What is the Multimedia CD
Frontiere Borders Fronteras

This multimedia Cd – as well as the photographic exhibition – tells the story of a journey that lasted many months and that is yet to be completed. A journey across the borders of the planet between 2001 and 2002. Thus rather than providing an exhaustive description of the countries visited, or taking artistic perspective, this is a thought provoking document – a sort of a travel diary – able to spark off discussions and reflections about the condition of Humankind, the only human race dwelling on our planet.

Serious, heavy, terrible questions arise, summarised by one word: Justice!

The dictionary’s definition of this term is “moral virtue by which is allocated to each what is due and the rights of others are respected”. This Cd documents the lack of distributive justice amongst the peoples who dwell on the Earth. And the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” makes no difference… it is just a piece of paper for the benefit of a small minority of human beings. To provide answers is not the purpose of this material, which cannot, nor it intends providing any. Instead, it highlights issues that everybody ought to give due consideration: the “desplazados” of Cartagena, the  “indocumentados” (“undocumented”) of Tijuana, the wretched of the Earth are questioning us, perhaps one day they will send us the bill.

To get closer to “them”, so different from our “normality”, scares us. Better to create always newer barrier sometimes made of paper, visas, laws… it makes us feel saver. How long cans our safety last, though? The poor, the migrant, the different, are “not good” by definition. And it is also wrong to justify any type of behaviour on the basis of poverty. A “do-gooder” attitude does not work. Respect does! To experience the shantytowns in our world can teach us a lot; it can make needs that we deem indispensable to our survival relative; it can help to travel with a very light baggage, in a cultural sense too. As much as this might be unbelievable for those convinced of owing a “superior civilisation”, those who are poor and ignorant can teach us a lot, providing we have the humility to listen.

This journey in the world of human mobility is meant to help us to see each others as human beings. As different and as cumbersome as any human being might be, nobody needs our permission to exist, although everybody needs respect and justice to survive.

Acknowledgement

Many are the people I wish to thank for the realisation of this work. First of all, Padre Beniamino Rossi – European Superior of Scalabrini Missionaries – who “crafted” my journey and who conceptualised this multimedia support. Without his encouragement and his concrete support none of this would have been possible.

I strongly feel that I ought to thank the Religious Communities that I had the privilege and the pleasure to visit. Then obviously all the Fathers and volunteers that hosted and guided me through the various social context I experienced. But also, and above, all the poor who taught me a lot, at the very least because of the dignity with which they live their conditions, often aware that their suffering is caused by external factors.

Several institutions gave different contributions to the realisation of this project: Regione Lombardia (Lombardia Local Government), the weekly Vita. I would like to mentions each one of them including those I never met personally. I am aware I gave a lot work to a lot of people…

A special acknowledgement to the Centre for Emigration Studies of Rome, and those of Paris and Buenos Aires; to the House of Migrants Network in Mexico and Guatemala, to the Scalabrini Development Agency and the Scalabrini Refugee Service of Cape Town, to the International Meeting on Migrations in Loreto, to the Association “il Crocevia” in Milan, and the Association “Owl’s Nest” in Bogotà and the Association “l’Impronta” in Loreto for their assistance and support.

I cannot (and I don’t want to) omit some personal acknowledgements.

To Franco Franchini, who is a professional photographer, for his technical assistance sprinkled with friendships.

To the translator of this text and Cd:

Cristiana Filtri and Nadia Lupi  - German;
Simona Gallo and Francesco Migliore - English;
Rogerio Bettù - Portuguese;
Enriqueta and Edwar Garcia and Maurizio Pontin - Spanish

If they hadn’t patiently kept up with the changes I asked them to make, we would never have completed this project.

Barbara e Anna from Interage who transformed my loose ideas in to something concrete. I am still wondering how they managed to understand me, but they succeed in the end.

Some people were supportive while I grappled with such a new enterprise for me:

Stefano Cecchin, impossible to count how many email I wrote him…; Padre Arcangelo, thanks to some never ending works, he shared my work and more (like his tiny office and dormitory…);Rogerio, who translated and edit my text (I wish he found at least one that didn’t need fixing…); Roberta… who always motivates me with a “prod” – we managed to fight even with thousands of miles between us and via sms…

I also want to thank the users of this Cd. I hope I managed to realise a useful tool, those who wish to send any type of comment or ask for clarifications, can contact me on this website: www.giuseppelanzi.org or at this email: info@giuseppelanzi.org .

Who is Giuseppe Lanzi?

Born in Sassuolo (Modena) in 1968, at 16 he left Fiorano Modenese where he lived with his large  family (he is the eighth of ten children) and began to travel in Europe thanks to his various work experiences.

Giuseppe has been involved in International Development Co-operation and Big Events Organisations for many years. He collaborated with the following organisations Caritas Italy, Caritas Albania, Italian Episcopal Conference, Austrian Episcopal Conference, Taize Community and with several Missionary Orders on projects in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa, amongst others. He participated to the organisations of events like the European Youth Meetings in various European cities and was sector responsible for World Youth Day, Rome 2000.

His passion for journalism and digital photography arose from the need for documenting the situations met during his journeys. He uses these tools in all possible way to promote the debate on the themes of International Co-operation, Globalisation with a human face and Distributive Justice for all the people of the planet.

Presently he is the Cairmain of the Scalabrini Development Agency in Cape Town (South Africa).

Copyright(c) 2002/2004 Scalabrini Development Agency. All rights reserved. Tutti i diritti riservati.