Somalia, Ghana, Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Niger, Liberia, Togo, Guinea, Benin, Morocco, Chad, Kenya, Senegal, Sierra Leone... in short, Africa... and also Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, India, Iraq, Palestine: these are the countless places of poverty and suffering from which the vessel of humanity arrives on this island of hospitality, non-European migrants who have reached Italy through desperate and unimaginable ways, but with one common thread, the uncertainty of their arrival.

It deeply strikes to experience firsthand the harsh contradiction between the suffering and joy in this place; the suffering of those who still have dreams but do not know what awaits them in a not-so-distant future, and the joy of collaborating in a wonderful project in which everyone is involved.

There are many volunteers who work together with the guests to keep this enormous machinery for others running; donated clothes are collected and immediately distributed due to the lack of storage space, laundry is done, ironing is carried out, wooden and metal beds are constructed to provide a more abundant and dignified welcome, bread is prepared, and meals are cooked for everyone. It's like a busy ant colony, working together, collaborating, and efficiently moving within the many workshops present in the Citadel, where people work and learn, never erasing the memory of who they are and where they come from, finding a pinch of serenity with a childhood game, Wari.

Since January 12, 2023, Biagio is no longer with us, and Don Pino, who has always followed him throughout the years and shared joys and sorrows, successes and failures, continues his work with effort and love. As distant spectators, lying in our meadow of security and comfort, we should always remember that the dream of welcoming a better world should not be the responsibility of just one person, but of all of us.