[Picture from same article - copyright nytimes.com
26/12/2012 – Massimo Berruti/International Herald Tribune]
26.12.2012. The abandoned university
building on the outskirts of Rome, colloquially known as Salaam Palace, was
once a sparsely populated makeshift shelter where new arrivals from Africa —
fleeing war, persecution and economic turmoil — squatted to create their own
refuge.
Over the years, scattered mattresses were
joined by sloppily plastered plywood walls, slapdash doors and scavenged
furniture. Today, an irregular warren of tiny rooms includes a small restaurant
and a common room. On a recent cold afternoon, a hammer clinked as a bathroom
was added to a one-room apartment where an oven door had been left open for
heat.
More than 800 refugees now inhabit Salaam Palace, and its dilapidation and seeming permanence have become a vivid reminder of what its residents and others say is Italy’s failure to assist and integrate those who have qualified for asylum under its laws.
More than 800 refugees now inhabit Salaam Palace, and its dilapidation and seeming permanence have become a vivid reminder of what its residents and others say is Italy’s failure to assist and integrate those who have qualified for asylum under its laws.
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