Pair cross Italy by motorcycle to raise awareness about immigration

Rome: Two young women are traveling through Italy on an old Vespa and a motorcycle to raise awareness around the subject of immigration.

Martina Vanzo and Léa Samson Jousseaume departed from the north-eastern Italian region of Veneto on April 6 and are set to reach Marseille, in France, on June 6, after traveling to Sicily as part of the project Mediterranean Highway. Along the way, the pair hope to raise awareness about immigration.

Martina Vanzo is 32, and Léa Samson Jousseaume is 28. They started driving down the Adriatic coast on their Vespa Primavera 125 scooter from 1974 and a Suzuki Djebel on April 6.

Along the way, they visited the Arci cultural association in Brindisi in the southern state of Puglia and the Etnos cooperative in Caltanissetta in Sicily.

They also met up with local groups working with the migrant rescue organization SOS Mediterranee in Bologna and Bari.

At one point during their journey, the two women met with Italian MEP Mimmo Lucano, who earned fame for integrating migrants and repopulating the Calabrian town of Riace, as well as Renzo Bufalino, the mayor of Montedoro, a little town near Caltanissetta that has also become a model of integration.

“Our objective is to talk about immigration and raise the public’s awareness on the issue by sharing reliable information and direct accounts,” said the two women.

The project Mediterranean Highway was born in cooperation with the organization SOS Mediterranee, that operates sea rescue missions in the central Mediterranean.

The duo’s journey is set to cover 5,000 kilometers in total, the women explained to ANSA.

“We sleep in a tent, camping each night in a different place with everything we need for our journey, which will end on June 6 in Marseille”, the women explained.

“Today we are in Caltanissetta, where we were welcomed by the cooperative Etnos which we consider a perfect example of widespread hosting. We found many similarities with Arci’s project in Brindisi, a model that works and integrates young immigrants in small local communities. We will travel to Siracusa in the afternoon,” they said on Tuesday, May 6.

The pair’s vintage Vespa and motorcycle have had mechanical issues during the journey, which the young women have documented, including a visit to a mechanic and the need to change a flat tire.

At night, they prepare a frugal dinner on a camping stove, often in a beautiful spot they have chosen to eat. Martina, a photographer, and Léa, a director, are reporting on their journey through photos and videos.