La nostra comune umanità | Lorena Martinello | TEDxTrento

Quick Overview

Lorena Martinello concludes that overcoming the fear of the 'other' by recognizing our common humanity—the shared needs, desires, and vulnerabilities—allows for mutual support and enriches life, as demonstrated by her personal experiences of receiving unexpected help from those society often marginalizes.

Key Points: Lorena initially experienced extreme isolation during her first six months of international civil service in Sisoghici, Mexico, where locals questioned her presence with phrases like "Cosa fai qua? Chi ti ha invitata? Quando te ne vai?". A turning point occurred after six months when locals saw she was harmless, leading them to invite her to rituals and share sacred food, recognizing her connection to their identity and resistance. The deep sense of connection was symbolized when local women, despite their poverty, collected money to gift her a hairbrush, signifying, "abbiamo visto, abbiamo visto che ci sei, abbiamo visto la tua necessità". After marrying David, they volunteered across Latin America, sharing life with marginalized groups like migrants and people living in landfills, where they learned about reciprocal vulnerability and often received the help they needed, such as a ride to avoid a dangerous area in El Salvador. When Lorena became widowed, pregnant, and unemployed at 29/30 after her husband David died at 33, the assistance that concretely helped her find a new job came from Dauda, a young African asylum seeker she had been helping find work. Lorena now combines her background in anthropology and art to create contexts where people express themselves freely, leading projects like large murals involving diverse social strata and installations connecting people with dementia and adolescents. The ultimate lesson is that overcoming the atavistic fear of the other, who might 'sconquassa il tuo piano ben preciso,' can lead to finding something 'molto più arricchente per la tua vita' because our core humanity is identical.

Context: Lorena Martinello shares her life journey beginning with her immediate departure for international civil service in Sisoghici, Mexico, at 2500m altitude following her graduation. Her experience started with intense cold and social rejection in a remote community. This initial struggle evolved into deep cultural integration, which profoundly shaped her subsequent academic pursuits in anthropology and international cooperation, guiding her life path alongside her husband, David, and later, as a single mother.