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| Families from Syria in search of a better life |
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| Young men from Eritrea in search of a better life |
Change is the only constant.
There are some cultural changes we grow to accept: our beer is colder, our tea is weaker and our coffee is stronger. Changes in language are more difficult, - innit? Changes in behaviour are challenging, changes in ethics even more so. But change happens: you have to get over it - and it never gets any easier.
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| Working as casual labour in rural Italy caption |
Every six weeks or so, a young Nigerian strode up the track from the village with a backpack full of cheap goods that he hoped he might sell.
In his bag, he had household items, brushes, brooms and packets of tissues.
He would also ask for casual work, in and around the house. I remember he did some work on the garden hedges and was very happy with the cash we paid him.
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| Many boats fail to make the voyage from Africa to Italy |
In the four years, since I left Italy, tens of thousands more young, African men have crossed over the Mediterranean from Libya and made their way northwards.
I don’t know how Italian society absorbs them. There is the occasional surprising news story of the isolated Italian hill-top which has been haemorrhaging population for decades, and now finds African immigrants repopulating the ghost town. Will this really result in revitalisation? I don’t know.
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| The Moria refugee detention camp on Lesvos |
Syrian and Afghan refugees have been scooped up from Athens, Thessaloniki and Piraeus and garrisoned in poorly equipped tented camps on isolated hillsides in the countryside.
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| Holiday village converted for refugee accommodation |
Some have been much more fortunate and have been accommodated by the anarchist student group that has taken over a failed hotel in central Athens.
Others are garrisoned in deserted holiday villages that had never been successful as holiday projects.
Some communities thrive with volunteers running educational and recreational activities. Others are more like prison camps.
Others are garrisoned in deserted holiday villages that had never been successful as holiday projects.
Some communities thrive with volunteers running educational and recreational activities. Others are more like prison camps.
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| Pirate fashion labels on sale in Rome |
But it’s all piecemeal. There is still no cohesive plan in place. Syrian and Afghan families, from grandparents to children and babes-in-arms flee the total destruction of their communities.
Many are highly qualified professionals from every sector of society.
Across the Adriatic, it's a different story.
The young African men who fled military unrest and rural poverty at home, now wander through Italy as itinerant pedlars or sell tourist tat on street corners in Rome. Some still sell a wide range of knocked-off fashion-label sunglasses and handbags, but the EU has endeavoured to enforce copyright protection, and the police frequently swoop on this pirate merchandise.
The young African men who fled military unrest and rural poverty at home, now wander through Italy as itinerant pedlars or sell tourist tat on street corners in Rome. Some still sell a wide range of knocked-off fashion-label sunglasses and handbags, but the EU has endeavoured to enforce copyright protection, and the police frequently swoop on this pirate merchandise.
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| Afghan children studying at a makeshift school |
In the port in Piraeus, Syrian and Afghan families are still arriving from the islands to await the inevitable transportation to a camp elsewhere. It’s life in limbo with no certainty of a secure and happy future anywhere.
As for the referendum, did I really want to remain as part of this cruel and unprincipled “European Union?” Yes: I did.
I wanted Britain to get to the heart of the matter and work with our neighbours to build a better Europe. When the dust has settled, and the leaders start to talk to each other like adults, I hope that we can put selfish nationalism to one side.
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