Mark is an Ethiopian Addis Ababa for 23 years, arrived in Italy about five years ago. Salerno has now become his new home and opened the door to a future of hard, but eventually positive. The meeting set up in an area of \u200b\u200bethnic market by town of Salerno. His small business now is the sale of furniture, accessories and lighting products strictly in its so dear to Africa. This type of trade, especially in recent years has seen the growing sympathy of the Italian public, which has firmly re-evaluated in this style. After we greeted each other, start with the interview.
Mark, tell us about your past, how and why you decided to land in Italy?
I was about fifteen years and life is that I smile too much. Every morning I woke up when he was still of the night to go to work with my father. I always help because we had so many family and hunger was felt. The work was hard, very hard indeed, especially those in the stone quarries and coal that I just could not digest. But it was a duty which I could not resist.
E 'at that time that has matured in me the desire to run away and seek his fortune in any part of the world best of my Ethiopia.
E 'was easy for you to come to our country? Who helped you?
was the hot summer of 2002 and have become aware of the fact that there was an uncle of mine who had taken the decision to leave for Italy.
I did not think more than twice, I picked up a bit 'of stuff that I would become useful the long journey, I greeted my family that gave no peace to my choice, and I got my uncle on the same bus to Tunis. The trip was exhausting the limits of human endurance because there are crowded as if we were beasts. The saddest thing, though, is that the worst was yet to come.
might be alluding to the last leg of your trip?
Exactly. Once in Tunis hell broke loose because it started the competition for the last useful places to board boats to say the least improvised, they had to ferry in Sicily at Palermo for accuracy.
How much did you pay to get on board?
€ 1500 and was in good company. The cart was full to the brim with desperate people from all over the world. There was no space even to breathe so much so that to increase the surface area, we've been ordered to take with us only a blanket and water, with the promise that the remaining baggage would be sent there later .
What were the feelings during the trip to shore?
hideous, there was a climate of terror and we all prayed together regardless of their religion to cling to something that could help you stay alive. We had to come in our America, but we were aware that this was a business. Luck had it that the weather helped us and with it the sea that seemed to be benevolent.
What was the worst moment that made you tremble?
course during the exchange of the boat.
Explain.
The smugglers are people who exploit the squalid misery of the people to get rich. When you are about to reach their destination, they usually drop passengers at the makeshift boats like dinghies or small boats that barely contain them all. They do not risk anything, do not want problems and trust in the hands of good luck, the lives of their victims who are lucky if they can touch the ground. This is why tragedies occur all the time because the sea does not always go smoothly as it happened to me. I consider myself a lucky person because I did it and I'm here to talk to you.
How has accepted our country?
Well, my arrival almost coincided with the Bossi-Fini law but also to have escaped ...
And the latest proposals by the Amato-Ferrero?
I do not think that will lead to an improvement both on the Italian front and both with regard migrants.
regretted having made the decision five years ago to arrive in our country?
Absolutely. I owe everything to Italy and Italians, the first years were difficult because I had to jump through hoops to get a residence permit. Not now, now I'm fine, Salerno adopted me, I have a job but I never forget my Ethiopia, and when I can, I fly to my family reunited after some time has forgiven me. I almost did so, but now I've done it and even I with my small business, I feel part of an economic system as the Italian one, which is also based on the work of our immigrants settled.
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