Between September and October 2025, thanks to the extraordinary solidarity of those who chose to stand with Un Ponte Per through the 'Water for Gaza' campaign , our Palestinian partner UAWC was able to bring an additional 1,000 parcels of fresh vegetables to displaced families and vulnerable communities in the areas of Khan Younis, Northern Gaza and Gaza City. A concrete gesture of closeness, born out of a desire to be there for the Palestinian population.
More than 5,000 people were able to receive local food - cucumbers, chillies, avocados, garlic, molokhia and onions - in a context marked by constant insecurity, evacuations, destroyed infrastructure and increasingly difficult access. A small sign of normality and dignity in the midst of chaos.
These products are not just food: they symbolise a deep bond between the indigenous people and their land, even in the midst of genocide.
All this was possible thanks to the tireless work of the local committees and representatives of the displaced communities, who, while living first-hand amidst displacement, hunger and family losses, with courage and dedication coordinated every stage of the distribution, to ensure dignity for their people, right where they are most needed.
"The most exciting thing for us is knowing that the donations you are collecting with Acqua per Gaza come directly from people for people. When we do aid distributions we explain this to the families: this is all made possible by fundraising on the street in Italy, where each person donates what they can. And people understand this very well" (from the UAWC team present in Gaza).
OUR ANSWER: WATER FOR GAZA
Two years ago we launched our 'Water for Gaza' fundraising campaign to do our part in supporting the Palestinian population.
Thanks to donations received, we have reached 50,000 people with clean water, food baskets and hygiene kits, mobile toilets to meet urgent hygiene needs and limit the spread of disease, and water tanks to provide lasting support to communities forced to be displaced by Israeli military order. With the arrival of winter, we were able to secure tents built from makeshift materials with water-repellent sheets to withstand the weather. In addition, we distributed new fishing nets to allow people to return to the sea.
A CONFIRMED FOOD CRISIS
Over the last few months, the population of Gaza has been facing a full-blown famine: more than 500,000 people were already in a catastrophic state of hunger at the end of August, rising to around 640,000 by the end of September. Dramatic numbers, which tell of the failure of the international community and the denial of a basic human right: access to food.
FOOD AS A WEAPON OF WAR
People, particularly children, suffer from malnutrition due to food shortages, out-of-reach prices and risky access to scarce supplies.
Over 2,500 aid seekers have been killed, and many more injured. Food aid has been turned into a weapon and militarised, with the blessing of the West.
In spite of everything, community kitchens have tried to fight back, serving over 650,000 meals a day. But in many areas of Gaza, they failed to reach those in greatest need.
Cultivated fields deliberately destroyed, supply routes disrupted, economic activities cancelled: hunger has become a direct consequence of the war and the restrictions imposed on humanitarian aid.
HELP US DO MORE. DONATE NOW
Now is not the time to stop. We continue to stand by the Palestinian people in the face of the systematic design of erasure. We continue to denounce with all our energy the responsibility of those who are carrying it out, and the complicity of those who remain silent.
You can support our intervention by donating now to the Water for Gaza campaign.
Now is the time to multiply solidarity efforts to build a different future. Basic necessities continue to be lacking and sanitary conditions remain extremely critical.
Un Ponte Per works with local communities and facilities in the field to bring food, clean water and shelter for the winter thanks to your donation.
Two years after the devastating 2023 earthquake that struck Türkiye and northern Syria, forcing thousands of Syrian families to flee their homes, many people are still living in dire conditions of displacement in the now overcrowded collective centers of northeast Syria.
Many of these came from the areas of Aleppo, Shahba, Til Rifaat and Manbij, carrying with them little more than the trauma of loss and the urgent need for basic necessities.
Further worsening the situation came a second wave of displacements, which began in December 2024, when with the fall of the regime, the security situation further deteriorated due to the reignition of internal armed conflict.
With the arrival of summer, the crisis became even more serious: the chronic shortage of basic services was compounded by a growing shortage of clean water, making immediate action necessary. The precarious conditions in the collective centres continued to increase health and hygiene risks, especially for the most vulnerable segments of the population, such as children and the elderly.
In response to this crisis, Un Ponte Per launched 'Ready to Respond', a key emergency intervention implemented together with the Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC), thanks to the support of Fondation de France (FdF) and Fons Català de Cooperació al Desenvolupament (FCCD). Our aim, to protect the health of displaced families by preventing the spread of water-related diseases through better access to hygiene products, providing emergency WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) kits in temporary shelters.
Delivering a Hope Through Hygiene items
Between 4 August and 14 September 2025, we distributed 4,090 emergency WASH kits to displaced families living in the 100 collective centres spread across Raqqa, Hasakeh, Qamishli and Derek. Each kit contained essential hygiene items tailored to the needs of women, men, children and the elderly, ensuring an inclusive response that respects the dignity of all.
The project was built step by step, starting with a careful identification of needs and the registration of displaced families, in cooperation with the IDP Committees, the Hassakeh Civil Council and the humanitarian coordination authorities. The distribution of the kits took place with great care: each package was delivered directly to the heads of the families, both men and women. In order to ensure that no were left out and to act with maximum transparency, we conducted post-distribution evaluations on the impact of the intervention.
“We evacuated from Manbij after the earthquake in 2023. I lost my brother when the roof collapsed on him. Years later, these kits mean a lot to all of us . Big thank to you." Khaled, displaced from Manbij.
Khaled's story is just one of many that testifies how for families still displaced today, with their burden of grief from the bereavements they have experienced, these kits were not just aid: they represented a message of solidarity, proof that they were not forgotten.
GIVING PEOPLE BACK THE CHANCE TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES
In emergency settings, access to clean water and hygiene products can make the difference between health and illness. The risk of spreading disease outbreaks - such as cholera and dysentery - increases exponentially in overcrowded shelters, especially when access to safe water sources and adequate sanitation is limited.
It is not just about reducing the risk of disease, but about restoring a sense of dignity and normality to people who have lost everything.
By prioritising women's needs and ensuring equitable and inclusive access, this intervention has been a community-led and people-centred response, strengthening the capacity of affected populations to recover.
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
Today, as Syria goes through a delicate phase after years of regime, conflict and natural disasters, Un Ponte Per continues to stand by the most vulnerable communities to support local organisations in responding to emergencies and in the work of reconstruction and recovery. Our work is driven by a belief in solidarity, dignity, and the right of all people to rebuild their lives in safety.
Gulistan Issa - UPP Campaigner and Project Manager
Hospitals without drugs for life-saving operations. Clinics in camps for displaced people without medical staff. Ambulances at a standstill for lack of fuel. This is the devastating reality we began telling you about six months ago, when we saw with our own eyes the effects of the Trump administration's suspension of USAID funding last March.
These have been terrible months, in which we have witnessed day after day the deteriorating health conditions of thousands of people. Since the early months of the year, many organisations have suspended or stopped their operations in the region altogether, and camps for displaced people have been hardest hit. Essential services such as food and water distribution, health care, nutrition and protection have failed, making life even more difficult for those already living in precarious conditions.
In camps like Abo Khashab and Serekaniye, we at Un Ponte Per, together with our partner KRC, have remained the only ones to guarantee health services, albeit with enormous difficulties, forced to drastically reduce the activities of our clinics, limiting them to emergencies and transfers to hospitals.
But hospitals were also gradually losing their ability to provide free care to the population: by the end of April, only one out of sixteen public hospitals remained fully functional throughout north-east Syria. This meant that pregnant women, children and people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses no longer had access to essential and often vital care. Paying the highest price, once again, were displaced people living in camps.
In the meantime, another important change has transformed the Syrian scenario: the reduction of services in the camps, combined with the new political situation following the fall of the regime, has pushed many families to return to their areas of origin. Today we are witnessing a gradual emptying of the camps and the repopulation of areas like Deir ez-Zor, which had remained inaccessible for years. But the return takes place in devastated contexts: there is a lack of water, energy, livelihoods, health services and basic infrastructure.
To helplessly witness the difficulties these people were experiencing, to see the crisis in a health system that we have been supporting for fifteen years to make it solid and free, and to have to suspend the contracts of Syrian colleagues with whom we had shared a long journey, were very hard tests. But it was our sense of responsibility towards them and the local communities that pushed us forward.
Crucial at this time was the support of our donor community, which responded to our appeals to cover basic health needs and gave us the strength to continue to seek new funding and to denounce the injustice of the cuts.
So, after months of effort, we finally started to see the first results.
Since July, part of the US funds have been released, while thanks to UN support, a new project has started that allows us to partially resume support to the Hassakeh National Hospital (HNH), the main medical facility in the region, a referral point for over 700,000 people.
This project aims to strengthen the patient referral system by linking primary health care facilities to the HNH in order to improve access to specialist care. The aim is to remove economic barriers that prevent people from receiving treatment by reactivating essential services. Concretely, UPP will support the hospital by covering the full cost of surgery, diagnostic tests and treatment for the displaced population living in the camps.
We cannot forget the stories of the people we have met in recent months - like Hanan and Nasser. For them, and for all the families who continue to resist in this tormented region, every step forward is crucial. It will take time to measure the consequences on these people's health of the irresponsible decision to suspend funding, in Syria as well as around the world. But it is necessary to recount them, so that we do not forget and so that those who made these decisions assume their political responsibility.
Our work is not finished. We will continue to look for funds, to strengthen solidarity networks and to amplify the voices of those who otherwise would not be heard. But if today we can say that something is starting to move again, it is only thanks to those who did not leave us alone.
Lavinia Brunetti - Health Programme Manager of Un Ponte Per
In continuity with the mobilization launched on September 22, Un Ponte Per confirms its participation in the national strike and mobilization day against the genocide of October 3 and in the subsequent actions.
September 22 was only the first stage: the general strike demonstrated that there is a collective will to resist, which does not accept the complicit silence of governments.
The following is the appeal published on the occasion of the first day of the strike.
With the occupation of Gaza City, the last dramatic chapter of the Israeli colonialist settlement project is being written.
In front of the deliberate extermination of a people, in front of hundreds of thousands of people on the run, exhausted by two years of total siege, in front of images that break our hearts, we cannot stand still.
Faced with the repression of dissent, a media narrative that continues to portray genocide as a 'war between armies', and the silence of governments, it is urgent that we overcome the sense of impotence that pervades us and take our bodies to the streets.
That is why on 22 September Un Ponte Per adheres to the general strike, proclaimed by the basic trade unions and the Palestinian movements. We strike to stop the genocide in Palestine, to reject the normalisation of horror, to boycott an economy that feeds this system of death, to support the difficult journey of the Global Sumud Flotilla, which seeks to break the siege.
We have decided to close our offices in Italy on this day, because we want to give a strong signal of dissent: when governments choose complicity, it is up to us - citizens and citizens, associations and movements - to make our voices heard and to strongly demand the interruption of all forms of collaboration with Israel. And to strengthen our solidarity action, we will donate the day of strike to the Water for Gaza campaign.
These days our activists are in the squares and at the garrisons that criss-cross the cities. On Monday we invite you to 'lower your shutters' and join the mobilisations of 22 September: in the squares, in the marches, to block an unjust system that fuels this massacre.
Let's choose to take a stand: let's strike, let's join the boycott, let's join this appointment, as well as those that await us in the coming weeks.
Let us choose together to be on the right side of history.
From 8 to 14 September in Rome, the first edition of Arene Decoloniali took place, a festival conceived by Un Ponte Per with the aim of opening an unprecedented and urgent space for reflection in the Italian cultural scene.
For seven days, cinema, literature and debates brought back to the centre what has been repressed for too long: the memory of Italian colonialism, anti-colonial resistance and the consequences of a Eurocentric outlook that still shapes politics, culture and society.
A MEMORY REMOVED
In Italy, colonialism has been removed from collective memory. Massacres, deportations, racist laws and concentration camps have been systematically concealed, leaving room for the self-absolving myth of Italians as good people. A process that not only concerns the past, but also profoundly affects the present, influencing narratives on migration, the Mediterranean and international relations.
With the Decolonial Arenas, we have chosen to break this silence, offering critical tools to address the colonial legacies that still run through us.
CINEMA AS A SPACE OF RESISTANCE
At the heart of the festival was cinema, understood as a political and cultural practice capable of deconstructing the colonial gaze.
From the screening of Adwa - An African Victory by Haile Gerima - which has been awarded the 2025 Decolonial Arenas Prize - which restores the memory of the Ethiopian victory against Italy, to Soleil Ô by Med Hondo, which recounts the migratory experience and post-colonial identity, to Abandon de poste by Mohamed Bouhari, with its ironic and disenchanted look at colonial stereotypes and the "new slaves" of western society.
The festival closed with Andrea Segre's L'ordine delle cose (The Order of Things), which takes the viewer inside the Italian policies of refoulement in Libya.
Each film was a piece of a narrative that overturned perspectives and gave back a voice to colonised and migrated subjectivities. The cinema thus proved to be not only a means of denunciation, but also a laboratory for imagining new forms of storytelling and new practices of solidarity.
As Soumaila Diawara, guest speaker at the festival, recounted:
"Arene Decoloniali is not simply a review that seeks to inform people, but is also a form of resistance, which overturns a distorted narrative especially about colonialism. It is an initiative that can not only inform about historical responsibilities, but also unite people who are often far apart, on a common path'.
To also maintain the direct thread with Palestine and the genocide resistance actions, we hosted the Global Sumud Flotilla link.
BETWEEN MEMORY AND RESIGNIFICATION
The festival did not limit itself to recounting the past. It traversed symbolic and political issues that are still alive: from the stealing of works of art in the colonies to the re-signification of commemorative monuments, such as the one to the fallen of Dogali, which still defines the Italian soldiers who fell in Ethiopia as 'heroes'.
A tribute to Pier Paolo Pasolini, on the 50th anniversary of his death, also offered an opportunity to reflect on his critical but ambivalent view of Africa and the East.
And it was during these evenings that one of the most moving moments took place: the unexpected meeting with Gimè Ahmed, one of the African students interviewed by Pasolini in the documentary Appunti per un'Orestiade africana. Having arrived in Italy from Eritrea over fifty years ago, incredibly, he had never seen Pasolini's film, despite having searched for it for a long time. We welcomed him on stage and his emotion, his story became for us the very symbol of this first edition of Arene Decoloniali: a place of memory, encounter and deconstruction.
BEYOND ANTI-COLONIALISM: TOWARDS DECOLONIALISM
Decolonial Arenas proposed an approach that goes beyond the condemnation of colonialism as a historical fact. To decolonise means to recognise how the Eurocentric vision has structured cultural, political and even aesthetic categories.
It also means questioning concepts such as 'development', 'aid' or 'solidarity', which have often reproduced logics of domination.
We also brought into the festival our experience of international cooperation: not as an act of generosity, but as a practice of reparation, and as building alliances between civil societies, capable of changing the living conditions of oppressed people together.
AN APPOINTMENT THAT WANTS TO TAKE ROOT
This first edition marked the beginning of a journey: a cultural and political process that does not want to limit itself to the event, but intends to continue to grow and contaminate other spaces.
Special thanks go to the many people who participated each evening and to those who enriched the debates: Papia Aktar of ARCI Rome, Takoua Ben Mohamed, Maria Coletti, Marco Dalla Gassa, Leonardo De Franceschi, Soumaila Diawara, Silvano Falocco of the Yekatit 12-19 February Network, Daniela Ionita of the Italians Without Citizenship Movement, Angela Mona, Marina Pierlorenzi of ANPI Rome, Daniela Ricci and Micaela Veronesi of the National Film Archive of the Resistance, Lorenzo Teodonio, Alessandro Triulzi, Vito Varricchio.
Many thanks to directors Haile Gerima, Dagmawi Yimer and Francesco Di Gioia, and allə artistsə who made the closing night unforgettable: Khalifa Abo Khraisse and Valbona Kunxhiu, Mario Eleno and Manuela Mosè, Luca Chiavinato.
Decolonial Arenas has opened a removed wound and, at the same time, a space of possibility: an arena where memory meets resistance, and the future can finally break free from the shackles of the colonial past.
And this is just the beginning, the journey continues: in anticipation of the second edition in 2026, we will continue to offer new initiatives and insights.
Follow the @arene_decolonials page on Facebook and Instagram to stay updatedə.
"We have no source of sustenance other than the sea. We are like fish: if we go out of the water we die". This is how Ali Awad Al-Amoudi, a Palestinian fisherman who shares his trade with his father, sons and brothers, tells what the sea means to the people in Gaza.
His fishing nets are burnt, his boats sunk, under the bombs of the Israeli armed forces. "And this," he adds, "is not only my situation, but that of all the fishermen in Gaza. When we work at sea, we eat. If we don't work, we don't eat, because we don't know any other trade'.
In Gaza, the sea has always represented breath, hope, sustenance. Despite almost 20 years of Israeli siege, fishing families have never stopped looking to the sea as a primary source of life, hope for freedom.
Since the beginning of the genocide on October 7th, the situation in the Gaza Strip is beyond humanitarian catastrophe. Among the civilian infrastructures indiscriminately hit by Israeli shelling are also those that have always ensured the livelihood of families and communities, such as agriculture and fishing.
Fishing activities in particular, which historically have been a primary source of livelihood for thousands of people in Gaza, are now almost completely interrupted due to the military offensive and the destruction of boats, materials needed for activities, and storage facilities.
After more than 600 days of genocide, thanks to the "Gaza, waves of resilience" project, 50 families were able to receive new nets to return to the sea.
This is a new intervention of support and solidarity that we imagined together with our friends and colleagues of the Union of Agricultural Work Commitees (UAWC), with whom we work on the 'Water for Gaza' campaign, and made possible by FLAI-CGIL. The trade union organisation had already generously supported us in the past, allocating to Gaza and to our campaign the funds collected from workers' contributions in the strikes of the last two years.
Today, thanks to the extraordinary work of our friends at UAWC, who have been supporting Palestinian farmers and fishermen for decades, we have been able to distribute nets to families in Gaza.
Different nets for each fishery: the maltash, light and dense, for smaller fish; the zieda, deep and strong, for larger ones; the precious shanshoula, long and delicate, for more targeted fishing.
In those nets and in the looks of those who received them there is much more than work: there is dignity and love for their people, a refusal to surrender to death. Every thread woven, every exit into the sea, is an act of resistance.
We are with them. We do not stop supporting the Palestinian people.
DECOLONIAL ARENAS
Rome, Tor Marancia Tower Park | 8-14 September 2025
DECOLONIAL ARENAS (Arene Decoloniali) is the festival that brings the theme of decoloniality to the center of public debate — a core principle of Un Ponte Per's approach to international cooperation and solidarity.
For one week, the Parco della Torre di Tor Marancia (Viale di Tor Marancia 31, Rome) becomes a space for discussion and political imagination to explore through images, words and memories the colonial past and its legacy in the present. A programme interweaving art cinema, literature, photography and public meetings, in an open dialogue between arts and activism, history and identity.
The festival is realised under the patronage of the Municipality VIII of the Municipality of Rome.
WHAT TO EXPECT
The first edition 2025 will host the screening of 10 films, documentaries and short films from different geographical contexts, six book presentations, two photo exhibitions and a bilingual Arabic-Italian reading with musical accompaniment, to give voice to the removed memories and resistances of colonised peoples.
The films are subtitled in Italian and introduced in sign language. The arena is accessible to persons with mobility disabilities.
There is also a book stand by the Liberia Griot and afood area.
HOMAGE TO PIER PAOLO PASOLINI
On the 50th anniversary of his death, the festival opens with a retrospective dedicated to Pier Paolo Pasolini. Two days dedicated to his cinematographic works exploring his gaze on otherness, with particular attention to his relationship with Africa and the East.
EXHIBITIONS
During the festival and afterwards, two photographic exhibitions to broaden the scope of reflection:
DECOLONIAL ARENAS AWARD
To recognise and valorise the contribution of cinema to the decolonial movement, we have established the Premio Arene Decoloniali, awarded each year to one of the films in the festival according to the opinion of experts and the audience. The prize will consist of a specially created work of art each year. (Regulations of the Decolonial Arenas Award).
HOW TO GET TO THE FESTIVAL
The entrance to the Tor Marancia Tower Park - in Viale di Tor Marancia 31 - is easily accessible by public transport, a few metres from the Colombo - Rufino stop of bus lines 714, 716, 30 or the Tor Marancia - Rufino stop of bus line 160.
The programme follows.
PROGRAM
DECOLONIAL ARENAS
1st Edition
8-14 September 2025
Tor Marancia Tower Park
Viale di Tor Marancia 31, Rome
MONDAY 8 SEPTEMBER
Pasolini & the Orient: The Author and the Otherness
This evening is dedicated to a critical look at some of Pier paolo Pasolini's cinematographic works, in particular exploring the author's oriental imagery, not as mere exoticism, but as a complex authorial construction. Through his 'journey to the Orient', Pasolini interrogates otherness and reflects on his own role as a European author.
Presentation of the book Orient (to) Express. Film di viaggio, etno-grafie, teoria d'autore with the author, Professor Marco Dalla Gassa, expert in Orientalism, Arab literature and postcolonial studies (Ca' Foscari University of Venice). Dalla Gassa will present Pasolini's works projected afterwards in dialogue with the audience.
Short film: The Walls of Sana'a (Yemen, 1971 | 14')*
Pasolini launches an appeal to save the ancient city of Sana'a, threatened by modernisation. A poetic and political short film on the link between culture and urban landscape.
Screening of the film Il fiore delle Mille e una notte (Italy, 1974 | 129')
Inspired by oriental tales, the film weaves stories of love, adventure and desire in a fairy-tale and sensual world, where the search for the other is also self-discovery.
Trigger points: frequent nudity, explicit scenes of a sexual nature, references to slavery and violence (not graphic).
TUESDAY 9 SEPTEMBER
Africa as a mirror of revolutionary utopia
This day will explore the limits and insights of Pasolini's view of the 'Third World'. Pasolini speaks of Africa and for Africa, but from an external, albeit empathetic and politically committed point of view.
Human Library with the Association Movimento Italiani Senza Cittadinanza and the Shanghai People's School.
Introductory viewing meeting with Professor Vito Varricchio, (history of Africa), in dialogue with Lorenzo Teodonio, historian by passion, author of Razza Partigiana, scholar of decolonial criticism.
Screening of the film Appunti per un Orestiade africana (Italy, 1970 | 65'). Film-essay in the form of visual notes, in which Pier Paolo Pasolini imagines a possible transposition of Aeschylus' Oresteia in post-colonial Africa, interweaving visual notes, music and political reflections on the continent as a mythical and revolutionary space.
Trigger points: references to violence and slavery (not explicitly depicted).
WEDNESDAY 10 SEPTEMBER
Artistic heritage and re-significations
Presentation of the "Echoes from Dogali" initiative with Giulia Grechi and the Tezeta Association; followed by a presentation by Rosa Anna Di Lella on the collections of the former Colonial Museum and the activities of the Museum of Civilisations (MUCIV). With the collaboration of the Yekatit12-19February Network.
Screening of Abandon de poste by Mohamed Bouhari (Morocco / Belgium, 2010 | ca. 15) Silent confrontation between a security guard and a life-size African statue: the former on duty in front of a building, the latter chained like ancient slaves at the entrance to an art gallery. An ironic and disenchanted look at the stereotypes of colonialism and slavery through the figures of the 'new slaves' of western society.
Online connection with the director* and screening of the film Dahomey by Mati Diop (France/Senegal, 2024 | ca. 67').
A Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival, it narrates the return to Benin of stolen objects from the Kingdom of Dahomey during colonisation and kept at the Musée du quai Branly in Paris.
THURSDAY 11 SEPTEMBER
Visions of the colonial removed
Presentation of the book Visions of the Remover, with authors Daniela Ricci and Micaela Veronesi (National Film Archive of the Resistance) in dialogue with Leonardo De Franceschi and the Yekatit12-19February Network.
Screening of the film ADWA - AN AFRICAN VICTORY, by director Haile Gerima, (Ethiopia/USA, 1999 | ca. 90'); Through testimonies, archive materials and historical narration, the film reconstructs the Battle of Adwa (1896), in which Ethiopian forces defeated the Italian colonial army. A militant work that celebrates African resistance and collective memory against colonialism.
Trigger points: Descriptions and images of war and colonial violence.
Liaison with director Haile Gerima , in dialogue with Micaela Veronesi and Daniela Ricci(National Film Archive of the Resistance), commentary on the film and debate
FRIDAY 12 SEPTEMBER
Decolonial Resistances
Presentation and readings of extracts from the book Il Re Ombra (The Shadow King) by Maaza Mengiste, with the author in connection, together with Sandro Triulzi (Archivio Memorie Migranti) and the writer Djarah Kan*; in collaboration with the Yekatit12-19febbraio Network. Moderator: Soumaila Diawara.
Screening of the film SEARCHING FOR AMANI (Kenya/USA, 2023 | Director: Debra Aroko | ca. 87' | Produced by Generation Africa - COE) When his father is murdered, Amani, a 13-year-old boy, starts filming to give voice to his grief and search for answers. The documentary follows his journey between grief, memory and justice, offering an intimate and courageous look at rural violence in Kenya and youth resilience.
SATURDAY 13 SEPTEMBER
Decolonising the school
Presentation of the book 'Tra i Bianchi di scuola' by Espérance Hakuzwimana together with Daniela Ionita from the Italian Movement without Citizenship, writer Christian Raimo, in connection, artist Takoua Ben Mohamed, and Angela Mona from the education working group Un Ponte Per.
Screening of the film A.O.C by Samy Sidali (2022, France | ca. 18′) in which Latefa and his two sons, Walid and Ptissam, advised by the administration, Frenchify their names when they acquire French citizenship. The film is inspired by a true story.
Followed by the film Soleil Ô (Mauritania/France, 1970 | 98') by M. Hondo. An African immigrant manages to arrive in Paris, he comes up against indifference, rejection, humiliation and racism; presentation of the film by Micaela Veronesi and Daniela Ricci (National Film Archive of the Resistance).
Screening of the short film MUNA (UK, 2023 | 19′)
Muna, a 13-year-old British-Somali boy, wants to go on a school trip. Before departure, she receives the news of her grandfather's death in Somalia. During the funeral, she discovers through traditional music (the oud) a new part of her own identity and roots.
SUNDAY 14 SEPTEMBER
Between poetry and memory: testimonies of Italian colonisation in Libya
Introduction by UPP and presentation of the poems translated from Libyan to Italian by the poet Fadil al Shalmani, deported to Favignana, the poems will be interpreted by the director, journalist and screenwriter Khalifa Abo Khraisse and the actress Valbona Kunxhiu, accompanied by the projection of the short film La terra dei padri by Francesco Di Gioia. This will be followed by the presentation of the book Il mio solo tormento - Canto di el Agheila, by Rajab Abuhweish, written in the Italian concentration camp in Libya of El Agheila, with readings by Mario Eleno and Manuela Mosè (editors of the Italian edition of the poem). During the readings there will be a musical contribution by Luca Chiavinato, a musician who contributed to the soundtrack of the film "The Order of Things".
Yesterday's Colonialism and Today's Migrations
Introduction to the film "L'ordine delle cose" with Giulia Torrini, president of Un Ponte Per; Marina Pierlorenzi, president of ANPI Rome; Papia Aktar, head of migration ARCI Roma and Silvano Falocco, Yekatit12-19Febbraio Network, Ass. Tezeta.
Presentation of the 'Decolonial Arenas' Award
Award ceremony for the film in the exhibition that has most contributed to bridging the repressed colonial memory
Screening of the film L'ordine delle cose by Andrea Segre, 2017, 115'
An official is tasked with stemming illegal immigration from Libya but his journey has an unexpected outcome.
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More than 100 humanitarian organisations are sounding the alarm to allow life-saving aid in.
As the siege imposed by the Israeli government starves the people of Gaza, aid workers now find themselves in the same lines for food, risking injury in their attempts to feed their families. With supplies now completely exhausted, humanitarian organisations are watching their3 colleagues and local partners die before their eyes.
Exactly two months after the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, an initiative controlled by the Israeli government, began its activities, 115 organisations are sounding the alarm, urging governments to act: open all land crossings; restore the full flow of food, drinking water, medical supplies, repair items and fuel through a UN-led system; end the siege; and agree an immediate ceasefire.
"Every morning, the same question echoes in Gaza: will I eat today?" reports an agency representative.
Massacres at food distribution points in Gaza occur almost daily. As of 13 July, the UN confirmed that 875 Palestinians had been killed while searching for food, 201 along aid routes and the remainder at distribution points. Thousands of others were injured. Meanwhile, Israeli forces forcibly displaced nearly two million exhausted Palestinians, with the latest mass displacement order issued on 20 July, confining Palestinians to less than 12% of Gaza.
The WFP warns that current conditions make operations impossible. Starving civilians is a war crime.
Just outside Gaza, in warehouses - and even inside Gaza itself - tons of food, drinking water, medical supplies, shelter items and fuel remain untouched, with humanitarian organisations blocked from access or distribution. The restrictions, delays and fragmentation imposed by the Israeli government as part of its total siege have created chaos, hunger and death. One aid worker providing psychosocial support spoke of the devastating impact on children: "Boys and girls tell their parents that they want to go to heaven, because at least in heaven there is food."
Doctors report record rates of acute malnutrition, especially among children and the elderly. Diseases such as acute watery diarrhoea are spreading, markets are empty, rubbish is piling up and adults are collapsing in the streets from hunger and dehydration. Distribution in Gaza averages only 28 trucks per day, far from the number needed for over two million people, many of whom have not received assistance for weeks.
The UN-led humanitarian system did not fail: it was prevented from functioning.
Humanitarian agencies have the capacity and supplies to respond on a large scale. But with access denied, we are stuck3 and cannot reach those in need, including our own exhausted and hungry teams. On 10 July, the EU and Israel announced measures to increase aid. But these promises ring hollow when there is no real change on the ground. Every day without a sustained flow means more people dying from treatable diseases. Girls and children starve to death while they wait for promises that never come.
Palestinian people are trapped in a cycle of hope and despair, waiting for assistance and a cease-fire, only to wake up in worse and worse conditions. This is not only physical torment, but also psychological. Survival is shown as a mirage. The humanitarian system cannot function on empty promises.
Governments must stop waiting for permission to act. We cannot continue to hope that the current agreements will work. Now is the time to act decisively: call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire; remove all bureaucratic and administrative restrictions; open all land crossings; ensure access to all throughout Gaza; reject military-controlled distribution patterns; restore a UN-led humanitarian response; and continue funding impartial humanitarian organisations. States must take concrete steps to end the siege, such as halting the transfer of arms and ammunition.
Piecemeal agreements and symbolic gestures, such as airdrops of aid or symbolic agreements, act as a smokescreen for inaction. They cannot replace the legal and moral obligations of states to protect Palestinian civilians and ensure meaningful access to large-scale aid. States can - and must - save lives, before there is no one left to save.
Appeal signed by Un Ponte Per and 114 other organisations . SUPPORT OUR INTERVENTION IN GAZA.
"The most exciting thing for us is knowing that the donations you are collecting come directly from people for people. When we do aid distributions we explain this to the families: this is made possible by fundraising on the streets in Italy, where each person donates what they can. And people understand this very well".
When we manage to talk to our colleague Saad on the phone, after days of continuous network interruptions that have made it difficult to get updates, he himself is standing in line for a can of water. In the Gaza Strip today, there is not a single person who is not in need of immediate help and is not on the brink of starvation. Yet, despite the inaction of governments, despite the impunity granted to Israel by Western complicity, help from below reminds the people of Gaza that they have not been completely abandoned.
This is what we are told by the colleagues of UAWC - the Union of Agricultural Work Committees -, the Palestinian organisation with which, since the beginning of this genocide, we at Un Ponte Per have built an alliance in order to bring a minimum of relief to the affected population.
A choice, ours, that was not accidental: UAWC is a grassroots organisation founded in the years of the first Intifada, which has been working from below not only during humanitarian emergencies, but also - and above all - to guarantee food sovereignty for the Palestinian population, forced to depend on external aid due to Israeli settlement colonialism.
THE VIOLENCE OF THE SIEGE
Since Israel's breaking of the ceasefire agreement last March, almost nothing has entered Gaza. The resumption of shelling, with unprecedented intensity, has destroyed what remained of the civilian infrastructure, leaving all hospitals unable to provide treatment.
According to UAWC estimates, two-thirds of the Gaza Strip has been identified as 'no-go zones' by the Israeli armed forces: areas where the population is prevented from entering, confined in increasingly densely populated spaces, without access to humanitarian aid, and with the summer heat making the shortage of clean, potable water even more severe.
"While 95 per cent of the population is at risk due to lack of care, food and water, it is estimated that 100 per cent is on the brink of starvation," lə colleagues from Gaza explain. Moreover, the continuous displacement and the speed with which people are forced to move in order to survive and find shelter also makes it difficult to distribute the aid that we are able to provide through the 'Aqua for Gaza' campaign.
The latest distributions, carried out between spring and summer, were often done at night and under the fire of Israeli snipers. The establishment of theGaza Humanitarian Fund(GHI) has further aggravated the situation.
"It is a very violent operation that aims to break even what is left of social ties and solidarity among the population, because people literally kill each other for a sack of flour," they explain from Gaza.
The US- and Israeli-led initiative completely distorts the principle of humanitarian support, setting a very dangerous precedent in crisis management. "Food and aid have been weaponised and militarised," we are told. As the inhuman images that have circulated in recent weeks have shown, with thousands of people locked in cages and bombed while standing in line for a can of water or a sack of flour. The immobility of the international community in the face of all this shows that impunity in the face of genocide 'is the new normal we must get used to', they reflect.
THERE IS THE WORLD... AND THEN THERE IS GAZA
Yet, the Palestinian population of Gaza is not giving up. "I believe that optimism and hope today are revolutionary gestures," reflects Sharif, our colleague from Beit Hanoun, who now works with us in Italy on the 'Water for Gaza' campaign.
"In recent years, we have suffered so much, between the prolonged siege and the constant Israeli military aggression, that in Gaza we have learnt to always find a way to resolve the situation, even when everything seems to be falling apart. I cannot explain how we do it, but we always find a way to cope with even the worst conditions. Now, for example, there is no more fuel in Gaza. People are burning plastic and they manage to run their cars that way. Next to every tent in every camp, women have carved out a piece of land to cultivate something. We refuse to die in silence. The people of Gaza are not giving up".
This is probably also how UAWC's colleagues manage to help the population with the generous donations that arrive from those who follow and support us in Italy. Despite the fact that it is very difficult to find food at the moment because, as they explain, 'the markets have been completely emptied, and because of the blockade of aid, finding food is increasingly difficult'.
COURAGE AND RESISTANCE
Despite this, UAWC still manages to refer to small producers and farmers who do not charge commission on the sale of the products they grow.
This is how, at the end of May, we managed to reach another 2,000 people with food baskets consisting mainly of fruit and vegetables - cucumbers, tomatoes, melons - bought on the local market at the most reasonable prices.
This work is, as always, made possible by the extraordinary network of local committees and volunteers that UAWC has built up over the years in Gaza. And which is punctually reported and documented with videos and photos, despite the inhuman conditions in which our partners operate.
For the distribution of aid, one now relies on hearing. "We adjust according to the intensity of the Israeli shelling. If they are particularly violent for a few days, we stop. When they slow down, we try to figure out how long it will last and determine where we can get to with the distributions,' Saad explains. Always, however, risking his own life to help his people.
Thanks to this courage, we were able to reach another 500 families with water distributions this spring. Since the 'Water for Gaza' campaign was launched, donations from those who support us have enabled us to reach over 50,000 people.
We were able to distribute food and water, repair some cisterns damaged by the bombings, install toilets in the camps for displaced people, and repair tents during the winter. In each of these cases, we relied on UAWC's assessments, sending what we collected from donations to Italy, and letting them decide what was most urgent.
A practice in line with our vision of the alliance in the territories where we operate: not over-determining, but listening to needs and responding as possible. What has been done in recent months remains a drop in the ocean of needs facing the Gaza Strip today, but it is nonetheless a sign that people - unlike governments - know where they stand.
'There is mankind. And then there are the Gazawi people,' smiles Sharif. "Even in the face of unimaginable conditions, even in the midst of genocide, we refuse to give up. We do not give up. The reality we are going through is unprecedented in the world we know. Yet, we continue to hope'.
They will arrive in Italy for the first time accompanied by their coaches, thanks to a cultural and sporting exchange that we organised together with the Florence-based sports cooperative Centro Storico Lebowski: they are 11 Palestinian children aged between 8 and 13, members of the 'Palestine Youth Club' football team active in the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut (Lebanon).
From 25 June to 10 July, the delegation will move to various cities in Italy: in addition to the sports camps organised by CS Lebowski in their Florence headquarters, the Palestinian team will also move to Bologna and Rome thanks to the contribution of some popular sports realities such as Atletico San Lorenzo, Acrobax, All Reds Basket (Rome); Palestra Popolare TPO, PCB - Pallacanestro Cooperativa Bologna, Polisportiva Hic Sunt Leones and Hayat APS (Bologna). The support of institutional bodies is important, as well as the valuable support of the Italian Football Coaches Association (AIAC). The project 'Dritti contro il cielo, da Shatila all'Italia' (Straight against the sky, from Shatila to Italy) has in fact received the patronage of the Municipalities of Florence and Bologna, the VIII Municipality of Rome, the Region of Tuscany, and the support of the AIAC. For this reason, institutional meetings are planned in the three Italian cities in addition to the sports events.
Among the many activities planned is a visit to the Football Museum in Coverciano on 5 July, organised by AIAC president Renzo Ulivieri, which will be attended by the Councillor for Sport of the Municipality of Florence, Letizia Perini.
The Palestine Youth Club's trip to Italy is part of a very long journey of solidarity and sports collaboration that we have built in the Shatila camp, where we have been working for over 20 years in support of the Palestinian refugee population, and where we actively support the sports centre where the team trains.
In 2023, we also accompanied a delegation of coaches from the Lebowski History Centre there. During that week, the team had held football training sessions with the Palestine Youth Club, involving lə kids in a sporting and sharing experience.
Accompanying the delegation then was director Niccolò Falsetti, who in those days shot the necessary footage for the documentary 'Dritti contro il cielo' (Straight against the sky). The documentary has since been screened throughout Italy, in a series of self-financing initiatives that made the exchange possible.
Our goal is, as always, to keep the focus high on the denial of access to rights for the Palestinian refugee population in Lebanon, and to consolidate the bridges we have built over the years, also and above all through sport. The initiatives planned in Italy will also allow us to raise funds from below and make the second part of the documentary.
The delegation arriving from Shatila will be:
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