Staying human at the Scalabrini Centre: the testimony of Bintou Diop<\/h1><\/div><\/div><\/div>By <\/i><\/b>Bintou Diop<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ascs.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bintou-Diop-Servizio-Civile-Sudafrica-3.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAt the age of twenty-six, after many travel experiences in different European countries in the area of migration, I felt the need to understand the South African migration context arise in me.<\/p>\n
Today I work in the legal department of the Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town, one of South Africa’s three capital cities.<\/p>\n
Cape Town is a city suspended at the far edge of the African continent, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Out of this meeting comes a singular beauty: unique mountains, landscapes that surprise the eye, a summer climate ideal for experiencing beaches, and a wind so impetuous that trees struggle to stay upright. <\/p>\n
\nBehind its spectacular landscapes, however, lies a reality of deep inequalities, structural violence and extreme vulnerabilities. It is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, not by accident, but as a consequence of broken histories and systems that leave the most fragile behind. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ascs.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bintou-Diop-Servizio-Civile-Sudafrica.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nIt is this vulnerability that I encounter every day at the Scalabrini Centre, through the asylum seekers we accompany. Men and women forced to leave their lands, pushed away by armed conflict, political instability, natural disasters or resource scarcity – when the only option left is to flee. <\/p>\n
Women and men who arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Zimbabwe-each with a unique story, but bound by the need to survive. <\/span>We accompany them daily on a journey that has something deeply human, almost therapeutic about it: listening, support, guidance and presence, within the complex and bumpy labyrinth of the asylum procedure in South Africa. It is not just administrative or legal work. <\/p>\nTitle renewal, personal history, empowerment, appeals, advocacy, strategy meetings: words that punctuate our days with a constant, sometimes heavy, but necessary rhythm.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.ascs.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bintou-Diop-Servizio-Civile-Sudafrica-2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nI could not recount my experience in Cape Town without evoking the many questions and personal learnings that resulted. Being a volunteer at the Scalabrini Centre has been a path to understanding this space, fragile and powerful at the same time. It has been confronting my own limitations, questioning my certainties, learning to work in a complex, multicultural and deeply human context. <\/span><\/p>\nLiving a year in South Africa, immersing oneself in its various languages, contradictions and still-living history, is not just a professional experience. It is a journey of transformation. For me, geographic distance became a form of clarity. As if moving away allowed me to get closer to what really matters. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>Se sei una ragazza o un ragazzo tra i 18 e i 29 anni, puoi partecipare al Bando del Servizio Civile 2026<\/b> con FOCSIV, in Italia e all\u2019estero. Tra i diversi progetti potrai scegliere di candidarti ai progetti di ASCS<\/b> e camminare al nostro fianco a supporto di migranti, rifugiati e comunit\u00e0 locali.<\/p>\n<\/div>Scopri di pi\u00f9<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
\nUnisciti a noi<\/h2><\/div>Insieme possiamo costruire una comunit\u00e0 aperta ed inclusiva nella quale la diversit\u00e0 rappresenta una ricchezza e ciascuno pu\u00f2 contribuire alla creazione del bene comune.<\/p>\n<\/div>
By <\/i><\/b>Bintou Diop<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
At the age of twenty-six, after many travel experiences in different European countries in the area of migration, I felt the need to understand the South African migration context arise in me.<\/p>\n Today I work in the legal department of the Scalabrini Centre in Cape Town, one of South Africa’s three capital cities.<\/p>\n Cape Town is a city suspended at the far edge of the African continent, where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Indian Ocean. Out of this meeting comes a singular beauty: unique mountains, landscapes that surprise the eye, a summer climate ideal for experiencing beaches, and a wind so impetuous that trees struggle to stay upright. <\/p>\n Behind its spectacular landscapes, however, lies a reality of deep inequalities, structural violence and extreme vulnerabilities. It is one of the most dangerous cities in the world, not by accident, but as a consequence of broken histories and systems that leave the most fragile behind. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It is this vulnerability that I encounter every day at the Scalabrini Centre, through the asylum seekers we accompany. Men and women forced to leave their lands, pushed away by armed conflict, political instability, natural disasters or resource scarcity – when the only option left is to flee. <\/p>\n Women and men who arrived from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Zimbabwe-each with a unique story, but bound by the need to survive. <\/span>We accompany them daily on a journey that has something deeply human, almost therapeutic about it: listening, support, guidance and presence, within the complex and bumpy labyrinth of the asylum procedure in South Africa. It is not just administrative or legal work. <\/p>\n Title renewal, personal history, empowerment, appeals, advocacy, strategy meetings: words that punctuate our days with a constant, sometimes heavy, but necessary rhythm.<\/p>\n I could not recount my experience in Cape Town without evoking the many questions and personal learnings that resulted. Being a volunteer at the Scalabrini Centre has been a path to understanding this space, fragile and powerful at the same time. It has been confronting my own limitations, questioning my certainties, learning to work in a complex, multicultural and deeply human context. <\/span><\/p>\n Living a year in South Africa, immersing oneself in its various languages, contradictions and still-living history, is not just a professional experience. It is a journey of transformation. For me, geographic distance became a form of clarity. As if moving away allowed me to get closer to what really matters. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> Se sei una ragazza o un ragazzo tra i 18 e i 29 anni, puoi partecipare al Bando del Servizio Civile 2026<\/b> con FOCSIV, in Italia e all\u2019estero. Tra i diversi progetti potrai scegliere di candidarti ai progetti di ASCS<\/b> e camminare al nostro fianco a supporto di migranti, rifugiati e comunit\u00e0 locali.<\/p>\n<\/div> Insieme possiamo costruire una comunit\u00e0 aperta ed inclusiva nella quale la diversit\u00e0 rappresenta una ricchezza e ciascuno pu\u00f2 contribuire alla creazione del bene comune.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/a><\/p>\n\n
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n
\nUnisciti a noi<\/h2><\/div>