From Shining Shoes in Africa to a Seat in Italy's Parliament

Italian-Ivorian activist, trade unionist and newly elected member of Parliament Aboubakar Soumahoro, walks after an in interview with Reuters, days before the possible swearing-in of the government headed by leader of Brother of Italy Giorgia Meloni, in Rome, October 5, 2022.

REUTERS/Yara Nardi

WHEN ABOUBAKAR SOUMAHORO was a teenager in his native Ivory Coast, he used to clean shoes and dream of going to Italy, fi lling a scrapbook with pictures of Italian fashion designs that he cut out of magazines.

He made it to Rome in 1999, aged 19, but was shocked by the harsh reality of migrant life in a country he had idolised. "Sleeping rough in the streets was traumatic, especially when I realised that this was the result of a political decision that targeted the migrants," Soumahoro told Reuters.

Now an Italian citizen, the 42-year-old has a unique opportunity to re-shape such decisionmaking -- from within parliament.

He won a seat in the lower house for the Green and Left party in the Sept. 25 national election and hopes to make his mark from opposition ranks, facing a victorious conservative coalition that has promised to crackdown on asylum seekers. "One thing I will try to do is make sure that no one ends up living in the streets like me. People need to be treated as human beings regardless of what passport they have," he said, speaking ahead of the Oct. 13 opening of parliament.

He will stand out as the only Black lawmaker in the lower chamber of 400 deputies -- one of only a handful ever to have been elected in the 160-year history of Italy.

Soumahoro says with a smile that he will have the "best suntan" in parliament, but is adamant that he intends to speak for the poor and disfranchised, regardless of their colour. "I do not want to represent just one part of society. I want to make sure that everyone, both the dispossessed and those who struggle to make ends meet, can recognise themselves in what we do," he said. https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/shiningshoes-africa-seat-italys-parliament-2022-10-12/

By Crispian Balmer