A girl born in Italy of Moroccan parents who was about to be deported to Morocco has been released from the Identification and Expulsion Centre.
Nadia, 19, was yesterday released from Ponte Galeria detention centre in Rome, where she spent two months because she was caught without the Permit of Stay.
Even though she was born in Italy, since Nadia’s parents are Moroccans, she is considered an immigrant. The law therefore requires her to have the Permit of Stay like all immigrants.
Due to family problems, Nadia’s father failed to apply for renewal of her permit.
In an interview with Almaghrebiya.it, Nadia said she was shocked when was arrested and taken to an Identification and Expulsion Centre. She was about to be deported from the country where she was born to a country she had never been to.
“I didn’t understand why I had to be detained there, being an Italian with serious family problems,” Nadia said. “I didn’t steal, I didn’t commit any crime, I only have a father who failed to renew my Permit of Stay.”
Nadia, who was initially feeling very low, said that with time, she learnt that she was not going to solve anything by refusing to eat or being depressed. She said that she was helped to overcome her worries by the other exceptional girls in the detention centre with interesting stories to tell.
Nadia’s stay at Ponte Galeria contributed to her growth. “I understood that in such situations, it’s necessary to react, not give up. It’s necessary to fight always,” she said.
When Nadia was informed of her release, she said she felt very happy.
She revealed that the first thing she’ll do after release is to apply for the Permit of Stay, then meet and spend time with her dear ones.
Nadia appealed to the Italian authorities to ensure that what happened to her doesn’t happen to any other child born in Italy of immigrant parents.
“It is mad for an Italian to be taken in an Identification and Expulsion Centre, not because there are immigrants there, but because there is no reason for an Italian to be there,” she said.
Nadia said that no one should risk being deported to a country they have never been to, without even knowing the language spoken there, simply because the person’s parents came from there. “It is madness,” she said.
Nadia thanked Souad Sbai, MP and Massimo Improta, Deputy Police Commissioner of Rome who worked hard for her release.
She now plans to work and form a family. “I’d like to give to my children what I never had,” she said.
Above all, Nadia plans to fight for the rights of second generation immigrants like herself so that they can become full Italian citizens and never find themselves in “an absurd condition like the one I found myself in.”
By Stephen Ogongo Ongong'a
