Find out more on women migrants across Europe with our documentary available HERE
Silvia (30 years old) moved from Italy to Bosna and Herzegovina
She was single at the time with a four-year degree from the University of Milan. Her reason for migration is that she wanted to be a teacher of Italian abroad. She applied for funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome and first came to Banja Luka for two years, and then to Tuzla where she started with a five years contract. She did not know Bosnian, and it was a bit difficult. There were obstacles in Tuzla with her contract as well as her residency permit, but a very developed network helped her overcome these obstacles.
She had not planned to stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina for so long, but she had a rewarding job there. During her stay in Bosnia and Herzegovina, she got a Master’s degree in Didactics of Italian language and culture to foreigners from the University of Venice, and a Ph.D. in Sociology of Division from IUIES, Trieste. In Tuzla, she met her husband, got married and they had a child. Now, she works as an Italian teacher in a Grammar High School, and as lecturer at the university of Tuzla.
During the interview, she said that: “Being a woman did not impact my migration….. I miss people, food, weather and my language a lot…. It was essential for me to teach my son to be bilingual, so now I can speak Italian with him…. I plan to go back to Italy when me and my husband retire. I want to give my child better chances for the future”.
For her, the object that best represents her migration experience is her wedding ring which in Sardinia, where her last name come from, only women wear. The shape of the ring symbolises grapes which actually represent fertility. The ring is given generally during the wedding ceremony to women for fertility. Silvia got that ring from her mother and for her it is the most precious object of migration that she has, because now it is the item that keeps Silvia connected the most to her host country, but also to her country of origin.
Interview conducted by Selma Smajlović on 2 December, 2023, in Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
To cite this interview, Smajlović, Selma (2 December 2023). Interview of Silvia (from Italy to Bosnia and Herzegovina). Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina (length: 8:05mn).