos.
The We Refugee Archive film team met Emmanuel on the streets of Palermo while they were filming the Biographical Workshop led by Giocherenda. He approached the film team himself and agreed to be part of the project.
In the interviews, the film crew consciously abstained from screenplays and standardized questions. Instead, the persons portrayed in the films directed the course of the interview and discussed only those topics they were willing to speak about. With We Refugee Archive’s mission in mind, the participants’ personal experiences in Palermo and their visions for the near future was the rough focal point.
Director: Francesca Bertin
Camera: Max Sänger
Producer: Francesca Bertin
Mustapha F. came to Sicily from Gambia. He had to spend several months in different reception camps until he came to Palermo. Since then he has been going to school, learning Italian and, like many others, working part-time (often several jobs and usually without an employment contract).
Fatima D. goes to school and receives training as a musician at the conservatory. Her future dream is to become a singer and musician. Her wish came about through a spontaneous encounter with a drum teacher who saw her playing the djembé.
Conversation with Giovanni from Ethiopia.
Kadija J. on her reasons for coming to Europe.
Diawara B. tells of the futility of his integration efforts in the hostile Italian immigration system – especially in view of the “security decree”.
International human mobility. From the migration as suffering to mobility as an inalienable human right
Diawara B. talks about the so-called “Security Decree” passed by the Italian government.
This is one of the crucial excerpts from Hannah Arendt’s essay “We Refugees” that she published in 1943 shortly after arriving in New York.
Hamdi shares a recipe from her home country Somalia and retells her story of flight and arrival.
Maaza Mengiste’s short story describes traumatic experiences of flight with many mythological allusions.