"We are such stuff
as dreams are made on, and our little life
Is rounded with a sleep"
- The Tempest, Act IV, by Shakespeare
The beginning of my journey in Calabria showed me the power embedded in a full immersion experience. Catching the beauty (and the ugliness), observing with all senses, enjoying and experiencing the reality of others to understand where we are at present and where we would love to be.
In my case, altering the journey through my land through the development skills acquired along my professional career, gave me a lot of food for thought. I have been working in social justice and development far from where I was born and I think this was a deliberate choice to avoid suffering emotional interferences that could have misled my decision-making. By emotional I mean impulsive, the contrary of a distant and cold approach to work that in extreme situations is very ideal.
My first experience in development was in Guatemala before the signature of the Peace Agreement where I went in one of the most conflictive areas of the country, in Quiché, where the worst atrocities occurred. I was there with a wonderful team, most of them my best friends to this day, to design a sustainable and human development initiative. We interviewed people and this made the experience very intense. Feeling a lot of empathy for what had happened, I cried and hoped, and since then Guatemala is still in my heart, but still their history and culture was not mine. After Guatemala many other countries and experiences followed me in my career.
In Calabria it is different, the history of people is my history, and it took time for me to be strong enough to be back, to open my senses and be ready to undertake transformative conversations. Now I am equipped logically and emotionally to understand, enjoy, react, envision and interact in a substantive manner.
My land is my land.
This train of thought led me to make the following assertions:
* The power of connecting isolated realities, even more in a region like Calabria with a very low population density is very powerful. Making people feel like they belong to a bigger togetherness could win this sense of isolation.
* The locals are depredated of their human power and are constantly mortified by a persistent stigmatisation. Stereotypes and misconceptions are limiting the confidence of people to be themselves in their culture. National and local political leadership of poor morals and ethics, exploits this lack of confidence to win elections. This is why many have lost faith in a real change. Pride and self-confidence are key ingredients for change!
* Empowering the youth, by listening and supporting them in unlocking their potential, and matching their talents with the opportunities coming from the beauties of the territory, would be an earthquake, it would be revolutionary. What if policy (in its highest appreciation) would be empathic to the initiatives promoted from below, by young men and women, with determination and firm commitment? I promise you, this would be a revolution!
* In Calabria on one side there is structural lack of accountability, but on the other there is a unique humanity with a strong sense of reciprocity. People are resilient and equipped with strong tenacity; imagine if such DNA could express itself in a conducive environment? What amazing power.
More reflections to come along the way ....
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