• He describes the harsh reality of living rough in the streets of Rome after arriving as a refugee.
• The 42-year-old is now an Italian citizen.
• He has a rare chance to alter such decision-making from within parliament.

When Aboubakar Soumahoro was a young man in his native Ivory Coast, he would polish his shoes and dream of traveling to Italy. He would cut out images of Italian fashion designs from magazines and glue them into a scrapbook.

He finally arrived in Rome in 1999 at the age of 19, but the harsh reality of living as a migrant in a nation he had idolized startled him.

Soumahoro told Reuters news agency, “Sleeping rough in the streets was terrible, especially when I realized this was the outcome of a political decision that targeted the refugees.

The 42-year-old, who is now an Italian citizen, has a rare chance to alter such decision-making from within parliament.

In the national election held on September 25, he gained a seat for the Green and Left party in the lower house. He now aims to make his mark from the ranks of the opposition against the winning conservative coalition, which has vowed to harshly penalize asylum seekers.

Making sure that no one ends up living in the streets as I did is one thing I’ll strive to do. Irrespective of the type of passport someone possesses, he stated, “people need to be recognized as human beings.” He made this statement before the opening of parliament on October 13.

One of only a few Black people to be elected in Italy’s 160-year history, he will be notable for being the sole Black politician in the lower chamber of 400 deputies.

Soumahoro is confident that he will represent the poor and marginalized, regardless of their race, and grins that he will have the “greatest suntan” in the legislature.

“I don’t want to speak for a single segment of society. I want to make sure that everyone, including the poor and the dispossessed, can see themselves in what we do,” he stated.

A remarkable personal odyssey that included cultivating crops in the fields, laying bricks, working at a gas station, studying sociology at Naples University, and writing the book Humanity in Revolt culminated in Soumahoro’s victory.

He is coy about his personal affairs, simply revealing that he is the father of a young child and that he keeps in touch with his relatives in West Africa. Speaking of “us” rather than “I” is more vital, he added, adding that Italian politics was far too individualized.

Soon after arriving in Italy, he started supporting migrants without proper documentation and concentrated on the exploitation of farm workers. He then established a union for farm workers.
He claims that right-wing parties on the verge of taking power have politicized the immigration crisis in order to attract support.

Both Matteo Salvini’s League party and Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, who received the most votes last month, have pledged to stop boat immigration from North Africa and have enacted what they refer to as an “Italians first” policy.

He claimed that placing Italians first would not help the 5.6 million Italians who were living in poverty and accused the right of failing to recognize the seriousness of the issues these families face.

The election winners have declared they will repeal the so-called citizens’ income, which gives the underprivileged and jobless a monthly stipend. According to Soumahoro, it should be increased rather than scaled back in order to assist more people.

He warned that rising energy and food prices will lead to greater desperation and argued that a more equitable distribution of wealth would lessen escalating social tensions. “Politicians haven’t anticipated the impending hurricane of poverty,” he added.

He continued, “The politics of happiness is genuine. “It is possible.”

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