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November 2013
journey back to the roots of humanity
to rediscover the simplicity of life long forgotten
a movie by Marco Meli
between the sweetness of children
and the brutality of wild animals
kitanewa mission cured by P. Salvatore Ricceri
the travelling friends Marco, Roberto, Sara, Valeria e P. Vincenzo
TANZANIA - THE JOURNEY
Hello everyone, we are three guys who are about to begin a new experience
in particular a journey to Africa.
we want to document everything we will do, see and fell
starting from the sensations before the departure
as You can see we are in a place at the foothills of the Etna, rather You can't because of the clouds.
Sara, what do You expect from this journey?
so, Marco.. I don't expect anything, I want just go there and see what it can offer to me. Will be like a present, and I hope I will not suffer the "longing of Africa".
Valeria, for you?
I also expect a journey to discover a new population, culture and nature really different from ours.
We promise you we will document every important moment. And we hope that after your watching, all of you will want to do the same journey. One of our intents is just this
Of course you need the volition to do this special journey to Africa. But every thinking borns from some advice, so we want to be your source of inspiration, and we hope to do this job in the best possible way.
Byeee
Chap. 1 The long crossing
First travel updating: we are in Roma Fiumicino airport
we have to update the travel group because there are other two new "competitors"
Roberto
and P. Vincenzo, occupied in an careful reading.
we are expecting other 20-30 hours of travelling
arrival in Dar Es Salaam... now missing "only" 700 km
Are around 11:00, we stopped here to eating something
he is our first Tanzanian friend: Ezechiele, that already explained to us something about this our new land
we are almost arrived to the village.. after about 50 hours of travelling
we are here
that is our welcome with a nice song
Chap.2 Nearby of the mission
we are in our first day
we visited the parts nearby the mission, in which they were created agricultural fields, cattle ranches and other manufacturing activities
behind us you can see the hotel that was built, so when the mission will be finished the inhabitants of the village will be able to self-sustaining
after these first hours we can already say that P. Salvatore and his mission have made a kind of miracle in this place
we are in the school of sewing
and here we can see where arrive the sewing machines that we sent to them
we are going to the river with a group of Masai very nice
(italian lessons)
Chap.3 A bit of Africa
second day, we are visiting the nursery school
we are inside a Masai house
this is just a room
this is the entrance
these are our Masai friends
and in the other room there is the bedroom
but unfortunately there is too dark to see
they are really nice and beautiful
this is the house in which we were before
here there is a beautiful child
and here there is the kitchen
they said to us that they can build all of this just in one week and no water goes inside
"after that, we can say that the man dosen't needs to many thing to be happy"
now we are in another tribe
Chap.4 The village wedding
the groom
and there the bride
Chap.5 Safari Ruaha National Park
Chap.6 The black angels
from the film "Muzungu"
- Mr bishop
- we are glad to have you our guest in this land
- populated by giraffes, zebras, gazelles, crocodiles... tigers not... but there are lions
- we are glad to have you in this land populated by *** and white, but more *** than white, to be accurate
- in this mission, lost from the world, where you can't arrive in any way, either by train or by bus... so, if you arrive here there is no way to go away
- in this mission in which live these people that are not like the normal people that in the morning they wash their teeth, they take a shower, they prepare the water for the tea and they wash the cups... all of this in the first 5 minutes of the day
- here not! Because to do the same here you have to work three days
- only to find the water for the tea, it is like win a lottery... if you spit on the ground, doesn't come, because it evaporates before...
- the water that there is barely enough to get you a rheumatism... and all this only with regard to the problem of drinking... I don't want to talk about the food...
- here, in this place, it is not like a normal place where if you lift the sheet under you can find the mattress, here you never know what you will find there
- the flies in our places wake you up for example, here, instead, they make you sleep...
- you can die for an otitis or a stye in this place... if a mosquito bites you, you die!
- if here you get the flu, it is not as a normal place where you can take the aspirin... if you get the flu here, it is better if you start to dig your grave!
- and there are also the cannibals, and someone bites! and who can blame him? I also would bite if I had to stay in a place like this...
- and the people that are living here don't take any day off, any fun, they don't see any movie, any football match... if here you want to see a football match, or you do it or you can't see it!
- you can say: "the priests in Italy don't see the football matches" of course they see them!
- and when these people will arrive to the paradise (stay seated!) and S. Peter will ask them: "did you desire the property of others?"
- they will answer: "of course I desired the property of others, because I didn't have anything and I needed of something to cure the people!"
- and S. Peter then will say to them: "you have nominated the name of God in vain!"
- and them will answer: "of course I have nominated the name of God in vain!" (stay seated!)
- "when arrive the guerrillas, they steal everything... of course I nominate the name of God in vain, I have my good reasons to do that!" (stay seated!)
- and S. Peter then will say to them: "what did you do to deserve the paradise?"
- so, these people will answer: "I loved my neighbor as myself!And you know why? Because i didn't have anything better to do, but I did it!" 0:40:19.500,0:40:20.500 - Amen!
Interview to the responsible for the mission P. Salvatore Ricceri
- good evening to everyone! we are at the end of our journey experience...
- why "good evening"..? start again! 0:40:46.000,0:40:50.000 - Hi to everyone! we are at the end of our journey experience
- and before to leave, we feel the need to ask some question to who is the father of all here
- the first question is: when you arrive here, what was the point of departure to be able to realize after all of this?
- Marco! when I came here, it was already my second experience in mission
- when I came here I remember I brought with me, above the car, one mattress and one bed, cause i was not sure if I would have found these here
- when you want to start one mission in Africa, you can't know all you need for that, and also how you have to manage all your future issues.. so, you can only entrust to God!
- I can't have all the capacities, mostly psychological to carry forward this hard reality, that it is the "miracle man", sometime very high, sometimes very low
- so! Do you never think to come back in your country? where you have all your comforts, far from all these problems?
- humanly, I think that maybe once a week, or maybe once a day!
- but it is the human weakness, it is natural! also because here you are a foreigner
- I like when the people from my country come to visit me, speaking with P. Vincenzo for example, he reminded to me that even if I help them in this difficult situation, they will see me always as a foreigner.
- but if we think about: every person is a foreigner in the world. the only thing is that here this situation is lived in more dramatic way. just if you see your skin colour, it is the only different from all the others
- for the second question I want to go deeper
- as we said before, here you are the "father" of all, in the true meaning of the word
- and looking around and in the various villages of this community that we visited in these day, now we can say that almost everyone here rely on you
- for every kind of problem food, clothes, health, money, and so on... in few words, you are the hope for everyone here!
- but, in the same time. since the people here are too much to be handle by only one person, and the money to help them not enough for every their issue. so, really often you have to be hard with them!
- the question is, how can you be so hard (and you must be like this to handle well all), with people that are asking you, maybe in knee, something really important?
- that's true Marco! but this is the nature of the missionary, He must figure out how to behave with the needy
- the missionary is found to be: first minister, health minister, education minister, doctor, priest... 0:44:00.500,0:44:15.000 - even if my profession is to be a priest, in many situations I find myself to cover different roles that should be covered by other particular institutions, which here there are no
- the needs are so many, I know that! but with their cooperation and with the help of the Saint Spirit I be able to figure out which decision I must take
- however, in any case it is better to give than not give! so, nobady goes away with empty hands and you never make mistakes this is my constitution!
- your priest, P. Vincenzo knows me, he is generous and he trust me because nearly I win him in generosity (without nearly!)
- this also because I come from a wealthy family, and since I was young I started to share and donate my things to the others, so, sometimes God puts the right people in the right place!
- and here, I try to discern all
- the only difference I can say to you respect to my other mission that I made in another place before this one, it is that here the people are more honest of course they are needy, but they are not accustomed to cheat
- and when they come to ask an help, it is a kind of barter
- if they have need, they come here with a cow for instance, or a plenty of maize, or anything else... and if the value of that cow is for example 100, I give to them 300
- Since you lived many years in our country and many years also in this land, you are the right person to be able to do a comparison between the two different lifestyles
- so, our next question is, looking at this two different lifestyles, that we can defined very often opposites, and trying to take the best from both the parts
- what do you want to say to the European people to improve their life? because we know that they create unnecessary problems, living a sad life, so often...
- when if here we give also the 5% of what we have, the people from here would live maybe like in paradise! 0:46:55.000,0:47:01.000 - what is your advice for young and older people?
- fortunately there is the Africa... there is this other face of the world
- you believe when you say that, you can't live a less consumerist life.... it is impossible to go back in the progress...
- but, when you see a realty like this, that is like to go back really far in the time, just with the essential
- you see and you realize many things, and all of this make you glad, because you understand that the man can lives just with the essential
- the happiness of the people that come here like you it is just this
- because after this experience you say: how can I complain about my life? 0:47:31.500,0:47:38.000 - because even if we regress too much in our country, we will never arrive in their situation here... but they are happy here, only with the essential
- but actually we know that, because it is ingrained in our heart
- the man was born nude! in our country we got dressed more and more: clothes, shoes, and so on... but the man actually doesn't need to of all that
- if I had not come here, I would never seen the real man! and the same is for you, Sara, Roberto, Valeria e P.Vincenzo now that you have been here, you know the real man!
- if you had not came here, you had lived the life without know this reality
- if I had not lived here, I would never known the potentiality of the real human nature, because the real man is not in the occidental countries, there, everything is false!
- the first time that I see the real man, was when I was crossing the way from the airport to the mission, and the car has punctured a wheel
- we stopped in a desolated place, and at the beginning we supposed there was not anyone, but suddenly two children appeared
- they were half naked they were two Masai kids
- they were barefoot, then with their body in strictly contact with the ground.. "but don't we come from the ground!?"
- and i gave to them a chocolate, as you usually do here when you see the children to make them happy
- and that children came to me to take the chocolate, not by the hands, but directly by the mouth, like a little sheep
- and when I saw that, I was very amazed! so, I opened the chocolate and I put it in their mouth...
- in that moment, there was the real man!
- and till that time I had lived without know all of that, but we have to realize that the man in our country and the man here are exactly the same
- so, the meaning is just this, that it is possible to live with the essential, without any progress, which we pay a very high price, so much to loose our identity!
- so, well that there is this Africa, and anyone who makes this kind of experience with the poorest people
- here Sara... I want to ask you, How beautiful it is when someone come to you to say: "really thanks"? Because for example you helped him for something very important
- it connect me to God! I get his glory
- it is the goodness of giving! there is a famous phrase of Madre Teresa of Calcutta, but also of S. Paolo, that says: "there is more joy in giving than in getting" 0:50:35.500,0:50:45.000 - but it doesn't mean to be megalomaniac as someone in our country, here everything is free
- I admire very much the missionary priests, but I don't understand why there is so much difference between these and the priests that there are in our country
- for this question there is another phrase that I heard one day that I was in my hometown: "at the beginning all the Christians were missionaries, now, as a paradox, only the missionaries are Christians"
- that was really formative for me, anyway I think that every missionary must be Christian and every Christian must be missionary
- doesn't matter if he is in a mission or not, the important it is the intention that should be always like a missionary
- I don't understand when people of the church say to other priests: "you can take a day off"
- it is no true! the Gospel doesn't say it the priest must do his duty and he must stay in the church
- here in fact, I always stay in the church, sometimes I go to visit the people in the villages, but the people can find me everyday this is my house, I also sleep here
- for the people from here our churches are just buildings, because most of the time they are closed
- in all the time that you spent in your missions, which was the time when you felt most loved by God?
- when I sin...
- I feel the love from God when I apply my human nature and I commit a sin, I merit to go back again to home, ... and instead I stay here anyway!
- there is a pray of the desert fathers that says: "God, let me love you as I loved the sin and serve you as I served Satan!"
- Valeria! the desire to come here in Africa it is not in everyone, we can imagine that maybe only one, in a million of guys, wants to come here. so, what led you to do that?
- I started to think about this journey almost two years ago speaking with friends, because one of them took this topic; so, I started to think about this reality and how had to be the life here without all our conforts
- I wanted to see with my eyes and touch with my hands this place. and now I've done it, I see these people, that without anything, can live a normal life with enough enthusiasm, much more than us!
- and all of this it is wonderful!
- and do you think that the poverty will finish one day? or it will change the place?... or do you think we will always have poor and rich people in the world?
- I think there are poor people everywhere, but poor inside themselves!
- yes, those are everywhere, but I meant the poverty that you saw here
- I don't know! It is difficult as question, because here there is too much poverty and I don't know if someday will improve the situation
- I asked you that because I think many times how can I say to them: "blessed are the poor", when I'm richer than them? I have a concrete house, instead they stay in the huts
- but, the point is that they are saying to me: "blessed are the poor", and not me to them. so, there is a great and depth reality that teaches you how much it is wonderful the poverty than the richness
- I will ask the next question to Sara.
- Sara! in these days you've been here, did you feel useful or unuseful? what is your feeling here?
- before to arrive here, I tried to think about it, about my feeling when I would arrived here but I didn't succeed
- and when I talked with my friends about this journey they were saying: why do you want to go there? Are you not afraid about the sicknesses of there? and so on...
- instead, when I arrived here, after two days, I immediately felt like at home!
- and it is not only for my behavior, but because the people here took me as a member of this family that has been created here
- and that is not wonderful, but more! because here we are different... and not only for the skin colour, but also for the culture, the lifestyle, and so on
- they have a very important quality, that we don't have and it is to not make any discrimination for anyone and also for us, because we are both men, we are both on the same ground, under the same sky... so me and you are the same
- did you feel useful or unuseful? for this mission and for these african people?
- I've felt useful, I think! but, actually I guess that they have been more useful for me than I for them!
- because they gave to me really, really so much!
- nice words, congratulation!
- Marco! you are a guy that scrutinizes, looks, penetrates and meditates before to give a judgment! what about your impression of the african guys? maybe you had some idea and now it changed...
- to give an answer to this question maybe it is good to make a comparison with the guys in our country
- what I think, and it is also the reason why I wanted to come here, is that we live inside a system!
- I think we live in a system, and we don't realize that we are living inside it, and if we want to go out of this, it is almost impossible!
- system means: school, university, work, and so on... that is whatever the institutions want that you do in your life! it is like if your life is already programmed!
- so, seeing that here this system has not been created yet and I hope it will never be created I wanted to come here also to see how the life goes on outside of it!
- and what I saw it is that here it is like to go back very far in the time
- here the people are not running all the time like us, because we have too many things to do and before to finish something we already think the next thing to do! here instead, the people don't run, absolutely, and they have free time
- so they have time to: medidate, talk, rejoice, celebrate, and so on...
- instead, we don't have this free time and we don't do all this! mostly of the people in our country doesn't find the time just to talk for instance..
- and did you see that these african guys, that are not living inside this system, can live a better life, more quiet and serene?
- yes, of course! and the strangest thing is that sometimes I saw that guys without do nothing, but I never see in their eyes the boredom that I see in the eyes of the guys from my country. and I think it is a paradox!