SARAJEVO, December 26 (FENA) – I have been visiting Bosnia and Herzegovina for many years, and now I am in Sarajevo, says young Italian journalist Linda Caglioni, who writes for various Italian media from our country, in an interview with FENA.
She reported from Greece, from the Lesvos island, and last summer she visited the Rab island where she worked on a story about a fascist concentration camp, a story she says is little known in Italy.
“In the future, if I have the chance, I would like to spend some time in other Balkan countries. My articles on Bosnia are mainly published in the newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano. For L’Espresso and Rainews24, I reported together with my colleague Marta Fiorin about the Association ‘Forgotten Children of War’, i.e. a story about children born of war,” she describes her engagement as a freelancer.
Asked how much Bosnia and Herzegovina is present in the local media in Italy, after, as for most of the world’s media, interest in reporting declined after the end of the war in BiH, Caglioni said that not much is known about what is happening in the Balkans in Italy.
“The media do not give enough space to stories from this area. In Italy, as in many other western countries, the vision of the Balkans is very stereotyped and reduced to dangerous simplifications. Through my articles, I try to underline the importance that these countries have on the international equilibrium. I also write about topics related to the war and the migration problem too,” explains Caglioni.
She emphasizes that she is very attached to Sarajevo.
She illustrates this emotion by explaining that for her master’s degree at the University of Rome she did her thesis on the history of the daily newspaper ‘Oslobodjenje’ during the war. She collected stories and experiences of journalists, professors, citizens …
“It was a topic I knew nothing about. I am grateful to this city because it made me realize how strong a passion for research can be,” says journalist Caglioni.
She visited BiH for the first time in 2013 when she worked on a volunteer project with the children of Bosanska Krupa.
“Although it seems that there are many differences between Sarajevo and the rest of the country, I think that people in BiH are very welcoming and willing to help,” she stated.
Currently, the focus of her journalistic engagement is the life of young people in Sarajevo and BiH, education through the so-called two schools under one roof, and about collective centers in BiH.
She says it is sometimes difficult to access sources of information, especially if it is the ‘other side of the coin’.
“I did a course of Bosnian language in Milan and took private classes. Now I’m trying to translate articles and songs to enrich my vocabulary, but it’s a very difficult language and I’m still at a very low level, unfortunately,” says 32-year-old Linda Caglioni modestly.
Concluding a conversation on the situation in Italy in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, Caglioni says the situation seems to be under control, but protests of those who do not want to be vaccinated are still extreme.
“Unfortunately, unlike many, I can not be so optimistic. We do not always learn from pain and hardship, and I am afraid that we will carry the consequences of this pandemic with us for a long time to come,” says Italian journalist Linda Caglioni at the end of the interview with FENA.
