NINE YEARS AND A FEW DAYS, HERE’S THE STORY OF THE NINE FEST

A few days have gone by since the LIBERI NANTES nINe FEST, the party we threw on Sunday November 6 at the April 25th stadium for the ninth birthday of our association. It was a happy day and for this we thank anyone who passed by, even for half an hour, to wish us well.

It is our duty, however, to get into detail, and to thank those who really made all this possible. So, the first thanks go to the organisers of the Botany-Pasolini walk: as well as our own trekking group, the two actors, Letizia Dalla Nora and Francesco Marcolini, who recited some passages from the works of Pasolini, and to the committee of the Via Pomona park, for their collaboraion and the lunch which helped to refresh our CamiNantes.

A day in which we celebrate the birthday of Liberi Nantes could not take place without a game of football, and Sunday we played against Ferraris Villanova, who didn’t spare us a good hiding…Oh well, we lost in spectacular fashion, but the bitterness of the defeat didn’t last long, and was soon replaced by celebrations.

1.30pm, we had our umbrellas open and stomachs full, enjoying the ethnic lunch prepared by the guys you can see in the photo; our thanks to them and to the CSOA Ex Snia, which allowed us to use their kitchen for the preparations.

The boys and girls of the Coletivo do Bigode and the Samba Precario were marvellous. They sang and played without a break, producing waves of joy that transported us as only the samba can. Our thanks to them and to Boutros the clown, who had the nippers (and not only!) in hysterics.

We also had with us the kids from Barikamà, with their yoghurt and bioloigcal products, and those from Karalò, with their tailoring products.

Thanks, too, to our media partner, Radio Città Futura, who, the day before the event, had invited us to talk about it with Giusy De Angelis, Federico Ghilardi and Carolina Antonucci on the programme Tutta Mia La Città.

Click here to listen to our president, Alberto Urbinati, and Koffi, a former player of Liberi Nantes, being interviewed on the radio

Even if the rain meant some of the planned activities couldn’t take place, including the meeting Filiera Sporca e Caporalato, thanks also to those who who had made themselves available to be there, enriching the day, specifically to Fabio Ciconte from the charity Terra!, Lorenzo Misuraca, from the daSud association and Marco Omizzolo, from the cooperative In Migrazione.

A big thanks as well to Unar, which sponsored the event, to Uisp Roma for their collaboration and to Calcio Solidale.

We are dwelling a bit on all these thank yous, but our gratitude is directly proportional to the beauty of the day we spent and those who made it possible, so thanks again to the Arci di Pietralata, with whom we are working to create a bridge of integration, coexistence and collaboration in the neighbourhood.

The rain prevented us from giving those present the final treat: after the cake, at sunset, there should have been the inauguration of the illumination of the pedestrian footpath which joins the football ground with the St. Michael the Archangel church, a critical route for those who get around on foot in Pietralata, but a dark one. This was a little gift from the local authority together with the parish community of San Michele.

The final, and most important, thanks goes to the boys and girls, to those whom come to play, to those who felt that this event was theirs and did everything to make sure it went well, to those who helped out with the maintenance work and who do so every day.

The April 25th Stadium is really becoming a precious place because the people who are beginning to feel “at home” here are precious. These people are the sign that in nine years of hard work, of expectations and of victories, valuable seeds have been planted to are starting to bear fruit – fruit which may still be small but is rich in flavour.