Fatima, a 36-year-old Moroccan from Béni Mellal, arrived in Italy on June 8, 2024, with a contract she had paid €7,000 for, only to find it was worthless. Sent to work in the fruit fields of Saluzzo, in the Piedmont region, she quickly discovered she would be paid off the books at €6 an hour. «Five of us slept on mattresses on the floor in a single room, two more in the living room. We had no hot water, no washing machine», Fatima told La Stampa, sharing her ordeal. Things got even worse, at her second job, where she endured «insults, humiliations, verbal and physical violence» from her Italian employer and the Moroccan intermediary. «I didn't speak Italian, so if I had to move, she would grab me by the shoulder and drag me. To make me look at something, they would take my face and turn it». Her contract, meant to last until October 31, was cut short abruptly on October 4 with the words: «There's no more work». With the help of an association under the Common Ground project, which supports victims of exploitation in Piedmont, Fatima found the courage to denounce her abusers and start over. She has since left Piemonte and begun a new life. «I study Italian, attend a pedagogical training course, and teach Arabic and French», she said. Despite the trauma, she still believes in her new country: «Italy made me know hell, but it also gave me people who pulled me out of it. I chose Italy, and Italy, in a way, chose me».
