PAMELA: "PEOPLE WHO FIGHT INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE RING"
Text by Ivana Damiano, Matteo Bergami
Photos by Matteo Bergami
Pamela Malvina Noutcho Sawa was born in Cameroon in 1992 and has lived in Italy since 2000, first in Perugia, then in Sassuolo and finally in Bologna where she graduated in Nursing in 2014.
Pamela is still often portrayed in the mainstream narrative as a nurse who boxes, reinforcing a sexist stereotype that finds this combination of attitudes unusual and surprising.
It is still difficult to conceive of the coexistence of care work and a physically demanding sport like boxing, as if this must necessarily be disruptive and countercultural.
I ask her about the reasons for such monolithic visions and assessments of reality that Cartesianly divide and rule, and why she was drawn to this discipline. “Boxing is still seen as a violent sport, practiced by marginalized people who have nothing to lose, as an outlet, as a recovery method for those who come from difficult backgrounds.
It is surprising that those who practice it can also take care of people. I have always wanted to help others and after graduating I fulfilled my dream by working for the Maggiore Hospital in Bologna. Practicing this discipline has helped me to deal with many things in my daily life: boxing, being a sport that requires concentration and courage, helps me to forget and put aside the difficulties encountered at work. They are two things that fit together perfectly and are deeply intertwined. During the lockdown I trained remotely and this condition only increased my motivation.
I started almost by chance during an internship at the Beltrame Center here in Bologna, a place of welcome for homeless people, there was a gym where they had organized a boxing course and after seeing Yang Yo-Seob, a Korean singer and my idol, with the gloves on, I decided to give it a try. In 2018 I was lucky enough to meet my current coach Alessandro Danè and Franco Palmieri, both former boxers, and Bolognina Boxe with whom I started a journey that will lead me to turn professional in 2022. I have the dream of the Olympics but at the moment without citizenship I can't even try.” With her victory in the 2020 Italian Elite Championships in the 64 kg category, defeating Simona Monteverdi in the final, you were able to claim a space of action. A woman, young, a nurse, a boxer, Italian but not recognized as such due to factors that do not depend on athletic abilities.
Without citizenship, you legally don't exist. Thus, we arrive at the unexpected paradox, the legal and social failure, within whose barriers the missed opportunity for encounter, both sporting and otherwise, is consumed. The lack of legal recognition limits the possibilities for growth.
“For many, citizenship is the passport that allows you to take the next step, to compete at an international level. Sport by its very nature pushes you to challenge your limits in order to improve yourself. Not being able to fight in events like the Europeans, the World Championships or the Olympics is frustrating also from a personal point of view because you have no power of action, you depend on legal timelines. It is difficult to understand at what level you are in your athletic growth path if you remain confined to your country.
Since I was a child I had to give up school trips to countries like England and even now this situation limits me in my sporting career. After winning in Italy I would like to meet other realities. I feel citizenship as a right because I feel Italian and I have lived here since 2000. Maybe when I get it I will already be a coach.” With what tools to sign emancipation and claim these rights, the lack of recognition has also affected other second-generation athletes who, discouraged by the complexity and slowness of the procedures, have stopped competing. Athletes with a migration background like Tyson Alaoma, Italian Youth 81 kg boxing champion, born in Avellino to Nigerian parents, or like Sirine Charaabi, a promising boxer, born in Tunisia and residing in the province of Caserta, the first Italian and then European champion, guys who had to wait a long time to obtain citizenship, while others stopped competing because they were discouraged by the complexity and slowness of the procedures, thus limiting free access to opportunities and protections, renewing the tragic slogan "Italians first". How can we claim visibility and support cross-cutting struggles that involve everyone? “There would need to be a mass awareness campaign, not only in sports but also for the people you meet every day, for those who say there are no black Italians. I find it absurd to consider only some deserving of citizenship by virtue of qualities that are sporting, singing or artistic that can bring honor and fame to Italy, wearing its colors, competing as a talented representative of the country, being considered as merchandise. Sport can touch the hearts of many and mobilize people but I don't think it's enough. Often it is enough to be a famous footballer and earn a lot of money to be considered Italian.
It shouldn't be like that, regardless of whether you fight in the ring or Covid in the ward. It is frustrating to see people who you may have beaten in the ring succeed where I cannot because of a piece of paper. For now I live day by day but I admit that the situation is heavy. I train six days a week and I don't feel the fatigue even if it's there. I feel Italian, there's no other culture or other country that I know better than this, and I want to be recognized as such, because my life takes place here. At the moment I have no alternatives. ” Pamela was invited to a training cycle at the national federal center of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, a small taste of what could be normality.
The Figurine Forever association created a figurine dedicated to her, the proceeds of which will go to support the initiatives of Bolognina Boxe. Pride first of a neighborhood and then of a city with a great sporting tradition. On May 27, 2022, there was the professional debut with the victory over Ksenjia Medic. We must start again from here, from the awareness of the privilege of the status quo that only some enjoy, from the subversion of meritocracy that wounds.
Start again from here, inside and outside the ring because: “Citizenship is not a matter of merit, but a matter of right”
