ITALY
I don’t feel physical – this is statelessness. I know the road but I am not able to follow it. I am just a shadow. (Ned, 24). © UNHCR
Italy hosts a large number of Roma, many of whom are stateless. They migrated to Italy decades ago, mainly from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and its successor States, Southeast Europe and the Balkans and were unable to regularize their stay and acquire Italian nationality.
Meanwhile, they no longer are considered as citizens of the countries they left. Their children, born in Italy, suffer the same fate.
Me, myself: All these objects represent me. I identify myself in this book because I feel like I too live in a ghetto – I’ve read it more than 7 times. As an activist, I use the tape recorder and diary to record interviews. Despite the limbo I’m living in, I try to help people by collecting their stories. (Ned, 24). © UNHCR