La Transizione Imperfetta - Italy 20 years after fascism

[PolishMagnet]

This is a timeline idea I had floating around for a month or two, and we'll see how it goes. The short of it is:

• Mussolini is assassinated in 1934
• Balbo takes over
• Italy neutral in WW2

I will avoid giving more, as the details of the timeline are meant to be trickled slowly. I will also be... updating slowly. As time allows.

Please tell me if it's bad, good, meh. Suggestions are also welcome.

 

[PolishMagnet]

On a small shopping street on the west end of Asmara, I meet with my interviewee. 23 year old Felicia Pavone is a university student, part of the new generation of Italian Eritreans who want a more equal society after Fascism. We exchange greetings and head inside, where she orders a very Italian espresso. I order an iced coffee to save me from the heat, which makes Felicia laugh. Eritreans, she says, follow the old wisdom that a hot drink will keep you cool in the heat better than a cold one.

Finally, we sat down at a table and I began asking my questions.

Q: Felicia, how do you feel Eritrea has changed in the past 20 years?

FP: There’s a much bigger focus on rights, fairness, and including everyone. We still celebrate our Italian culture, but we give chances to other groups and women. There’s still a lot of work to do, with money and jobs, but I’m optimistic.

Q: How do you feel about the recent changes to language rights?
FP: Like I said before, I’m optimistic. It’s important for us to recognise and preserve the diverse linguistic heritage of Eritrea, and expanding the teaching of native languages promotes inclusivity. It’s a step towards creating a more inclusive society, but also opening up our history and facing the trauma that’s been hidden for so long.

Q: What do you say to people questioning the push for native rights?

FP: I think people need to recognise that an Italian majority doesn’t mean we’re the only ones living here. Eritrea is diverse, and there is a lot we can learn and experience by opening ourselves up to other cultures.

Q: And how is the transition to democracy? Have you voted before?

FP: [laughs] When it comes to transition to democracy… Italians say “la transizione imperfetta” – “the imperfect transition”. It looks good on paper, in the news, you see those turnout numbers… but you see things sometimes that make you say “hmm”. I voted in the local elections recently, and there were lots of people there, but the ballot only had two names on it.

Q: Do you remember their parties?

FP: One was Fascist, the other was UIE (Unione Italo Eritrea, “Italian Eritrean Union”, a leftist party which formed from Italian leftists and native groups).

Q: Why is that? Is it difficult for other parties to get on the ballot?”

FP: Well, I think the Fascist party still holds a lot of influence. A lot of people feel nostalgic about Fascism and the massive growth that Eritrea had, but there are also people who hate Fascism. It’s very sharply split into a “yes or no” vote in most places. If you make your own party, or run as an independent, you’re splitting the vote and people don’t like that.

Q: Overall, do you think Eritrea is free? Is it democratic?

FP: It’s complicated. Some things are better, but there are still issues with politics. You can say this or that about the government, but protests are risky. We’re trying to make change, but I think a lot of people are stuck in their ways.

Q: How do you think Eritrea will change in the next 20 years?

FP: It’s hard to say, but I think it’ll get better. We’re already seeing more inclusivity in terms of language and gender, so I hope human rights and democracy will get better too.

 

[PolishMagnet]

 

[Curtain Jerker]

A really interesting and unique POD, can't say I've seen this before. I also really like the interview and hope you keep writing in that style as opposed to the more traditional "Year X - Stuff Happens" format of many TLs.

 

[PolishMagnet]

A really interesting and unique POD, can't say I've seen this before. I also really like the interview and hope you keep writing in that style as opposed to the more traditional "Year X - Stuff Happens" format of many TLs.

Thanks! The hard part is choosing interesting people/places and keeping each person sounding unique.

 

[Piave92]

I'm very thrilled. Looking forward to read more!

 

[ComradeSimmington]

Liking the look of this!

 

[ChrisTheCat]

I love the POD, and I'm keen to see the consequences. I've always wanted to see an in-depth Balbo Italy on this website. And what you've written so far and how you've written it is also fascinating! Watched.

 

[PolishMagnet]

Interview with a Tigrinya artist

Everyday Life by Ganat Kidane - the painting shows some of the clashes between government riot police and protestors in Asmara during a time of unrest during the 60s and 70s.

To see the next person on my list, I take the train from Savoia station in western Asmara. It takes me northwest, up to Zazzega (Tigrinya: Tseazega), where Italians are the minority. As one of the few urban centres of “Old Eritrea” with a native majority, Zazzega is home to many political movements and activists pushing for change. One of them is my interviewee, Genet Kidane. Born in 1993, she dropped out of school to join the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front at the age of 13. Genet later became interested in art and left the EPLF to paint, and reentered school in 1995. In post-fascist Eritrea, she is one of the most prominent native voices, and frequently depicts the violence and bloody history of Eritrea in her works. We meet at a coffee shop in the city centre, not far from the train station, but I’m struck by how different it is from the Italian one I’d been to in the capital. Our server pours out the coffee with a large boiling pot-like tool, and Genet smiles at my reaction. This was the elaborate “coffee ceremony” – a staple of native Eritrean culture – which one rarely sees in big cities.

Genet wears a traditional white zuria – an Eritrean dress which reaches to the ankles, the front and hems decorated with various traditional patterns. It contrasts considerably with her art, of which “Everyday Life” is the most famous. Depicting the anti-left raids of the 1950s and 60s, it is full of the cold violence which was typical of pre-dominion Eritrea outside of the big cities. Genet notices my confused eyes, and smiles in response.

Q: From what I’ve seen of your paintings, I’m surprised to see you wearing such a modest dress. Why did you choose to wear a zuria?

GK: It represents who I am – my identity and my heritage. And that’s really what my art is about, keeping that history and culture. If you think about it that way, I think it makes perfect sense.

Q: What exactly is your identity? I know you’re Tigrinya, but a lot of people say “native Eritrean” or “indigenous” – what do you think about those terms?

GK: I call myself Tigrinya, plain and simple. I don’t want to be labelled “native” or “indigenous” because those words were imposed on us by Italy. We have our own rich history, culture, and languages that predate the Italian occupation. They stole our land, but they couldn’t destroy our culture.

Q: But the “Italian Occupation” is over, isn’t it? Eritrea is an independent, democratic country, isn’t it?

GK: Eritrea is independent, but the situation remains the same. Eritrea is still an Italian state, and we, as non-Italians, are left to live within a system built up against us. It’s a constant struggle to keep our identity and fight for our rights in a society which marginalises us.

Q: What about the citizenship process implemented in the 70s? If citizenship is open to everyone, how is it an italian-dominated state?

GK: It’s a small step towards inclusivity, but it doesn’t change the fact that Italy still controls key sectors of the economy. Italian corporations own Eritrea, and they won’t just give it up. Political positions are mostly held by Italians, and together with businesses they perpetuate an Italian-dominated system. It goes beyond laws – the state we have now is a continuation of the same state from the 1930s.

Q: What do you think about Tigrinya who served in the army during the war?

GK: I prefer not to think about it. Some of them were forced into it, with hunger or threats of violence, but a lot of them volunteered. They chose to align themselves against their own people, and it had a lasting impact on our struggle.

Q: What do you think would be the best outcome for non-Italians in Eritrea?

GK: I can’t speak for every group, but I think the only workable solution now is for us to lead ourselves. Whether we get our own country, or we control our own land as an autonomous region, we need to have a say in our own lives. There needs to be a space free from Italian dominance. Even here in Zazzega, where Italians are a minority, they still control everything.

Q: If the system is democratic, why aren’t the Italian politicians voted out?

GK: There needs to be a level of trust, and we don’t trust the Italians to play fair. You don’t see it in the news, because they’re all connected – the mayor might have an uncle who runs the local newspaper, whose brother runs the TV station. So the news you hear isn’t free. And the voting isn’t free either. I have family in Adi Gebru (a town west of Zazzega) who were barred from voting because they can’t show their documents back three generations. You can’t have a system like this and claim it’s a democracy.

Q: So you don’t think non-Italians will ever be equal partners in the government?

GK: [frowns] I don’t see the government willingly giving up power. There would need to be a fundamental shift in the political landscape, a genuine push for inclusivity and representation. The way it is now? It’s hard to see that happening.

Q: Do you think your art has helped spread awareness?

GK: I think it has, but the way people look at it… it stops them from going further. Italian Eritreans look at the art, think “how terrible” and move on with their lives. I don’t blame them, because that’s how they were taught. It’s a learned behaviour, and it’s hard to get past.

Q: I wanted to ask about your next project, you announced it last month, about the civil war in Ethiopia. Do you think this is a shift in your career? Why are you moving away from Eritrean history and Tigrinya rights?

GK: It really isn’t a shift, it’s not moving away from Eritrea – it’s really moving back to our roots. Ethiopia and Eritrea, the old one, they’re very similar. I think there’s a lot for us to learn there, especially since Italy never really beat them. We can go back to the withdrawal of 1981, but really the Italian army hardly controlled anything. Ethiopia was never colonised like we were, and it shows. In Ethiopia, there’s a much stronger connection to the past, and they’re fighting for it now in this civil war.

Note - Ganat Kidane is a fictional person, and the painting shown is AI-generated

 

[PolishMagnet]

Interview with an Italian-Eritrean farmer

After hearing from two voices demanding change, I move on to my next interviewee. This time, I can’t take the train, so I ride with a local guide towards my next destination: Agordat. The drive takes us through Cheren (or Keren) and my guide tells me this area is mostly Italian. He is Tigre, one of the many groups collectively called Tigrinya by both the government and foreigners alike, though he insists they are not the same.

“It’s like telling a Sicilian and a Venetian are the same thing,” he says.

“How so?”

“They’re very different, they have their own languages, but they both speak Italian and they have to live in the same country.”

A view of Cheren, in western Eritrea

The dry hills remind me of the Mezzogiorno – the south of Italy. Sure, the air is drier and the sun is stronger, but the feeling is similar. That slow, prodding life of farming in a quiet town, finishing work and melting in the sun.

We reach our destination, a quiet Italian ranch, just as the sun starts coming down from its peak. My guide tells me he wants to stay in the car, so I get out and proceed to the front door. I don’t even need to knock, as my man is already waiting – Emilio Faraldo, a sturdy Italian man with weathered features, grabs my hand and squeezes it half to death. One croaky “bongiorno” and dried-out smile later, he finally lets me go.

He shows me around the ranch and tells me about his past. His parents had moved here, back before it was a dominion, and he inherited it from them – his father had been a soldier, given land in exchange for fighting the Ethiopian rebels.

Q: It’s been twenty years since Fascism ended, how have things changed?

EF: Well, everyone talks more than they used to. Back then, they built things like roads and farms. Order and discipline – that’s what a country needs. People like to complain about its problems, but fascism made Eritrea what it is today. Nowadays all they do is talk.

Q: How do you feel about the recent changes to language rights? Do you think Tigrinya and Arabic should be taught in school?
EF: Everyone gets to speak their own language. It’s never been illegal to speak Arabic or whatever. In Sicily, people talk to their grandparents in Siciliano and that’s fine. But the language of the government is Italian – it’s part of our history, and it’s how things get done. If everyone uses their own language for every little town, how is the country going to work? They can speak Arabic or Afar or whatever, but Italian comes first.

Q: Do you speak any of the minority languages?

EF: No. Italian is what I grew up speaking, and that’s what I will keep speaking. It’s the language of history and progress. I know a few words of Arabic, useful in the markets sometimes, but I don’t see the need to learn it fluently.

Q: Do you remember the day fascism ended? Back in 1994?

EF: Oh, I remember. I was here on my ranch, going about my work, when I came back to the house for my keys. My wife and son were sitting at the table in silence, and the radio was explaining the news. We all saw it coming, we just didn’t expect it to happen. There was that feeling of not knowing what’s next, and we were afraid of violence like the things that happened in other African countries.

Q: Did you expect that to happen? Land seizure?
EF: We were all scared at that time, but we didn’t really think it would happen. Eritrea is majority Italian, and it has been since before I was born (1963). It was a strange time, because we could have continued Fascism on our own, even without Italy.

Q: Do you think Eritrea should have kept fascism, even after it ended in Italy?

EF: I think so. It was a system that brought progress and stability, and we shouldn’t have abandoned it. Eritrea didn’t have to establish democracy. It had its own rights outside of Italy, and while we are loyal to Italy and the King, the Governor-General was not ordered to do anything.

Q: Does your family agree?

EF: My son, Marco, he grew up in a different time. He doesn’t know how things were before. When my parents moved here, there were bandits, scammers, and the war (the “East Africa War” – aka the anti-Italian rebellion in East Africa). Marco has always had the stability that Fascism gave us. He went to the university up in Asmara, the one built by Italy. He supports democracy because he doesn’t know life without it.

Q: And do you take part in elections?

EF: [sighs] I don’t pretend to understand democracy, but I understand fascism. I don’t think anything needs to change, so I vote in every election.

Q: And who do you vote for?

EF: The fascists, obviously.

 

[PolishMagnet]

 

[Curtain Jerker]

I sound like a broken record but I'm digging this TL a ton. Did the broad strokes of WWII happen ITTL - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan losing to an alliance of UK/USA/USSR?

 

[PolishMagnet]

I sound like a broken record but I'm digging this TL a ton. Did the broad strokes of WWII happen ITTL - Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan losing to an alliance of UK/USA/USSR?

Yep. Alt-ww2 will be explained in more detail when we go to Italy, for now we are focusing on East Africa.

Thanks for your kind comments 😊

 

[Reisen Storm]

Born in 1993, she dropped out of school to join the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front at the age of 13. Genet later became interested in art and left the EPLF to paint, and reentered school in 1995.

They grow up so fast.

But this is a rather interesting timeline. Rarely do I see people write about the aftermath of fascism in Italian colonies. Waiting on the next chapter.

 

[Nazi Space Spy]

Great graphics!!

 

[Neoteros]

Great timeline and, sadly, very plausible, if Fascism had endured for that long.

The best case scenario for Italian Eritrea, IMO, would've been for it to become a dumping ground for political prisoners, managed by Fascists "kicked upstairs" and given a post there because keeping them in Italy would've been risky, due to their being perceived as a potential threat; basically, the likes of Carlo Levi go there as exiles, while D'Annunzio and people like him get to call the shots. With a bit of luck, an anti-Mussolini front could've arisen there, uniting heterodox fascists, socialists, and the Eritrean populace, with the local government eventually defecting to the Allies, and implementing full racial and religious equality in the country, due to the influence of heterodox fascists (the Charter of Carnaro was oddly progressive, after all) and socialists alike.

After the war, there'd surely be Italians who'd stay there, and Eritreans who'd fly to Italy instead; hopefully, this shared legacy of anti-Fascist struggle and weird political experimentation might pave the way for a less racist Italy (the sudden switch from being a country people emigrated from, to being a country people immigrated to, has had some unpleasant consequences IRL), and one where the various colonial war crimes would be better known.

 

[Beatriz]

This reminds me of @ruth ‘s The Sun Also Rises and the implementation of an ahem less-openly fascist system in the Pacific States despite the continuation of a sustem designed to promote Japanese settlers and Japanese-Americans to the top

 

[PolishMagnet]

The best case scenario for Italian Eritrea, IMO, would've been for it to become a dumping ground for political prisoners, managed by Fascists "kicked upstairs" and given a post there because keeping them in Italy would've been risky, due to their being perceived as a potential threat; basically, the likes of Carlo Levi go there as exiles, while D'Annunzio and people like him get to call the shots. With a bit of luck, an anti-Mussolini front could've arisen there, uniting heterodox fascists, socialists, and the Eritrean populace, with the local government eventually defecting to the Allies, and implementing full racial and religious equality in the country, due to the influence of heterodox fascists (the Charter of Carnaro was oddly progressive, after all) and socialists alike.

Yeah I cover this a bit more in one of the later interviews, but a lot of people get dumped there. The difference with having Balbo in charge is that he was really in favour of (to my knowledge) assimilating people into Italian culture.

You can see the push for solidarity between antifascists and equal rights activists in the interview with Felicia (uni student) - the main opposition party is a wide base social democratic party, but of course this means a lot of traditionalists don't like them. Left-wing Italians also end up sharing some of the prejudices that the fascists have, and it becomes a big mess.

After the war, there'd surely be Italians who'd stay there, and Eritreans who'd fly to Italy instead; hopefully, this shared legacy of anti-Fascist struggle and weird political experimentation might pave the way for a less racist Italy (the sudden switch from being a country people emigrated from, to being a country people immigrated to, has had some unpleasant consequences IRL), and one where the various colonial war crimes would be better known.

Yeah the situation they have now is that Eritrea is suffering from nepotism - there are definitely people bringing change, but they don't want to change things too much. I will try to cover war crimes in greater detail in another chapter.

 

[thezerech]

This is amazing!!!

I love the approach of going through oral history as a way to examine alternative history. It leaves a lot to the imagination, which is refreshing, and really makes the setting come alive. These feel like genuine interviews.

I am very interested in what comes next.

 

[PolishMagnet]

Interview with Italian veteran in Somalia

Finishing my time in Eritrea, I cut across Harrar in the direction of Somalia. I will be taking a zig-zag route to the Ogaden region, then back into Harrar, and crossing back into Somalia. I’ll be avoiding Amara and Ethiopia due to the tenuous political situation in those countries, but I hope to visit sometime in the future.

My next interview is in Dagabur (Somali: Dhagaxbuur), one of the more interior cities of Somalia. Here, where Balbo’s Italy did its best to bring Italian industry to the fringes of the empire, there’s a sea of mass-produced concrete structures. Among the hundreds of tightly-packed concrete apartment complexes, I walk with my head back, looking in awe at the jarring skyline. Hearing a few giggles from locals, I bring my eyes back to the ground and soon enough find the home of my interviewee. Michele Amadori, a 47 year old Italian veteran, served alongside anti-guerilla forces deployed in Scio, the former Italian military district around Addis Ababa in Ethiopia.

He meets me in the sparse, tiled lobby and shakes my hand silently. “We’ll try the elevator, but I don’t know if they fixed it yet,” he says. Luckily, it has indeed been fixed, and we take it to his floor without issue. Our interview begins not in his apartment, but in the half-open hallway. From there, we look out at a view of the city – a premium 9th floor view.

Q: It’s quite a view.

Michele nods, looking far into the distance.

MA: It gives you a different perspective on things.

Q: When did you move here?

MA: About a decade ago. I moved a lot and didn’t know where to go. I had never been to Dagabur before and thought it would be a fresh start.

Q: When did you leave the army?

MA: I left in 1983. It was just after we pulled out of Scio, and things were changing in Harrar, so I could either join the new Somali army or quit. Italy didn’t need soldiers in Africa anymore.

Q: And how have you adjusted?

MA: Honestly? It was tough. I had to find my own way, struggle by myself… but I got used to it. I found work, made a living.

Q: You didn’t get a pension?

MA: [scoffs] From who? The government in Rome – they don’t want to talk about the war. The fighting is over, and they want to move on.

Michele is referring to the widespread disownment of Italian soldiers following the East African War. Italy hired its African soldiers indirectly – the new dominion status of Eritrea and Somalia was used to hire both European Italians and colonial citizens into the army, but with the added benefit of plausible deniability. Any war crimes could be buried under colonial bureaucracy or a lack of paperwork.

And while some in Italy continue to lobby for the rights of veterans, most who fought in the East African War were given grants to settle in Eritrea and Somalia. Those grants, financed by the Italian government, also allowed the two dominions to boost their Italian population by just a little bit more. Every effort was made to turn away international pressure.

Q: Dagabur is mostly Somali – do you ever feel resentment from locals?

MA: Some people here don’t like Italians in general, but it’s complicated. There were a lot of Somalis who fought alongside Italy, like the Ascaris. These days, people avoid the past and just try to judge based on life today, especially since a lot of them have family who fought back then. You treat me nice, I’ll treat you nice.

Q: What’s the language situation like in Dagabur? Italian is an official language, but can you get by with it here in the west?

MA: It’s not very common. I picked up Somali when I served in Harrar, so I was lucky. You can use Italian when you’re back in the Triangle, or if you’re in a big company, but on the streets it’s all Somali.

Q: What do you think about the transition?

MA: Democracy… [he takes a puff of a cigarette I hadn’t noticed before] it’s a change, that’s for sure. I don’t know anything about it, I never saw an election when I was younger. It’s progress, I guess, because now the Somalis are running things. It’s not my country, so I don’t feel it’s my place to say.

Q: What about fascism? Were you okay with the old system?

MA: It had good and bad points. There wasn’t any crime in Italy, but it came at a cost. If you had a drink and said the wrong thing, you were in trouble… unless you knew someone. That happened a lot back then, especially in the army.

Q: Nepotism?

MA: Yes, but we always said “connections” – you had to know someone or have family somewhere. Promotions, opportunities, posts, and so on. Nobody wanted to come down here though, to Africa, so it wasn’t as bad here.

Q: A lot of people bring up the issue of war crimes – did you see anything like that during your time in Scio?

MA: [pauses for a moment, his gaze distant] I saw a lot of things during my service. It was a dark time, and innocent people died. It stays with me, you know?

Q: Do you think Italy did the right thing, pulling out?

MA: I’m a soldier. I followed orders and carried out my duties. Whether it was the right choice or not… it’s not for me to say.

Q: Will you ever move back to Italy?

MA: It’s something I’ve thought about. I feel connected to Italy, and there are things I miss that you can’t find here. But… life here is different. I said earlier that you need connections in Italy, but here it’s not necessary. Maybe I’m stuck in the past, maybe it’s different now, I don’t know.