Belmondo Bags is a tailoring shop whose goal is to give an opportunity for integration and raise awareness among the city's residents. It came about in a center for asylum-seekers and refugees in a small town in southern Italy.
Migrants in the small town of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi in the province of Avellino in Italy's southern Campania region produce fashion accessories with recycled fabrics and materials in what is called the 'Belmondo Bags' project.
"The idea came about in a very informal way," Salvatore Casale, one of the project's founders and a psychologist at the center, told ANSA. "We had a sewing machine and we had some recycled fabrics with which we began making bags in our spare time," he said.
Tailoring to raise awareness
A tailoring course was held at the center for the guests living there. Casale said the course was a project provided by the center, and the Belmondo Bags initiative aims to use the skills the guests acquired during the course and turn them into work opportunities.The tailoring shop, which opened two weeks ago in an office in the town center, is still in its initial stages, but the goal is to make a line of bags inside of which migrants' stories will be inserted.
"It doesn't just have a commercial goal; it's an initiative to raise awareness among Italians and an opportunity for the migrants to learn a new skill and share time together," Casale said. The local community's initial response to the project has been positive, with donations of fabric, materials, and offers to collaborate.
"If residents respond with enthusiasm to a migrant initiative, it shows that there's a different, welcoming Italy," he said.
Transforming a dream into reality
Belmondo Bags are made by Omar, from Senegal, and Ali, from Burkina Faso, who were both tailors before coming to Italy. "I arrived in Italy three years ago," Ali said. Initially, he was in the country as an undocumented migrant, but he has since been granted international protection and has been staying at the migrant center for about two months. "The tailoring shop is a great initiative, it's work that I enjoy a lot," he said. "It's a work opportunity for my future; I like it here in Italy," he said.
Ali attended a school for tailors when he was in Burkina Faso. "Sewing has been my dream since I was a boy," he said.
'The young men want to tell their stories and the project helps them'
The town of Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi has about 4,000 residents and became a part of Italy's SPRAR project (System for Protection of Refugees and Asylum Seekers) four years ago, welcoming 70 migrants and creating art and cultural projects as well as work internships with local businesses. "The young men want to tell their stories, their life stories, and these informal activities are very helpful for this," Casale said."Initiatives like this ... give migrants a sense of daily life. They want to feel useful, committed, and know that their work is appreciated," he added.