Identity that also passes through diversity, without fear, without prejudice. Indira, Bakari, Claudia, Rodrigo, Samira and many others are names, faces and voices that tell their own history of daily struggle towards integration, in a society that still has a lot to understand and accept. Above all, it is their voice that makes them protagonists of the new podcast Xenoswhich thanks to the work of journalists Sandra Saved and Antonella Palermo, expert in social issues, she collects testimonies of other lives, distant from the everyday life of most of the people, but which instead represent an integral part of our social fabric. Listening to their words, one can come into contact with the dreams, hopes and drama of men and women who carry distant roots in their hearts, foreign by language but eager to share our own vocabulary of values and to break that wall of loneliness of which also suffer from those who experience particular permanent physical or psychological conditions.
“Through their world – comments Sandra Salva – the original meaning of the term resurfaces stranger – stranger, the one dear to the ancient Greeks, which reminds us of a mental attitude capable of broadening the vision of the world and offering hospitality to the traveler, then helping him in the continuation of his journey. With Antonella we shared the desire to recover the positive meaning of this term, Xenos, which today unfortunately is compared to phobia, as “xenophobia”, certainly a negative feeling of fear. With this project we will not be able to erase the prejudice, but we will at least contribute to breaking down certain barriers and favoring the positive vision of those who, for a good part of life, have suffered the gaze of the other, away from society. People relegated to where there is hunger, war, disease, in short, where it is difficult to live. People who face journeys in which they risk their lives, just to start looking for a hug, an outstretched hand to help them live. We would like to return to welcome the foreigner as the Greeks did, who opened their doors to offer him what was needed to continue the journey. We would like to regain possession of that sense of hospitality to help the pilgrim find a place in what we all love to call a society without borders or barriers, that is, democratic ”.
Dal Venezuela to Syria, from Myanmar to Afghanistan to Ecuadorpassing through other lands tormented by wars and poverty such as El Salvador, Togo, Ukraine, the profiles of a human geography, fragile but determined, made up of suffering but also of creativity and dreams that in the end manage to overcome stigmas and prejudices.
“There is so much need to let people know what is behind these people – he continues Sandra Saved -. The project was born from an idea initially of a radio type which then became a podcast because audio on demand is in great demand. Antonella and I proposed it to Rai, which accepted the idea. Our message is that there is no society of the able-bodied, only a society made up of exchanges, differences, opportunities for mutual growth. Listening to who others are allows us to live in a better world and to no longer suffer any kind of prejudice”.
“Xenos” predicts 12 episodes published weekly, every Thursday, until the last one scheduled for December 8th. “Two special episodes are planned – concludes Saved -: the first dedicated to Ukraine – with voices of people who speak directly from their land and who live every day with death that walks alongside them – and one dedicated to the projects followed by Federcasse ( which supported the project as the Italian Federation of Cooperative Credit Banks and Rural Banks), with voices from Africa and Latin America. The Cooperative Credit Banks and the Rural Banks – that is, cooperative, mutual and local banks – pursue the collective advantage and the economic, social and cultural development of the territories and communities as their statutory objective – points out the journalist -. Over time, these prerogatives have given rise to initiatives and projects of particular value. Since 2002, the Cooperative Credit has supported, for example, the “Campesina Microfinance” project in Ecuador for the promotion of access to credit and the improvement of the living conditions of farmers through the development of popular finance in the Andean country. From 2012, in Togo, it contributes to rural development and the food self-sufficiency of small communities through the improvement of the conditions of supply and demand for credit in rural areas and an exchange of experiences and skills in the field of creating systems and strategies aimed at increasing productivity and modernization of agriculture”.
To access the podcasts of the Xenos project just click on the link:
https://www.raiplaysound.it/articoli/2022/09/Dal-29-settembre-Xenos–le-persone-migranti-e-con-disabilita-si-raccontano-oltre-le-barriere-del-pregiudizio-97e5022d-d557-4750-ae49-5de08f23fdd2.html