I’ve been a communication lover since I can recall. I’ve studied it and then mastered in Management and I’ve always believed communication has a strong power for change through information and awareness. For the past 3 years, I’ve worked in a creative digital agency in Barcelona, being responsible for communication campaigns online and offline, managing shootings and digital strategies, as well as crowdfunding websites and awareness campaigns for a local NGO responsible for refugee rescue tasks in Lesvos and in the Mediterranean, called Proactiva Open Arms. In March 2017, I came back to Lisbon to join the team of “Para Onde?”, the brand-new SCI partner in Portugal and I’m loving the experience! I’m very motivated for this study trip because after 2 years hearing the refugees’ stories from someone else, I want to be the one hearing them myself. Instead of photos, I want to see the real people, look into their eyes, learn their journey and if we are successful enough to raise awareness in the different countries about the situation, we will be able to promote a better understanding and to potentiate more inclusive communities. Hopefully, if we are able to make a change in every hometown, we will be able to chance the course of this crisis.
Back to real life
I just can’t pack, come back and forget. I don’t want to. I still have a lot of faces running through my memories, I have too many real stories that I haven’t written down. My heart hurts, my stomach squirms, my attention span is out. I can’t, I still can’t come back to real life, hear complaints with no sense, pretend that what I’ve seen doesn’t exist. I don’t know what’s expected from me. But I don’t ever want to forget. People, humans, kids, adults, real lives. They are there. And they are here, in my eyes, in my soul now.
Trip ending
These 3 life-changing weeks just came to an end. 20 days spent with the most incredible people, sharing our laughs and tears, our sleepless nights, our jokes and especially loads of love. We’ve seen the best and the worst of humankind throughout the route, we felt powerless, but we never stopped giving our hearts to the people that we had the luck to meet on this journey. Through clowning, playing, talking and specially listening and connecting, every moment, every eye contact is registered in my soul now, every story that I’ve heard, every injustice and life wish, every hug, every thank you, every goodbye. This experience was life-changing, I’m full of mixed feelings and uncertain thoughts, but I also feel very blessed. This is certainly just a beginning.
