Get Information to Migrants and Refugees in Italy

In June, Internews held a fundraising initiative with GlobalGiving to provide critical information to refugees and migrants, especially children traveling alone. With a small subgrant to WeWorld from this fundraising, Internews was able to provide our local partner, Andrea P. with the resources needed to start a web radio project for the migrants in Italy, called Yalla Yalla.

Starting in July, the WeWorld team took the first steps of setting up Yalla Yalla in Ventimiglia, where many migrants are arriving desperate to find shelter and food and to connect with their families and friends. They analyzed the context of the neighborhood to gather as much information about the organizations in the area helping migrants and the government camps for the migrants, like Roya which is run by the Italian Red Cross and the local police.

They found that the camps were overcrowded without enough beds, showers or toilets and that there was no WiFi connection, leaving people out of touch with their families and the local news. They also found that 40-50 women and their children were living inside the San Antonio Church, also called, “Gianchette Church.” However, when this church was shut down in early August many migrants, especially minors, were left to take refuge along the Roya River in self-made and temporary shelters without access to basic hygiene.

After one week of analysis and organizing, the WeWorld team immediately began broadcasting basic information about Ventimiglia’s city services and policies and updates about the Roya camp to the migrants in the city. As the situation in the city changes, the web radio moves their informal setup around the city, currently it stands by the river near Ventimiglia’s bridge to be in close contact with the young migrants staying there. The Yalla Yalla users are also able to access Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp especially to contact distant family members and stay on top of news and new information.

In the beginning the migrants were shy and doubtful about the new media presence. But the team continued to broadcast important information in Arabic, French and English and worked on engaging with the migrant communities to ensure that the radio was providing them with relevant and useful information. They even conducted a series of very deep and touching interviews with a few migrants. One of them was very keen to talk about his trip to reach Italy. He went through the Niger desert and then he came to Italy through Libya. He spoke about Tripoli and the trip to Ventimiglia. The team also collected testimonies from Afghan migrants who talked about their long trip from Kabul to Ventimiglia.

The radio broadcast is now a regular event for migrants and people in transit to meet and exchange experiences together, as well as a source of trusted vital information. On average 15-20 migrants connect daily to the web radio. Engaging with the local community brought to the surface both a Sudanese and Chadian rapper who performed a couple of their pieces on creative commons bases. Though it is a simple medium, Yalla Yalla allows migrants to build a community in their new location. It is a means to demonstrate solidarity and favor cultural exchange in this particular historical moment, when intolerance and racism are a powerful narrative.