VOICES From Migrations | Faro Diallo's story
- Changemakers
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
“VOICES From Migrations” is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration stories. Faro Diallo is 30 years old, from Guinea, and he arrived in Italy in 2016. This is his history:
“My name is Faro Diallo, and I was born in Guinea in 1995. I lived in a big city named Kankan, where I studied Arabic and French. There was not a single decisive moment that forced me to leave my country; rather, it was a gradual understanding that, to improve my life, I needed to move.
I travelled through Algeria to Libya, where my journey came to an abrupt stop, as I got imprisoned in a detention camp. There, I met a Libyan guard who found that I spoke Arabic. Thanks to this small fact, I was treated a bit better than the rest of the prisoners, and after one month there, the guard offered me a job with his brother in the countryside.
This opportunity allowed me to leave the camp, but it was not what I was looking for, so I took my chance and tried to escape. I attempted to cross the sea by boat, but the coastguards discovered us, and I got sent back to the very place I ran away from – the detention camp. But I did not give up. I escaped for a second time and worked really hard just to afford the boat to Italy. Fortunately, the second time I was lucky enough to succeed, and after 6 hours of sailing, I arrived in Italy.
Landing in Catania felt good, especially considering how bad the conditions were in Libya, but this was not the end of my hardships. I applied for immigrant status and got rejected. Only after trying again with a lawyer, I got 2 years of humanitarian protection; however, in order to get a permit to stay in Italy, I needed a passport from Guinea and a job in Italy. Even after I got my passport and a job offer in Rosarno, I still needed to go to Bergamo to renew my permit, then travel back to work.
I arrived in Rosarno 6 years ago. I have a job and a place to stay, but life is still difficult. Every day is a challenge and a constant fight. Despite everything, I am not giving up. At the moment I am training to get a driver’s licence.”
Interview by: Dimitrios Agas, Krzysztof Sawicki, Gloria Reitano, and Renato Pasquale, and Alberto Cricri
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.
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