In the year 2000 Suzie Alexander (UWCAD 1982-84) quit London and her job as a CEO for Europe of an American software start-up for Cetona, Tuscany, where she started an organic farm experimenting in permaculture techniques. Bitten by the “land bug”, she learned all about growing olive trees, making olive oil, wine and more, but changing her life in this manner was just the first step for this pragmatic idealist from the founding generation at UWC Adriatic.
After raising her 2 children in rural Italy she embarked on yet another adventure: starting the Loop-la-Loop project to contribute to changing the experience of West African migrants in her community and start changing the immigration narrative in Italy at grass-roots level.
“When I was a student in Duino my favourite subject was History” Suzie explains, “When learning about the Holocaust, I couldn’t help wondering about the millions of people who witnessed what was happening at the time and either pretended they didn’t see or looked away. One day I realized that I did not want to have to face my own kids in the future and tell them that I had done nothing at all when confronted by the plight of African migrants arriving in Italy from across the Mediterranean.”
Suzie’s approach to the complex issue of the inclusion of migrants was simple, humane and effective. She started out by teaching a group of nine migrants crochet so that they could make themselves warm winter garments. This creative activity proved to be wonderfully successful on several counts. To begin with, it slowed their heart rate and breathing, helped them take their mind off their personal traumas and gave them something to look forward to. It also increased their self-confidence, as they took pride in being able to do something useful and worthwhile with their hands and even got them interested in learning Italian. Three years on, seven out of nine are now working on full time contracts and Loop-la-Loop continues to help integrate migrants in Cetona, give them a sense of purpose and bringing them closer and closer to the local community. They now also make a cuddly teddy bear with backpacks that carry inspirational hand-written messages in their mother tongue for children in refugee camps. The messages tell these kids that they are not alone and that education has the power to set them free and change their lives.
Suzie’s aim is now to replicate this model and show others how her grass-roots approach to migrants’ integration is a win-win initiative: it is beneficial not just for the migrants involved but has a ripple effect on others as well. She recently returned to Duino with some college friends on the sad occasion of the passing away of Alessia Bouclas, a UWC Adriatic alumna from the area who was very actively involved in social work. Suzie and alumna Mirella Bellantona now intend to disseminate Loop-la-Loop in Alessia’s name and spoke to all College students on February 12th during an InA conference. Students were very inspired by Suzie’s moving words and many stayed on after the talk to make arrangements to volunteer and support Suzie’s project. Hear more from Suzie in the UWC Adriatic Podcast. If you are interested in learning more about Loop-la-Loop and starting a similar project in your community you can contact Suzie via the Loop-la-Loop Facebook page.
