Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
member it well, there was just one bar, we always went there, but the street was
always dark, not like now when it is well-lit and there are always people about.
Then lots of foreigners arrived. Now there are nearly 5,000 just from my own
country (22 may 2010).
The image of light and dark, referring to the presence of commercial activi-
ties in the district, becomes a metaphor of social life and of a positive view of the
arrival of “peasants” in urban space. babu is 47 years old and has a travel and
services agency with its headquarters in torpignattara. he too has similar things
to say about the district:
i got to know torpignattara in 1990. i came here to visit a friend and when i
went to his house it was completely dark, there was nobody about and none
of my countrymen. Now when i came this month i found, as it were, a town
called little bangladesh, like those who live here and call this district bangla-
town. it used to be completely dark because at first there were no street lamps,
not so many inhabitants, not so many immigrants, that's what the darkness
meant. Now if i go out of my shop i meet three or four of my countrymen.
today most of my countrymen want to live in this area, they want to work
here. (15 april 2010)
Rony is 40 years old and has a degree in political science from a bangladesh
university. in italy, he organizes bangladeshi cultural events. editor of a newspa-
per and founder of the italian institute of bengali Culture, which has its office in
torpignattara, Rony promotes and organizes bangladeshi culture in the diaspora
in essentialist and nationalistic forms. he too emphasizes that the bangladeshi
presence has brought security and well-being to the district:
The bangladeshi community started coming to Rome between 1987 and 1990.
after 1990-1992 some of them acquired houses in torpignattara. why did we
go there? at first it was too dark, there were no people about, it was such a shit
district, armed gangs, prostitution, drugs, drug dealers, the lot. most people
there were criminals, if you got off the 105 bus you wouldn't keep your wallet
for more than three seconds. ordinary people like working women or stu-
dents never went there, neither during the day nor in the evening. but the ban-
gladeshi community, since many of them were arriving with their families,
needed somewhere nearby to live. and they all went to torpignattara because
they saw that accommodation was very cheap; this was because here there
were no conventions, no municipal regulations for building blocks of flats,
everything was unauthorized. so the district became famous for us because
it was cheaper. That's how torpignattara has now become the unique district,
the most famous one in Rome, we community leaders say. and that's how it
has gradually become a big community. (15 may 2009)
according to Rony, this process of urban regeneration is linked to the ban-
gladeshis' economic needs, but also to their moral values that are presented as
national virtues. a bengali, says Rony, citing a general example, would never
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