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Selam Palace: the invisible city { 42 images } Created 28 Apr 2015

Selam Palace - The invisible city

“Selam Palace” (“Selam” means “Peace” in Aramaic) is a squatted building located on the southern outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants, around 800, come mainly from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, as refugees or asylum seekers; most of them are people who have been settled in Rome for more than five years, with no chance of being accepted or integrated into the social structure of the city.

The building and people living there are completely left out by the city’s own municipality and by the national government; this is one of the main problems generated by the latest immigration, care and integration policies of the Italian government, widely inadequate.

At the same time this lack of identity has meant that those refugees were never properly able to benefit from public welfare, school or health care; for many of them, access to public services is also hampered by the lack of cultural-linguistic mediators and by the complexity of the Italian bureaucracy, that very often forces them to endure endless trips through the municipality offices, located in different – and very often, so far – areas of the city.
Furthermore, the lack of health survey on these people causes deterioration of most of their pathologies, including severe chronic diseases and psychological disorders, whose seriousness is not always well understood by the patients.

This already tragic situation is worse in summer, when the continuous waves of migrants from the northern coasts of Africa increases the number of people living in the “Palace” to around 2,500, living with a scarce amount of shared bathrooms, one for every 60-70 people, in severely poor conditions. Most of them are separate foreign minors that come from Libyan refugee camps, bringing – beyond the evidences of torture and violence - diseases like scabies, severe dehydration and tuberculosis, and for whom Italy is just a crossing land to other North European countries with better immigration and integration policies and where they are often going to join their relatives.

Receiving neither support nor any chance or help to integrate themselves in the city where they have lived for years, the only way to feel at home consists for these people in staying in the “Palace”, apart from the surrounding neighbourhood, in a building not built for residential purposes, that has been repeatedly modified over the years, making it increasingly unsafe and insecure.

Being invisible to the Institutions, the Italian government, the Municipality of Rome -that simply choose to ignore their existence- and the remoteness from other districts of the city, has made the residents feel as invisible as ghosts, like “hedertena”, as Eritreans use to say.
Just one step away from our everyday life.
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  • Rome, 2014 05 08: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies.
    SelamPalace_GDF_001.jpg
  • Rome, 2013 09 10: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies.
    SelamPalace_GDF_002.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 17: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors - like the ones pictured - travelling through Italy to North European countries as Sweden, France or Germany, likely to join their relatives or because these countries offer them a better inmigration policy. Here, a young Somali girl among others, in transit is resting on her makeshift bed in the basement of the building.
    SelamPalace_GDF_003.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 07 03: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Playing fooball outside the building is the best way for children to spend their time.
    SelamPalace_GDF_004.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 04 09 Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Residents try to live the best they can, in poor conditions and with occasional jobs, trying to provide to their children as well; here a new born baby is awaiting to get changed by his mother in their poor "apartment".
    SelamPalace_GDF_005.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 17: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, a young man is cleaning his clothes outside the building.
    SelamPalace_GDF_006.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 07 10: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Ali is a Sudanese man who ran off his country because of political prosecution. He struggled against the President Omar Al-Bashir and his establishment when he was a student at University, then was forced to leave the country. He lives in Selam Palace from 2009; works sometimes as a market stallholder and dreams to have the opportunity to return back home one day, in a reconciled and peaceful Sudan.
    SelamPalace_GDF_007.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 04 24: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, some young boys are attending a clothes distribution from NGOs in the hall of the building.
    SelamPalace_GDF_008.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 27: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, some people are chattering outside their makeshift apartments inside the building.
    SelamPalace_GDF_009.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 03 02: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Muna is a 26 y.o. Somali girl coming from Kismayo, a somali city on the southern coastline where Al-Shabaab groups hold total power. She came to Italy at the age of 18 after travelling through Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Libya where she finally was imprisoned; after six months she ran away during a riot and later had the opportunity to find a seat on a boat to cross the Mediterranean Sea and reach Lampedusa. She lives in Selam from 2006 and she dreams to become a TV or movie actress; she also claims to be a nephew of former Somali President Siad Barre. Muna has lost a cousin of her in the shipwreck of oct. 3, 2013 in Sicily Channel near Lampedusa, where 366 people met their death by drowning.
    SelamPalace_GDF_010.jpg
  • Rome, 2013 11 23: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, two men from Eritrea are attending a NGOs medical meeting on general healthcare.
    SelamPalace_GDF_011.jpg
  • Roma, 2014 05 27: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Residents try to manage the open spaces lke this terrace where a "living room" was created.
    SelamPalace_GDF_012.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 02: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, two people are playing a draughts match with homemade bottlecap draughtsmen, to spend some of their time in the palace.
    SelamPalace_GDF_013.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 17: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, a young man is resting on a dirty old mattress in the basement of the building, awaiting his time to leave again.
    SelamPalace_GDF_014.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 17: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. In the basement, muslim people, mostly from Sudan and Somalia have created a mosque where every day takes place the evening prayer. During the last days of Ramadan, people gather there awaiting sunset to pray and talk, sharing rest and dinner.
    SelamPalace_GDF_015.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 07 10: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Bereket is an Eritrean man who lives in Selam since 6 years; once in Italy he recovered his right hand wounded on a mine from a six years old paralysis, a great achievement for him because he was able again to work as a shoemaker and tailor. At the moment he's hosting a sister of him who recently came to Italy; he is really concerned about her to learn italian and find a decent job during her staying. He consider it as a duty being him the only male member of the family his sister can rely. Even in such troubles they always share some happy moments.
    SelamPalace_GDF_016.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 27: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. All these people are temporarily hosted in the basement where an extemporary toilet, here pictured, has been created by the inhabitants.
    SelamPalace_GDF_017.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 03 16: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Bahar is a Sudanese man coming from the region of Darfur, who left his homeland because of political prosecution. He was an activist of JEM, Justice and Equality Movement, an armed party established in 2001 with the aim to struggle against the government of Khartoum and to defeat the President Omar Al Bashir. Bahar belongs to the ethnic group of Kobe Zaghawa, subject to discrimination from the leading ethnic group of Sudanese arabs to which the President Al-Bashir belongs. From the moment of taking power Al-Bashir set up an arab militia called Janjaweed that raided many times the region of Darfur causing robberies, devastations and thousands of deaths, despite of several peace talks and agreements which took into consideration the dissolution of Janjaweed into the regular army. He ran off Sudan to Chad and then Libya imagining to come back home soon but the events forced him to leave to Italy. At the moment he occasionally works as market stallholder and he is still waiting since years to meet again and marry his promised wife, portraited behind him.
    SelamPalace_GDF_018.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 02 20: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, a ngo's volunteer is teaching italian to one of the inhabitants; italian language courses are regularly held during the winter but unfortunately do not receive a great follow up.
    SelamPalace_GDF_019.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 15: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, some young men are seen outside the building, some of them chattering and some calling home. Selam Palace is well-known from migrants because its fame has reached their homelands as well, through the phone calls to families.
    SelamPalace_GDF_020.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 08: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, a young Somali woman with her daughter are awaiting health aid and new clothes from ngo's volunteers; like many young children, the girl is suffering from scabies at hands.
    SelamPalace_GDF_021.jpg
  • Rome, 2013 10 22: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies.
    SelamPalace_GDF_022.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 08: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Sometimes during the night, an eating and drinking cart stops outside the building and the youngest inhabitants spend there some spare hours listening ethiopian traditional music; the owner, an ethiopian man who asked not to be pictured, cares to provide almost every night some leftovers to eat to moneyless migrants recovered in the building.
    SelamPalace_GDF_023.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 03 27: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. Here, a 6 people family is portraited in his ca. 10 sq. meters, no windows "apartment" for which they have paid a "rent" while they had enough money; after they hadn't, they were not allowed from the "owner" to use anymore common toilets. The man - whose surname is italian - is the grandson of an italian man who migrated to Eritrea during the fascist occupation of Eastern Italian Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana) in the 20's of the XX century; he married an eritrean woman and they came back to Italy with their family because of poverty and the repression of President Isaias Afewerki's regime. After a while, they have left Selam Palace to another squatted building where they've found a huger, comfortable and windowed space to live and where the children can attend more easily to their daily life and school homework. The baby portraited with his mom was born in january 2014, when temperature was decreasing low to 3-4°C during the night.
    SelamPalace_GDF_024.jpg
  • Rome, 2014 05 29: Selam Palace is a squatted empty huge building in the outskirts of Rome. Its inhabitants are long term refugees and asylum seekers coming from the Horn of Africa (Erithrea, Somalia, Ethiopia) and Sudan; some of them, a population of about 800, are residents but seasonally, when migrants wave from North Africa to Italy across the mediterranean sea, the population increases up to 2500 units, many of them being separate foreign minors travelling through Italy to North European countries like Sweden, France or Germany, to join their relatives or to meet better inmigration policies. During their staying in Selam Palace, many of them receive some health care from volunteer caregivers and doctors when, once or twice a week, they manage an extemporary first aid station in the building; here a young man can be seen waiting their turn for medicines and new clothes. Being affected by scabies, it becomes very important to provide them clean clothes and appropriate prescriptions.
    SelamPalace_GDF_025.jpg
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