This picture shows Christian, a 27-year-old Nigerian who arrived in Italy one year ago. Every day, he sweeps up leaves in the streets of Rome and puts the piles in cardboard boxes. "I am trying to integrate into your society by cleaning your streets," reads a sign set out on the ground. Next to it lays a straw hat containing a few coins.
In Italy since 2016, Christian still doesn't speak good Italian and prefers to speak in English. "I am 27 and I come from Nigeria," he tells ANSAmed. He arrived in Italy last July after a journey lasting four months. "The journey was terrible, I thank God I made it. There was no safe place during the journey; in Libya it was terrible too. I travelled across the desert and when I got to Libya I made contact with the traffickers. There is a real business. I paid and left." Christian spent a full day at sea before being rescued. He landed in Sicily, he doesn't remember in what city. Following identification, he was transferred directly to a migrant reception centre in Latina, south of Rome, where he still lives today. His application for asylum has been accepted and he is waiting for his documents. "This is my way of helping" "Every day, I take the train to Rome and clean the streets," he says. "If I see somewhere that isn't clean I try to tidy up. This is my personal way of helping the Italians and making their life easier. At the moment, there is not much work for us migrants. Some remain inactive and complain without doing anything. What I see is that Italians value the work I do and help me, and I really love this." For Christian "the future is bright, good things will happen to me. I am looking for work, I can do anything: lay bricks, clean the streets; I did a three-month course to become a goldsmith. If there's work to be done I will do it". Christian likes Italy: "I am pleased to be here, I feel safe." © Copyright ANSA – All rights reserved
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