This story conveys a message of inclusion, of trust in the generations yet to come, and demonstrates that it is possible to expand students’ openness towards a world of different experiences and cultures. For this reason Caffelate is an example to follow, provided that the school becomes first and foremost a place where teachers collaborate, compare and engage, convinced of the value of active citizenship.
Soukaina: diversity is a bridge
My name is Soukaina, I am 16 years old and I attend the fashion course at the “Castigliano” Institute in Asti. I feel very lucky because I can study and, thanks to studying, build my future. At school I learned first of all to know myself better and not to judge others according to appearances, as instinct would often lead us to do. I learned the value of dialogue which always requires listening to others. I also experienced the difficulty of this dialogue and I had to face unfriendliness and prejudices against me. I understood the meaning of being a woman regardless of the way she dressed or appeared.
Soukaina’s paintings
I tried to illustrate my journey through two drawings. In the first, Donna velata (Veiled Woman), I wanted to represent the woman that hides in each of us, who is often suffocated by hypocrisy, prejudices and stereotypes of all societies. In my representation the veil is not an Islamic symbol, but indicates the network that surrounds us and takes away the freedom to be. On the contrary, the veil, for the Muslim woman, can be a strength, because it indicates membership.
Soukaina
The school allowed me to open my mind, to meet other girls like me and confront them.
In my second drawing I wanted to represent two seemingly different women, but who in reality constitute a single woman with values and aspirations that can perfectly coexist with each other.
In that woman I recognize myself, and that woman I am becoming through a process that is not always easy, but that empowers me. And this inner journey, which led me to become who I am, I owe to my parents who have embarked on a journey in search of new horizons…
I want to address all the girls who, like me, are going through an important period in their lives, I want to invite them to reflect on the importance of culture as a means of emancipation, I want to remind them not to be distracted by useless things, by fashions that force us into closed boxes pretending to be free. We claim, Italian and foreign friends, the value of diversity, not as a wall, but as a bridge that embraces us and beyond which, we can dream of the society of tomorrow (Soukaina).
Evans: Diversity is a Driving Force
Evans
Evans, a budding rapper, wrote a song ** to explain what the experience of the “Caffelatte” project means to him and his buddies.
Lyrics that let its story leak out, a story like many others, made of pain, marginalization, but also of dreams, of certainties that society can change if kids like him begin to join hands, to walk together knowing that diversity is the real engine in building a future without walls.
Evans was born nineteen years ago in a small village in Ghana and his childhood is a childhood of pain marked by violence and the tragic death of his mother; experiences that he will carry within his young heart as he departs for his long journey of hope towards Italy. But the new land will not prove too hospitable; Evans will still have to suffer, not be accepted as white man is accepted. Often crushed by a wall of indifference and prejudice, he will learn to keep his secrets locked in his heart. But Evans is a fighter and growing up he doesn’t give up fighting for what he believes. At school, he was one of the founders of the Caffelatte group. The light shines again in his eyes; he feels understood, values and through music – his great passion- he intends to communicate a message of confidence in life and in the future to all young people like him, of every ethnicity and social class.
The Celebration of Inclusion
The stories of Soukaina and Evans shoulders the Caffelatte project, a long journey that has lived for four years in a school in Asti, the “Castigliano” Institute in Piedmont. It is nice to retrace it backwards, starting with the final feast, the Caffelatte Day, which again this year, for the fourth time, brought joy and solidarity to the school.
Caffelatte Day is the celebration of ‘diversity’ for all, it is the response of students of different nationalities to those who would like the world divided by walls; to those who foment fear and violence by playing on prejudice and weakness. It celebrates the end of a series of activities led by professors Paolo Maccario and Roberta Borgnino, journalists Laurana Lajolo and Anila Novruzaj, activities to which the students committed for the entire school year.
The theme on which they discussed and worked finds its basis in the title Costruire fratellanza (Building Fraternity). The students were inspired by the document struck by Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi in February 2019, on the occasion of the Holy Father’s trip to the United Arab Emirates. There, the two religious authorities – “Al-Azhar al-Sharif – for Muslims of the East and the West – and Pope Francis – for Catholics of the East and West” – declared:
“to adopt the culture of dialogue as a way; joint collaboration as a conduct; mutual knowledge as a method and criterion”.
And they asked:
“that this Document should become the subject of exploration and reflection in all schools, universities, educational and training institutions in order to help create new generations that bring good will and peace and defend the right of the oppressed everywhere”.
In front of a classroom packed with the public, not only students and teachers, but also representatives of social, cultural, and religions organizations of the area, the participants, one by one, took the floor to tell what they achieved and what they confronted.
The bubbly Evans, who defines himself as the ‘coffee’ of the group, made a video entitled “I’m not racist, but…”, a journey to discover the dark side within each of us.
Then there’s the Contaminazioni (contamination) project – which features young Nigerian refugee women, guests of a community on the outskirts of Asti, and students from a class in the school. Contamination of tradition and technology, as told by Valentina, Daniela and Irene, with enthusiasm and spontaneity: an experience lived in the classroom with their new companions “two days a week” who they came to know, without prejudice. Here are their thoughts:
Daniela, Fairh and Valentina
Irene: “They were moments of great education to life. We have learned more than any book could communicate”.
Daniela: “We speak different languages, but with the will to communicate, we were able to establish a friendship”.
Valentina: “We knew part of their history although it was difficult for them to tell. We have listened closely to these female victims of violence and now we aim to give voice to their hopes”.
Hauwa, Judith, Preciuos and Naomi with little Peculiar, the mascot of the group, in their still broken Italian mixed with English, talked about their experience in the Faber Lab where they learned to use the the 3D printer and make buttons and jewelry. Taiwo proudly presented the dress she made in the fashion workshop where she learned to draw, cut and sew. It is an important dress, a ‘contamination’ between Western and Nigerian culture, and it will be presented in the fashion show that will close an important cultural event in Asti, Passepartotut.
And because art and music transcend barriers and overcome prejudices, Daniela and the young Nigerian Fairh, united in an embrace of brotherhood, dedicated some songs to the audience. The emotion was intense, you could feel it on your skin. Rufin, from Nigeria, presented the clothes he learned to make in Italy and proudly announced that he now runs a men’s tailoring workshop in Serravalle d’Asti.
From left image to right: (1) Naomi and Peculiar; (2) Taiwo; (3) Daniela and Fairh.
But the sense of the experience, as reflected in the words of Soukaina at the beginning of our story, is also well understood by the other boys and girls who participated in the project. Here are two examples:
“The ‘Caffelatte’ project touches me deeply. It helped me grow and really understand how the world works. We continue to fight against the wrong people. We must fight ignorance. Many follow the crowd, listen to the news from the TV and spread it without filtering the information. I’m not Muslim. I’m not Christian. I’m a human being. To you who follow plans of death, of power, even the word is no longer enough.” (Nerma Khair Alla).
“I know a guy named Beh, it’s actually not important to know, this person is introverted, shy, with little self-confidence, physically, well… I’m sure he wouldn’t like to be described. Perhaps that’s where his lack of confidence starts. However, despite being a foreigner, he perfectly manages to blend into the crowd, perhaps thanks to his fair skin. […] This guy, in the comings and goings of this city, hears all about the colors, from racist thoughts to a real fear for those who have different skin color because, you know, diversity has always been scary. But the word “discrimination” is not only related to those with different skin: everyone can be subject to discrimination. The “famous” guy, for example – he too feels discriminated against, perhaps because of his belief that he is physically unacceptable, which leads him to isolation, to close himself in and to the belief that the world revolves around appearance. Perhaps this is the basic problem: it is more important to appear than to be. But, at least today, on the occasion of “Caffelatte Day”, let’s take off the masks and exchange a sincere smile. I’m sure that boy would be happy too. How can I know? Simple, because that boy is me!” (Gustavo Enriche Pereira De Souza)
From these words the importance of an experience of inclusion in school clearly emerges, where, year after year, “bridges” are built between cultures and it helps to grow those who have participated in it.
The Caffelatte people
** These are the lyrics of Evans’s song, in Italian.
Salve a voi questo è caffelatte
Per alcuni di noi cose fatte e rifatte
Invece qui c’è arte e cultura
Ci si incontra, si parla e si matura
E’ il nostro sogno di vita futura
Il sogno di cambiare la realtà
Spezzando le catene della società
Il sogno della nostra libertà
Sono qui perché da me c’è la guerra
Sono qui per cercare una nuova terra.
Il lavoro non voglio rubare
Ma un’opportunità voglio trovare
La mia storia nessuno la sa
Solo chi mi apre il cuore la conoscerà
Pensate, per arrivare ho fatto un lungo viaggio
Di ostacoli e pericoli ostaggio
A te sembra poco?
Per me non è stato un gioco.
Dietro di me ho una storia.
Guerra, odio, triste memoria.
La mia famiglia ho lasciato
Nel mio paese amato.
In Italia sono espatriato
E qui sono rinato
Signori, signore, io pago l’affitto
Dell’accoglienza non mi approfitto
Non son figo né bello
Non vivo in un castello
Cerco una conclusione
Per la mia canzone
Bianchi, neri, di ogni colore
La diversità è vero motore
Di un domani privo di muri
Per vivere insieme sicuri.
Io sono caffè, tu sei latte
Prendiamoci per mano
Siamo CAFFELATTE.
Salve a voi questo è caffelatte
Per alcuni di noi cose fatte e rifatte
Invece qui c’è arte e cultura
Ci si incontra, si parla e si matura
E’ il nostro sogno di vita futura
Il sogno di cambiare la realtà
Spezzando le catene della società
Il sogno della nostra libertà
Sono qui perché da me c’è la guerra
Sono qui per cercare una nuova terra.
Il lavoro non voglio rubare
Ma un’opportunità voglio trovare
La mia storia nessuno la sa
Solo chi mi apre il cuore la conoscerà
Pensate, per arrivare ho fatto un lungo viaggio
Di ostacoli e pericoli ostaggio
A te sembra poco?
Per me non è stato un gioco.
Dietro di me ho una storia.
Guerra, odio, triste memoria.
La mia famiglia ho lasciato
Nel mio paese amato.
In Italia sono espatriato
E qui sono rinato
Signori, signore, io pago l’affitto
Dell’accoglienza non mi approfitto
Non son figo né bello
Non vivo in un castello
Cerco una conclusione
Per la mia canzone
Bianchi, neri, di ogni colore
La diversità è vero motore
Di un domani privo di muri
Per vivere insieme sicuri.
Io sono caffè, tu sei latte
Prendiamoci per mano
Siamo CAFFELATTE.
By Enrica Bricchetto
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This story is part of Multinclude Inclusion Stories about how equity is implemented in different educational environments across the globe. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Author is a teacher in a Secondary school and collaborator in a research team of Didactics in Cattolica University of Milan. As a researcher and teacher Enrica’s fields of interest are Inclusive Education, Educational Innovation and History..
