HISTORY
«I thought it only happened in movies. I can not believe. I’m shaking, I have goosebumps. For me, working is returning to life.” These are the words spoken by Andrea, one of the homeless people who sleep every night under the porticoes of Corso della Repubblica, in the center of Latina, when we tell him that a man read his story in the newspaper, was struck by it and now wants to offer him a place to sleep and a job.
Only 24 hours ago we told the story of Andrea, a forty-nine year old from a province in northern Italy. A former cook, after military service and experience in the foreign legion in France, as well as numerous trips that allowed him to learn four languages, the man had traveled up and down Italy. From his hometown in Turin, to Terracina, before a legal case overwhelmed him, causing him to end up in the Cassino prison and then in the one in Via Aspromonte, in Latina.
In fact, once he got out, his life changed forever. After a period in the municipal dormitory, Andrea began spending his nights on the streets of the city. To wash himself, go to the bathroom, shave and eat he went to Saman, the social cooperative in front of the Santa Maria Goretti hospital, while the rest of the day was spent almost all sitting on the marble of Corso della Repubblica, asking for the begging and trying to get by. Keeping him company is his dog, Latina, a mixed breed found in a dumpster in the center and who he named just like the city that “took him away and gave him”, to use his words. Yesterday, however, his story ended up in the newspaper, and struck a chord with an entrepreneur, the owner of a well-known bathing establishment on the right side of the Latina seafront.
Having read the story, he felt the need to do something. She picked up the phone and called the Messaggero editorial office asking for help in contacting Andrea. She wants to offer him a place to sleep, but above all a job to start again.
So already yesterday afternoon the two met and started talking. Fate has it that Andrea has already worked in a factory. One of the largest in Ostia, probably the most important. He knows the work, the times, all the tasks to be done in such a business. Bring sunbeds, open umbrellas, check the area at night. He even knows how to drive a tractor, and what’s more, he is a former chef, which can always be useful to lend a hand in the kitchens. “All right. Go get your things and come back here to sleep »she tells him: «You start tomorrow».
Andrea can’t believe his ears. He returns to the city to retrieve his backpack, a couple of suitcases and some envelopes. «Have you seen Latina? Now we’re going to the seaside » he whispers to the dog he named after our city, while he retrieves his things. The only one he doesn’t take with him is the sign with which he asked for alms under the arcades. “I don’t need this anymore.” A new life awaits him.
Fabrizio Scarfò
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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