Writing Assignment #8

My service learning for this program was done at the Joel Nafuma Refugee Center located in the basement of St. Paul's church, and is the only day refugee center available in Rome for these people. The refugee center is a place for these men to go each day where they can converse with others that speak their language, watch the news and movies, receive aid and services, learn Italian and English and offers them a place to go during the day so that they aren't outside. The min activities that we saw and took part in was handing out breakfast to the refugees which consisted of tea and conrnetti, distribution of goods such as clothing and toiletries, and teaching some of the immigrants english. Some of the other activities that they offer there is ping pong and foosball and checkers and chess.

My initial impression of the refugee center has changed since I started my service learning their. At first I feel like was apprehensive to be around them and to help and interact with them, but as my time their went on feel like I have been able to better integrate among them and be able to talk to them or even have some of them approach me and start a conversation. At the end of our time at the refugee center I knew the names of quite a few of them and they would often talk with me, but many of them were hesitant to talk to us especially some of them didn't want to talk about their how they came to be in Italy and some didnt want to talk about where they came from and why they had to leave. I feel that this organization is very beneficial for the people that take part in it, but it is only limited to those that are political refugees, leaving quite a few of the other types of refugees that make up those that came to Italy seeking asylum.

I would like to ask more questions about the experience and the difficulties that some of the refugees faced on their travels to Italy or their host nation. In particular I would like to know what part of the process they find the most difficult and any ideas that they would have on improving the current asylum process in Italy and Europe. This next question doesn't really relate to y service learning but I feel that it is a vital one that needs to be asked: why is it that the Italian government is so hesitant to help refugees and why is it that the only people that are helping them are volunteers and volunteer organizations such as Caritas. But talking to the refugees does represent a problem since there is often the language barrier that is very difficult to overcome without the use of a translator. Many of these questions could be partially or fully answered by the refugees granted that their would be many different ways that they would answer the questions. But the est authority to talk to in concern my final question would be an Italian professional who either works as a politician and law maker or someone who is in academia.