Friday, July 27, 2018

We are Tracking Bears!!

So far the Refugee Bears have travelled or are on their way FROM


TRIESTE, ITALY

TO:

CINCINATTI, OHIO
RACINE, WISCONSIN
LEROY, NEW YORK
NEW YORK, NEW YORK
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Somewhere in DELAWARE

We will keep you posted!

If you have a bear, make sure to let us know where you are and send a picture!!

Thursday, July 26, 2018

How You Can Help the Refugee Bears

Celebrating July 4 in Trieste
1. Can I Buy a refugee bear?

Bears, like humans, cannot rightfully be bought or sold. However, you CAN obtain a refugee bear. These Bears are free spirits and love to travel and meet new people.

Outside of Trieste: order here: aia.fvg@gmail.com or karolinesteckley@gmail.com
Trieste: call the Italian American Association or come by during opening hours.

Contribution: 30 euros/35 dollars + postage

2.  Where does the money go? 

The materials the Teddy Boys use to make the bears are donated. This way all of the money goes directly to the Teddy Boys.

3. How long does it take to make a bear?

The Teddy Boys are fast machine sewers. The time consuming part is the nose and the mouth because they are sewn by hand. As you know if you make things, the price of the bears does not cover the time that it takes to make a bear. We wanted to make the bears accessible to as many people as possible to raise awareness about refugees and showcase refugee artistry. Because the materials are donated, it keeps the overhead low.

4. How can I help with the Refugee Bear project?

If you live in the Trieste area, you can donate your time and expertise to teach refugees about marketing, accounting, and other tricks of the entrepreneurial trade. We will give you the space to do that.

If you have sewing supplies you would like to donate, great! Stuffing is especially appreciated but thread is also important.

If you have clothes you would like to donate, we will take them. No stretchy material please.

We are also looking for an industrial strength sewing machine (or two). If you or someone you know has one or would like to contribute to helping us buy one, let us know.


5. I would like to make a monetary donation. How can I do that?

Contributions can be made to the project through the Italian American Association of Friuli Venezia Giulia or email us here: aia.fvg@gmail.com

Donations will be used for materials and equipment.

6. Who is helping out already?

American Corner Trieste has donated stuffing. The Salesian nuns (CIOFS) have donated used clothes. AIA teachers have donated used clothes. Malena & Lucia are donating their time to teach the Teddy Boys English. Lucia is producing photos and video for the project. Stefano Gropaiz donated accounting advice.

7. What else can I do to raise awareness about Refugees? 

Talk about the Bear project with your friends and family. If you know refugees, share their stories, too. One personal story can do a lot to change perceptions about refugees and challenge stereotypes.

8. What else do I get with my Bear?

A selfie! If you are in Trieste, you can have your picture taken with the Teddy Boys. If not, please send us your selfie with your bear, the name of your bear and your location. We want to map the Refugee bears as a classroom project at the Italian American Association.

Thank you!
The Teddy Boys, Eva and Nina Bear,Trieste
July 1, 2018





Wednesday, July 25, 2018

The Undocumented Bear

Note: This article has been updated for clarification and correctness. KS

I have a friend named Azim, who was my student a couple of years ago when he first arrived in Trieste as a refugee. We have run into each other on and off since then and now I am working with him and his friend Abbas to help them run their own micro business. 

Here is what I can tell you about Azim. It's actually not much because he would rather talk about the present than the past and I don't have enough cultural literacy to be able to interpret the information he has given me into something more. 

He is 32 years old. He was born in Afghanistan but his family fled to Iran because his country was at war. In Iran he lived in a refugee camp and then in the city of Asfahan. He was never recognized by Afghanistan as a citizen and he was not recognized by Iran, either. Not being Iranian, he was not allowed to go to school in Iran. He began working in a tailoring shop when he was 7 years old. He became an expert tailor. He learned how to read and write on his own. When his father died, he decided to go towards Europe. After a long and arduous trip he ended up in Norway where he applied for asylum and worked as a tailor for two years. When his number came up, he was denied asylum and sent back to Afghanistan because that was where he was born. Having never lived there and having no rights there as a citizen (because he was never recognized there), however, he decided to try again, this time he ended up in Trieste. 

Have you ever met anyone without a nationality? With NO CITIZENSHIP? Can you imagine what that must feel like? Now, I don't want to go on a political tyrade here, but I do want to humanize for a moment the refugee situation we are experiencing here in Trieste. 

So I met Azim when he ended up in my classroom. What impressed me about him was how hungry for school he was. He spoke English quite well, but he came to the beginner class, too, just so he could be around learning longer. When he told us his story, I understood why. Our kids don't understand that school is a privilege. 

Sometimes when we teach we go to the sewing machines. It is pure, hands-on problem-solving in English. Azim  became everyone's teacher. He could sew so fast, and was so at ease with fabric and needles and thread while I just bumble my way through the basics. Sewing is  an art and mastery is a pleasure to witness. From then on, we begged Azim to volunteer for us when we taught sewing to children. He was so patient with the kids and what a gift to see sewing as a skill that brings people together.  

After that, we saw Azim less. His English classes had finished and he was busy taking other courses and doing internships as part of the city's unemployment programs. Each time he hoped that he would get hired. Mostly, however, companies rely on these programs to help them get by, as times are still hard economically in Trieste. 

He came to my office one day to talk. I knew what he was going to ask. All of our refugees come back at some point desperate to find work. They love Trieste, they say, but there are no opportunities here. I know what he means. Contracts are very hard to come by. Ask any new graduate. It is very difficult to find a full-time job. Add to that being a foreigner and things are even more difficult. 

I try to spread the word to my friends and acquaintances that my refugee friends are looking for work and they give the same downward-tilted shake of the head and the sigh that say I know, these are tough times. 

Everyone tells them that, too. They say they want to go to the UK, Germany, Denmark, and we try to tell them, even worse than Italy right now! Governments have changed, there is no more tolerance, people don't want to help anymore. But this myth exists. Somewhere there is a job for me. 

But I don't believe that crap. Nobody wants to hire anybody these days. It's that simple. If you want to make it you have to create your own business. I have written about this here before, so I am sorry if I sound like a broken record, but THE FUTURE IS IN ENTREPRENEURIALISM, PEOPLE!! 

I could feel myself perk up with a little blast of Do-It-Yourself energy. 

YOU CAN SEW! YOU NEED TO MAKE THINGS!! YOU NEED TO SELL THINGS! YOU NEED TO RELY ON YOURSELF!! 

Duh, his look tells me, thanks for the MAN-SPLAIN, Karoline. As if I hadn't thought of that. 

He pulls out his phone, opens up the gallery and shows me photos of magnificent women's purses he makes out of used jeans. 

YES, I SAY! DO THAT! BUT NOT PURSES. Something else... 

We go back and forth for a while. He sticks on purses for a bit, I get stuck on baby clothes and baby blankets since my colleague is pregnant and I need to get her something. 

Then I get this BRILLIANT IDEA (and in this whole altruistic affair, let it go down in history that it was my dang idea!! At least that!!). BEARS. Yes, Bears made of Used Blue Jeans. 

He looks at me like I am wack! 

But at this point I have A VISION. I see the future! It is paved with teddy bears. And I remember that we have an embassy visit on Tuesday. 

Yeah, so, like can you make a teddy bear by Tuesday? And he is like, um, ok, I guess. And we decide to meet on Tuesday. 

In the meantime, I go back and forth on it. He will never do it on time, where are we going to get a pattern? What does this mean? How can he do this legally? 

And I make an appointment with an accountant, because if we are going to launch this super duper teddy business, we need to make it real, people! 

He basically tells me it can't be done. Unless they open a business and I am like duh, that is why I called you. I later found out it is even simpler than that if they start out as Hobbyists and sell at a few markets a year, but that is for another story. 

So fast forward to Tuesday. They come with TWO bears. One looks like a mouse, but I don't have the heart to tell him. Later in the meeting he says "One is a bear, the other look like mouse," so that cleared the air. 

We told the story. I threw some marketing magic into the mix. 

The symbolism of it all! Two hands up thumbs faced in, framing the pretend movie screen. 

A Bear (and a mouse)
A Refugee (and his friend Abbas, who sort of showed up and became part of the project)

What do we all need? Love, Security. 

Could these bears be the secret to both?

Fade out.

The embassy was enthusiastic and with American Corner Trieste they donated stuffing. The Salesian nuns donated used clothes, "Even the poor don't want to wear clothes that are torn and tattered, maybe the Teddy Boys can salvage something," said Sister Giovanna, and the Teddy Boys got to work.

They made 41 (forty-one) prototypes in about a week. Each one is marvelous and unique and dressed up with CRAZY COLOR COMBINATIONS. Seriously. They are gorgeous. They were the belles of the Fourth of July party we had on July 1st. Little people lined up while parents got out their wallets.

I thought I saw Abbas tear up when he saw the little girls choose outfits and then change them and change them and change them again. That was a turning point and perhaps the moment where he realized that Bears are kind of a big deal, and also that the CLOTHES are THE BEST!!

Then I thought about it. 

Bears, made in Italy, by men who are from Afghanistan but not really and Iran but not really and Trieste, but not really. 

Where will they end up? And where will they tell people they are from?

The bears are refugees too. They have no real documentation except the receipt we give people who  buy them. They do not have passports. Some will get stuck in suitcases and flown to distant destinations, especially since my mom got a hold of a picture of them and ordered ten for her friends and neighbors.

Another is on its way to New York next week.

Will they be turned away at the border?

If they are allowed to stay, will they be able to vote on important toy issues?

There are no clear answers yet. I will keep you posted.
Photo: Lucia Villegas








Friday, July 20, 2018

I Finally Went to the Pedocin

For those of you who are new to Life in Trieste, you may not know that there is a special beach here in the center of the town, just around the corner from the fire-spewing iron foundary, The Ferriera, (kindly polluting the Triestine coastline, air, Adriatic, and Servola with heavy metal nano-particles for over 100 years!!) nestled in all cozy-like next to the Port-of-Trieste (Varga 1, arrival port for ships going back and forth from Turkey to Trieste): it's the Pedocin, or it's official name, La Lanterna.

It's the COOLEST BEACH IN THE WORLD because it separates the Boys from the Girls.

The Girls side is PACKED FULL OF WOMEN of all ages, all body sizes and shapes, and all colors, all hanging out and enjoying the estrogen. (Boys up to 13 years old accompanied by a woman can come to the women's side)

The Boys side? There are a few people. Um. Maybe a handful.

Isn't that interesting?

Even MEN don't want to hang out with men.

Just saying.

Entrance fee to this exclusive Grrrrl Escape Wonderland? One WHOPPING euro!!!

BEST DEAL IN TRIESTE!

Why I Can Finally Blog Again!

I have been strangely silent, I know. But this is because I was feeling STRESS about my situation with Social Security and INPS. Here is what happened.

Italy and the United States have a special agreement when it comes to paying taxes. When you become self-employed, you are supposed to pay Social Security in America, not in Italy (INPS) if you are American. (Dear American ex-pats in other countries, For international agreements between the country you are living in and the U.S., you will want to check, beause there are different agreements for each country). The problem with this is that your accountant in Italy will not know this and your accountant in America will not know this, so you are liable to pay twice (which really hurts) or, (like I did) pay once, but in the WRONG COUNTRY and then have to pay again in the correct country before you get reimbursed in the wrong country, so either way, you pay twice and (in shallah) get reimbursed later.

To show that you are exempt from paying INPS in Italy, you need a Certificate of Coverage from the Social Security Administration. This is no problem if you request it at the time you become self-employed. In fact, my friends who learned from my mistake got theirs no problem. At that point you just send a little letter to INPS telling them to cancel your position with INPS and you hold on to that Certificate of Coverage in case you get audited and the Italians want to see the proof.

Today is a day for celebration because.

I RECEIVED MY CERTIFICATE OF COVERAGE
and
I SENT IT TO INPS.

Now let's just say a group prayer that INPS pays me back with the Quickness because I had to pay a giant tax bill in the states (and who knows how much the penalties and interest will be. It gives me tremors just thinking about it!) even though I ALREADY PAID THIS MONEY IN ITALY.

Here is why it was worth doing.

1. It's the Law. And I was breaking it without understanding that.
And I am NOT A RULEBREAKER.

2. This little-known perk: My Italian husband who has never paid into the American Social Security system now has a right to his own little pension (half of mine in addition to the one I will receive) which he can claim even if we get divorced (as long as he doesn't get hitched again).

3. The number of years you need to contribute to the Social Security system in the US is 10 years (or 40 credits, which is the equivalent of 10 years of work) to be in the system, so everything you earn above that is gravy. The longer you stay and contribute to the system the more you receive when you are retirement age. In Italy you must contribute at least 25 years to get the minimum. Keep in mind, even in America, the less you contribute, the less you will get later.

4. When I moved to Italy I thought I was kissing the idea of a pension goodbye forever. I didn't know anything about Totalization agreements back then, so all of this has changed my view of being an old fart. Now I can't wait to get old!!! ;) For those of you who don't know what a totalization agreement is, it just means that many countries count the years you worked in other countries towards your pension. Great news for expats who paid their taxes in the foreign country.

Now that this situation is on the tail end of being solved I have found my desire to blog again without complaining.

See you soon and I hope you are enjoying your summer!!