The testimony of Cherif S., a patient of GRT’s Transcultural Integrated Clinical Center
When did you arrive in Italy and how old were you?
I arrived in Italy in 2016. Now I’ve been here for about ten years. I was 17.
What do you remember about your first days or weeks in Italy?
I remember my first day in Italy very well. I was in Taranto and I was very happy to have arrived. I had always heard people talk about Europe, Europe, Italy, Italy… but I had never seen Europe. When I arrived and saw it with my own eyes, I was happy. It was a day full of strong emotions.
Do you remember anything you noticed in the first few weeks? Any encounters or something that struck you as different?
Yes. When I arrived in Milan, I was a bit scared at first. I saw many people, including people from my own country, with mental health problems, sleeping outside on the street. I didn’t understand why, and that scared me a bit.
How did you come to know GRT?
I was moved from one place to another, and in the end, where I was living they advised me to come here to GRT. When I met you, things started to get better. Before that, I had some difficulties, especially in my mind.
At the beginning of your journey here, what were your difficulties or fears?
When I arrived, I had many difficulties. I was struggling, I had many thoughts, I was often nervous and afraid. But by getting to know you and starting this journey here, little by little things improved.
Why do you think you were often angry and found it hard to control yourself at that time? What were you thinking about?
I was thinking a lot about my family. I was here and my family was there. If they had difficulties, I couldn’t do much. My wife was living with her mother, and her mother kept insisting that she ask me, her husband, to send money. She suffered because of this, but she couldn’t do anything else.
Over time, I managed to build a house for my family with the savings I earned working here, but I had nothing left for myself. In Italy it’s not easy: you don’t always have money in your pocket. You first have to find a job, and that’s not easy, and then work to earn. If you don’t work, you have nothing.
All these thoughts about my wife and my child made me angry. But when I started finding solutions, thanks to the path I followed here at GRT, that anger slowly went away. Now I’m no longer afraid. I always try to keep positive thoughts.
During this journey, is there something important you feel you learned about yourself?
Yes. I understood that my way of thinking is very important. I realized I have to look ahead. What’s past is past—I shouldn’t keep thinking about it all the time.
Do you think your anger was also linked to the journey you made?
Yes, the journey also put a lot of anger inside me. That’s why I thank the GRT psychologist who supported me. If I hadn’t met her, maybe I would have ended up in prison. She gave me very strong and important advice.
During the journey, many bad things happened to me and filled my thoughts. Once I was able to talk about them with the psychologist and she listened to me, they no longer occupied my mind. One day I even advised a friend to come here, because I told him that a psychologist here helped me and gave me strength.
Before, if I saw two people laughing, I thought they were speaking badly about me. I would get angry immediately. Now I don’t even know where that anger has gone. I’ve truly found a new life—I really mean it. Thank you.
Let’s talk about your pizza chef certificate. You have a long experience: how did you obtain it and what are your plans for the future?
This certificate is very important to me. I already had experience working in a pizzeria. At first I was making the dough, then they gave me a new contract as a pizza chef. I worked in several pizzerias, including well-known ones.
This summer I went to visit my family in Senegal; I had already gone back in previous years. When I returned to Italy, I took the course, obtained the certificate, and now I’m still working as a pizza chef to continue improving my skills and thinking about my future.
And for the future, what are your plans or wishes?
My dream is to open my own place, my own pizzeria. Now I’ve learned many things I didn’t know before: different types of flour—00, 0, 1, 2, whole wheat… before I didn’t know these things, now I do.
When you went back to Senegal to visit your wife and children, did you make pizza?
Yes.
Did they like it?
Yes, it was good!
You are an example of integration: you can cook both Senegalese dishes and pizza, which is a typical Italian dish.
Is there anything else you would like to say?
Yes. I want to say that I am always happy and that I thank you very, very much. You have helped me a lot in my life. My life has now changed.
Thank you, Cherif. But it was also you—your determination and your ability to seek help at the right time—that allowed you to move forward on your path and achieve many of the things you wished for.
