LA DERIVA DEI CONTINENTI TRANSCRIPT

TIMECODE (min;sec) TRANSCRIPTION

01:03 Speaking of peace

01:08 I can only remember with great sorrow…

01:13 …the numerous victims of yet another tragic shipwreck

01:20 The word that comes to my mind is shame

01:25 Let’s pray together to God for those who have lost their

lives

01:33 Men, women and children

01:36 For the families and all the refugees

01:41 Let us unite our efforts so that such tragedies do not

happen again

01:49 Only a strong collaboration of everyone…

01:53 …can help prevent them

02:21 I have respect. Respect because I am also…

02:26 …an immigrant. A lucky one

02:31 Because there are many who didn’t make it

02:35 Who died at sea

02:37 Who are weak. Who are in jail for crimes they have

committed

02:43 I respect the immigrants that travel to better their life

02:47 But they also need respect foe the place they are going to

03:43 As soon as the ship’s doctor finishes doing the medical

checks…

03:49 …to see if someone is feeling ill, any ebola cases,

anything—

03:54 They check. Because before disembarking…

03:57 …the first contact needs to be with the doctor and the

nurse

04:02 We save the people from the water and we give the

welcome on the port… and then we care when they live in

the, how you say “first reception and accommodation

centres”?

04:25 Step by step

04:41 Carlo and I, we are the perfect team

04:45 Since we started working together…

04:48 …we have always worked perfectly without mistakes

04:55 I find him extraordinary…

04:57 …and I still get on so well with him

05:02 Since we are a nation…

05:04 …let’s say, ‘between borders’

05:06 A European country

05:08 A nation built upon the humanitarian spirit

05:11 Then everything Italy has been doing so far and continues to

do is necessary

05:24 We could say that even though the continents are still, we

have a human drift

05:29 As a matter of fact, populations migrate

05:32 Especially because of the existential difficulties…

05:36 …that unfortunately we have witnessed from their stories—

their testimonies

05:42 From their facial expressions, the way they dress, the way

they speak

05:48 We have noticed a lack of humanity at a social and political

level

05:55 My father has died. My mother too

06:01 There are four people in our family

06:06 Three girls and one boy, me

06:09 And we have nothing

06:13 It is hell, nothing to do—

06:17 All I had was a little brother and they took his life

06:21 The sea…

06:22 …it’s too hard to be there

06:23 It’s not easy

06:26 They put us in a boat that we don’t know if we’ll survive

06:29 You couldn’t know how many days you are going to have

06:31 You do not know

06:33 We are inside of the water

06:34 It's too hard

06:36 It's too hard

06:37 We suffered a lot on that boat during the night

06:45 The water was entering the boat

06:48 We took our bottles and started throwing the water out of the

boat…

06:54 …so we wouldn’t drown

07:03 At one point on top of the sea…

07:06 …we really didn’t know what was going to happen to us or

where we were going

07:09 We gave up

07:11 All we started doing is communicating with God

07:14 Praying to God to help us

07:16 Well, I wouldn’t call it a boat

07:19 People would think maybe it’s a safe boat…

07:23 …but it’s not a boat. It’s just like a balloon, like a toy that kids

play with

07:28 At a point in time on top of the sea I just thought to myself

07:32 “I really don’t want it. Why am I risking my life… for a better

life?”

07:37 It would be better if I stayed in my country, suffering my

pains alone

07:41 Because it was very, very risky. It was risky

07:44 It is not child’s play. It’s very risky to be there

07:51 I wish I was a writer

07:54 It could be a very sweet story if I could write a book

07:58 I am not a good writer

08:02 But I do have some great stories to tell. I am the one who

experienced them

08:07 I wish I could write a book myself

08:19 When the boat is detected…

08:22 …the first thing the helmsman does is intimidate all the

people

08:27 "I dare you to talk about us”

08:31 “We know who you are and where your family is”

08:35 “We will kill them”

08:38 They scare the people so they are in a panic

08:42 Then they get changed. Maybe they remove or put a hat on

08:46 Sometimes they know they can be photographed from a

helicopter

08:51 They change and then they mix between the women

08:54 Sometimes they grab a child as if it was their son

08:57 They say, “Shut up, don’t speak. I am your brother now”

09:12 The ones steering the boat were Somalians though

09:17 I can’t arrest someone if they mixed up the wrong person

09:21 If it’s not him, it’s not him

09:26 One moment, where are you from?

09:28 Palestine

09:30 - Who did you come with?

- My brother

09:33 - Where is he?

- Inside there

09:36 Ah, one minute

09:54 They have testified No. 172…

10:01 …and No 171

10:04 Ask him to verbalise what these two were doing

10:06 Were these two steering the boat?

10:09 One at a time, yes

10:11 They were helping each other. Alternating with the steering

10:18 In each raft there are one or two people who are very poor

10:23 So what does the trafficker do? He gathers them from the

town

10:26 He says, “Do you want to go to Italy?”

10:28 “You don’t have the money to but I can give you the chance

to go…

10:31 …but in exchange you have to stay with me for a day…

10:34 …while I teach you how to steer the boat”

10:36 He left them a compass and a sat nav

10:41 “I will accompany you until you enter the sea and then you

follow the directions”

10:46 Step by step

10:48 “Then after six to seven hours you will see the Italian military

ship…

10:52 ..and they will save you”

11:46 I started in 1996…

11:50 …when I went to renew my visa

11:52 This immigration office was finding it hard…

11:56 …to communicate with other immigrants

11:59 A policeman asked me—

12:01 I remember his name was Iannuso

12:03 He said, “Aziz, we need you”

12:05 “You know you speak well”

12:08 "You should help us with these illegal immigrants”

12:11 So from that moment I started to help

12:13 They they started calling me more and more

12:18 It was the beginnings of a very good job

12:23 Now every morning I go to work…

12:26 …at my job at the Ministry of Justice

12:28 If there are arrivals, we work

12:32 And in the evening I swap with my wife

12:34 She takes care of the family

12:38 She does the house chores…

12:41 …and I take her place and work here till closing time

12:45 I’m happy. I’m satisfied about my job

12:48 I give my contribution to this country…

12:51 …because it has given me a lot

12:55 When I came knocking this country opened its doors for me

12:58 I was lucky, and I am proud to be giving back

13:33 We have a lot to reflect on

13:37 These people are not invading us, they are escaping from

death

13:43 The human being escapes from bombs and war…

13:46 …towards a place where you can live in peace

13:50 This is not an invasion

13:56 It is a survival instinct