VOICES From Migrations | Ivanka Peynova Koynova's story

Changemakers
23 minutes ago
2 min read

“VOICES From Migrations” is a project co-funded by the European Union exploring untold migration stories. Ivanka moved from Bulgaria to Italy in 2001. This is her story:

“My name is Ivanka, and I come from Bulgaria. My hometown is called Dimitrovgrad, near Stara Zagora. There I worked as a cook because I have a European cooking diploma. I also had my own restaurant.

At 47 years old, my husband and I had two months of vacation, so we came to Italy to visit some friends. It was February 2001, and at that time, many workers were needed in the area of Palmi. I really liked the city: it’s calm, and the people are wonderful. This caught my attention, so I decided to try my luck. I first worked in a pizzeria in Gioia Tauro, and then I moved to other restaurants in Palmi, where I worked for 7 years as a pizza maker. Afterwards, I worked in a rotisserie, preparing 30 different flavors of arancini!

When I first arrived in Italy, I didn’t know a single word of Italian. Thankfully, my colleagues were very patient with me, and they helped me learn the language. I do not regret my choice of coming here: sometimes I miss my country, but my two children still live there, so we go there often… This year we went 5 times! I also have four grandchildren, and I feel lucky I have a house big enough to host them when they come here to visit us.

I sometimes miss Bulgaria, but I cannot go back to live there: life would be different, and it’s way more expensive now. Moreover, this is my life now: I feel included and more Italian than Bulgarian after 24 years living here. In fact, I no longer feel like a migrant, but as part of the city.”

Interview by: Giuseppe Bellassai, Daniela Szep, Federica Orfano, and Silvia Caballero Jiménez

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.