I Am Malala - Dealing with being uprooted

[Martha]

Malala's family now lives in Birmingham, England. Have you ever been uprooted in your life? What happened and how did you adapt? How did that experience shape your world view?

[Marina]

I wouldn't say I have been uprooted, this is too strong a word for my experience, however I did relocate to another country, namely Luxembourg, where I lived for 2 years between 2011-2013. It was another European country so I wouldn't say life was much different there than it is here in Italy, except for the cold and the fact that almost 50% of the population comes from abroad, especially from other European countries. So it was a very multicultural experience, which was great.

I can't say, though, that I adapted very well, in fact I returned to Italy after 2 years even if I had a permanent contract at work, and despite the job situation in Italy being really difficult. This was mainly because I was so far from my loved ones, although I made so many friends there. I was also hospitalized for 3 weeks while there and it was very difficult, what with me not speaking very good French. I missed my family a lot in that situation.

I think this experience made me more open to different cultures, and made me really love multiculturalism (although I already liked the idea before going there).

Of course Malala's experience is very different from my own, since she was really uprooted, and in a very hard situation to boot. She didn't have a choice. That must be really hard, and I think I can't even begin to understand what it meant to her and her family.