https://youtu.be/OYeFsf-nbFA

Abstract: A Stranger at Home: Preserving the Roots of Italian Canadian Immigrants

With the aim to collect and preserve narratives and artifacts of Italian-Canadian immigrants, the Italian Heritage Project eyes to expand the realm of cultural richness, while promoting diversity and collaboration. I have personally had the privilege of making a small contribution to this great initiative by interviewing a special member of the Guelph-Italian Community, Richard Gazzola. Through a reshaping of identity, a connection was quickly established between my personal story as an Egyptian-Italian-Canadian immigrant, and Richard, as a Trevisano-Italian-Canadian immigrant, which made us both feel like strangers in a place we once called home. Preserving cultural heritage links one’s personal stories with the identify of Canada, which itself was founded by immigrants. Remembering our predecessor’s roles in shaping Canada makes it hard to feel detached from the issue of immigration. By remembering our own personal and nationhood’s history, we distant ourselves from a nativist mentality, and introduce an all-encompassing culture.

ICAP Conference Transcript

Unsure of the exact location of Richard’s residence I felt quite timid approaching the presupposed house. After knocking and waiting a few seconds at the door, I seemed to hear the words “Avanti, avanti” or “come in, come in” but I still wasn’t so sure I was at the right place. Once the door opened, something quite peculiar yet oddly familiar struck my eyes. On the dinner table, there laid a bottle of wine. Undoubtedly, I must have been in an Italian home.

Hello everyone, my name is Abanoub Aziz Rizk. I am a 4^th year Biomedical Sciences undergraduate student at the University of Guelph in Ontario. It is my absolute pleasure to be here among this fantastic audience to share a little bit of my story. To many of you, Abanoub may not strike as a common Italian name and in fact you would be right to assume otherwise. I am Egyptian, a citizen of the country we call Egypt, well… sort of. My favourite food are lasagne al forno, my favourite city is Torino, my favourite movie is Pinocchio and every world cup, except the last one, I proudly hold my flag up and scream “Forza Azzurri”. Egyptian you say? Well, to the world, Egyptian I will remain. I was born in Italy on a cold winter day on December 15, 1997 in the Sant’anna hospital at the outskirts of Torino, in Piemonte. My parents emigrated from Egypt, a few years before, looking for better job opportunities, better education for my brothers and I, and just better quality of life overall. I attended a small elementary school, also by the name of Sant’Anna, in which I learned everything including the Italian language, which became my first language actually, and continued to learn about Italian history, geography and politics. What it meant to be Italian, was engraved into me. On the other hand, my parents were not Italian citizens, and due to that fact, neither myself or my 2 little brothers, Abramo and Antonio, were eligible to apply and become Italian citizens. We were strangers in a place we called home. During 2008 the instability in economy made it tougher and tougher for my parents to find a stable job, so they decided to follow my uncle’s footsteps and apply for Canadian immigration. We officially moved on April 09 2009 and while the first few years in Canada were a bit of a blur, I surely do remember saying the words “Where are you from, I am from Italy” over and over and over again, as at the time, it was really the only English sentence I knew. Yes, I spoke very little English when I moved to Canada and while it surely wasn’t easy, a few years later I finally became leb-leb, in Arabic meaning “fluent”. I am currently studying Biomedical sciences and I am working really hard with the hopes to pursue a career in the field of Medicine.  

During the years we spent in Canada, my parents would speak to my brothers and I in Arabic because our group of friends, our church community and our relatives, were all from Egypt. I became part of a completely different culture. By the beginning of my undergraduate studies I had trouble formulating simple sentences in Italian, which also meant who I was, was also changing. I felt a disconnect with my friends from home, and yet I initially also felt like maybe I didn’t fully belong to the new group I was living with. This metamorphosis of social identity became problematic because I myself was unsure of who I was. When I was in Italy I was known as the Egyptian friend. In Canada, my nickname amongst all my friends, is “Italian”. And when I speak to my aunts and uncles in Egypt, I am their Canadian nephew.

During my 1^st year of undergrad I had the privilege to begin what now became a beautiful long journey of reconnecting with my Italian roots. The journey began with introductory Italian language classes and with the guidance of wonderful mentors, above all Professoressa Sandra Parmegiani to whom I owe everything and truly would not be here if it wasnt for her, I continued to get involved with the Guelph Italian community. I was introduced to the Italian heritage project. The Italian heritage project works in collaboration with ICAP with the aim to collect and preserve stories and artifacts of Italian Canadian immigrants while providing opportunities for students and the wider community to get involved. It is a collective effort with an incredible array of possibilities and opportunity. I was lucky and privileged, to say the least, to have been part and to be part of such a great initiative.

Unlike traditional research courses, the Italian heritage project course offered at the University of Guelph, under supervision of Prof.essa Sandra Parmegiani, involved an experiential learning opportunity in which students could actually interview members of the community and experience first hand the rich hidden treasures concealed in the stories of Italian immigrants. Amazing I know.

The project I worked on fell under the “Oral history” umbrella. Oral history has variously been described as “the interview of eye witness participants in the events of the past for the purposes of historical reconstruction”. Oral historical narrative is able to reveal alternative perspectives, particularly if collected from groups previously excluded from the historic record for reasons of political, geographical, class, gender or ethnic affiliation. It allows immigrants to “tell their own stories, in their own ways”.

Oral history does not only supplement the historic record but may also create a historic narrative completed through oral research. Not infrequently, oral history research leads to advocacy, as a scholar attempts to come to terms with the question, why has this story been excluded from the historic record, and may lead to growing campaigns to rectify the wrongdoings committed against Italian immigrants. It also acknowledges the efforts of those who stood up for what is right.

 Oral history validates personal experience previously suppressed or misunderstood, documents emergent realities, and may even profoundly empower socially, politically, or economically marginalized groups which can therefore be considered a democratizing force. One of the inherent values of such multivocality resulting from firsthand testimony is its ability to qualify, even to counter and erode, prevailing ethnic stereotypes.

 A major task assumed by scholars of Italian folklore is to recover traditional knowledge and often to present it to the general public via exhibits and festivals, like many that we host in Guelph.

Providing students of Italian heritage direct access to a more intimate knowledge of the forms of Italian culture in tune with their own family experience is truly transformative. Despite the large number of “Italian studies” programs around the country, only a few support the fields of oral history. I am proud to have been part of one in Guelph. While studying Italian culture through literature analysis provides a strong insight on culture, experiencing it first hand through field-collected materials is a totally different and unique experience. To get a true taste of Italian culture it is vital that a student comes face to face with the variety of Italian experiences and specific voices in their communities.

Interviews conducted in the field of oral history not only focus on the perspective of the individual being talked to, but also on the experience and thoughts of the historian or the interviewer during and after the meeting.

Multimedia and digital archives relating to the Italian Canadian experience are growing as oral history projects multiply.  Such archives may document important aspects of the immigrant experience, but only a fraction are ever digitized or published. It is our role as conservators of the rich Italian Canadian culture to expand and make this treasure more accessible.

You may now be wondering, how the suspenseful story of the bottle of wine had anything to do with why I am here today. Well, I had the privilege to interview a really special member of the Guelph Italian Community, Mr. Richard Gazzola. The moment I described, was the first encounter I had with him at his own home. I was fortunate enough to spend time with him at the dinner table and to listen to the rich past of his unique and remarkable story. Richard’s immensely successful life and strong attachment to his Italian roots truly struck me and gave me many lessons to learn from.

In many ways, Richard’s story parallels my life. At some point, we were both foreigners living in a place away from home.

As soon as I walked into the house, I was given a very warm welcome. I was offered something to drink and eat, making me truly reminisce the beautiful days of my own life in Italy. The loving nature of this a magnificent culture, of my magnificent culture, was all enclosed in the character I was meeting. After introducing myself to Richard we quickly developed a strong connection as he understood the struggles of having to acclimatize to a new way of life. Although Richard was born in Canada, he lived with an Italian family who greatly valued their Italian roots. More importantly, they lived their life the same way Trevisani lived in Italy during the late 1800s.

Throughout his life, Richard continuously showed excellence in his education and valued the importance of school. Richard dedicated years to study engineering and later in life also pursued a career in law becoming both a professional engineer and a lawyer. Yes, I know.

Richard’s rich past renders him a unique individual amongst the Italian-Guelph community. “A culture frozen in time”, is how Richard likes to describe his Italian roots. Richard’s Italian origins go back many years to the time his Grandmother lived on Italian soil. The language and culture remained deeply attached to Richard’s life.

I would like to share with you today a snippet of one of the most interesting stories he has shared with me throughout this year journey. Richard described to me a vacation which eventually became extremely dear to his heart. A vacation that transcended the barrier of time and made him return to the place frozen in his memory, which, he called home.

“Rio Grande Do Sul” was a magical place in Richard’s eyes. This small town located on Brazilian soil, meant a great deal to Richard because it was populated by Italians who, just like him, were also frozen in time. During the late 1800s, there was a massive migration of Italians to this location due to the political and financial crisis back home. Most immigrants were poor peasants from Trentino and Veneto, in Northern Italy, who were fascinated by the vast presence of land in that region of Brazil. Many of the small farmers cultivated grapes and lived simple lives, reminiscent of the life back home.

The lifestyle of the Brazilian residents was very similar to the one Richard’s grandmother would always speak about. In many ways, Richard’s visits to Brazil resembled his Italian roots more than visiting the same physical places his family came from. The difference was that people in Italy were immensely affected by the development of technology and globalization while those in brazil froze in time and were in many ways, disconnected from the world. One example that illustrates this was when Richard saw something in Brazil that he himself could not believe. One of the local residents was rolling a cigarette with the “Scartoce delle panoce” which involved rolling paper made of starch. When Richard asked the resident whether it was indeed what he thought, the resident himself was surprised. Richard had always heard of this concept but never seen it in person and would probably never see it on Italian soil.

Now, I’d like to share with you a very small snippet of a video I put together of some pictures of Richard and I, and in the background you’ll actually hear Richard speaking in his very unique dialect. Enjoy!

------------- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvsoUj3IKQ-----------

Now, a few years after I moved to Canada, my family decided to travel back and spend a small vacation in Italy. We were asked to provide our Egyptian passport and we went through the foreign visitor gate, a bit as if the 11 years I spent in Italy never existed. In the same way that I felt like I did not fully belong, Richard also felt the same way when he travelled back to treviso. He described this when he told me “Giuseppe, (the Italian name I acquired), I was in Treviso giving a speech to the local Italians but there were words I said that they themselves did not understand, we did not understand each other”. Through a reshaping of identity, a bond was quickly formed between us due to my personal story as Italian-Egyptian-Canadian immigrant, and Richard, as a Trevisano-Italian-Canadian immigrant, which made us both feel like strangers in a place we once called home.

Now, for my favourite part of this whole presentation. Being a somewhat of a non-traditional presenter, a science student, giving a presentation in a conference focused on language and culture, I decided to bring to you something special. I always loved science experiments and so I decided I would conduct one in front of you today. It is a fairly dangerous experiment, so I will put on my pair of safety goggles. In the lab, we like to call this experiment: making a cup of tea. I have here a Silicon dioxide cup, a glass cup, and will be submerging this chemical mixture of esterified fragrances, organic herbal residues, and a field collected mint leaf into a dangerously poured cup of warm dihydrogen monoxide, tap water. Here it is.

Now, surely I must explain or I’ll never be invited to another conference again. This dangerously performed science experiment was meant to represent the concept of social identity formation. The tea bag represents who we are when we are born. Our genetic make up, our imprinted identity. Alone, the tea bag was there, it existed, but didn’t fulfill its full purpose by just being in my hand. In contrast, when the tea bag was submerged in water, its environment, things were very different. The tea bag’s full potential was reached, its role, its function, its purpose was achieved. The water here represents the society we are surrounded by. Who we are when we are born, is not the same as who we are following the life long process of socialization. Now, the water represents one culture. The special thing about immigration is that, the same tea bag learns to adapt to new environments. Our true identity is a mixture of our genetic make up, who we are when we are born, and our social identity, formulated by the environment we are surrounded by. It is the combination of the two that makes a cup of tea such a beautiful thing. My story, Richard’s story, and many other immigrants stories, are special because of both the composition of our tea bag, and our ability to adapt to and reform the composition of our environment. NOW, the mint leaf you ask? I just like the extra flavour (take sip).

Preserving cultural heritage links one’s personal stories with the identify of Canada, which itself was founded by immigrants. Remembering our predecessor’s roles in shaping Canada makes it hard to feel detached from the issue of immigration. By remembering our own personal and nationhood’s history, we distant ourselves from a nativist mentality, and introduce an all-encompassing culture.

I’d like to offer a special thanks to my parents, my dad who came with me today and my mom who is back home, two individuals to whom I owe everything Shokran Baba w Mama. I’d like to thank Prof.essa Sandra Parmegiani who supported me and continues to support me throughout the whole journey, Grazie Professoressa. I’d like to thank Sharon Findley who greatly contributes to the Italian heritage project and has helped me immensely with putting the video together. Prof.essa Roberta Cauchi Santoro who always stood by my side and motivated me to continue pursuing my studies in Italian. And of course, Id like to thank all the individuals who made today possible through the ICAP program. It is truly an honour to be part of this fantastic community. Thank you.