If you look at your hands, the fingers are not all the same
Fatima was born in Beirut. She had no intention of leaving Lebanon but was forced to leave because of her country’s economic and sociopolitical crisis. Once graduated from the University of Beirut Arab in civil engineering, she chose Italy.
“I started over from a bachelor’s degree program in Business Management, in English, at SAA in Turin. The beginning was very difficult: I did not know the language and had many fears for the future”.
Fatima rolled up her sleeves and began studying Italian using children’s books. At first, she did not think she would stay long, believing that the experience served only as a “stepping stone” to build a solid education, but “overnight I took courage and changed my mind. Now I feel that by thinking with my head I can really have a better future”.
She graduated with a thesis on Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies and got a job. She is now a Junior Consultant in the Milan office of a well-known company in the field. In the future she would like to become an entrepreneur, in particular, to start a foundation that helps people realize their work goals.
Fatima still feels many, too many cultural differences. In particular, she says the Western world has an often distorted and certainly media-exacerbated view of Arab culture.
“It hurts to see that diversity is always perceived negatively. If you look at your hands, the fingers are not all the same, they are different. In every country, there are different people for better or worse”.
She misses her friends, landscapes, culture and the food of her country very much.
“I am very proud of my country, the upbringing I had and the support my family has always given me”.
To all people who have immigrated to Italy Fatima would like to leave a message: “…we should not feel inferior, there is nothing impossible, we are as good as anyone at doing things. Let’s look at people with our hearts, let’s be open to the beautiful things in life and believe more in ourselves: with more love the world could be better! I believe in God, I feel that he protects me and helps me on my journey day by day. And this for me is a great message of tolerance, because there are eight different religions in Lebanon and they all live together in peace, fostering dialogue, love and respect for differences”.
