How a Sardinian Island Became a Bridge

To the Memory of Ethiopians Torn from Their Homeland in 1937-39

By Elfy Getachew Nouvellon

“On behalf of our community, I offer you our apologies.” With these words, Massimo Mulas, mayor of Porto Torres, welcomed the descendants of Ethiopians who had been torn from their homeland and brought to Sardinia in 1937, following the bombing attack against Viceroy Rodolfo Graziani on February 19th. He spoke during a four-day event on Asinara and in Porto Torres, dedicated to remembrance and shedding light on a long-silenced history. His gesture was not political in the governmental sense but deeply human and symbolic, an act of moral responsibility, a commitment to transform Asinara and Porto Torres into spaces of memory and dialogue.

From a personal memory to historical inquiry

Such a moment of recognition could only emerge from a long journey of remembrance. This commemoration did not occur spontaneously but was the outcome of sustained efforts by individuals, opponents of fascist ideology, and advocates of historical justice, who chose to act against collective amnesia.

 Yet behind this collective commitment lies a more intimate beginning. At first, I had almost nothing but fragile family memories: the knowledge that my ancestor Lij Haile Wolde Meskel died in Italy, and a single picture of him with his family before exile. These fragments, though sparse, became the impetus for a deeper historical search.

The turning point occurred when we discovered Campi Fascisti (1), an online project dedicated to researching and documenting fascist camps. When we reached out to its director, Andrea Giuseppini, in search of traces of Haile and his family, once held on Asinara, his response was immediate and deeply human. Moved that descendants were still searching after so many decades, he devoted himself to investigating the archives in Rome and soon sent us the first documents, pieces of evidence that reopened a door long thought closed. We then began to cross-check these official records with notes and books written by other detainees. These testimonies helped us reconstruct the context of arrest, the conditions of deportation and detention, and the events surrounding Haile’s death. This cross-referencing allowed for a more comprehensive understanding of the historical period.

Remembering across generations and borders

From there, bonds began to grow. In 2023, these efforts led to the first conference “Il Passaggio degli etiopi all’Asinara” in Porto Torres, organized by Asinara Park Authority. On that day, it was only my children who stood as descendants, the sole representatives of the families once imprisoned far from home. Their presence underscored the intergenerational dimension of remembrance and gave tangible form to historical continuity. The sight of their young faces deeply moved the Italian participants, giving the initiative an emotional depth that transformed remembrance into a living bridge between peoples, between history and the future.

They were warmly welcomed and retraced the footsteps of Lij Haile Wolde Meskel, from the island of Asinara, where he had been detained, to the cemetery of Sassari, where his remains rest in the ossuary. Along the way, they also had the chance to speak with the only surviving witness of that time, GianFranco Massida, now in his nineties, whose memories gave a living voice to history.

Out of this journey, my children created a film (2). Through interviews, visits, and encounters, they retraced their quest step by step. The camera became their tool to weave together family memory, historical archives, and living testimonies. The resulting documentary functions both as a narrative and as a tool of transmission. It seeks to transform individual memory into a shared historical resource.

Collaborations That Made Remembrance Possible

This work of memory could only come to life through close collaboration. The commitment of Italian partners, joined with the voices of Ethiopian families, gave the project both depth and legitimacy.

At its origin were Paola Fontecchio, exclusive guide of the Asinara National Park and member of the Sealand Asinara Cooperative, and Vittorio Gazale, director of the Park. Together, they laid the framework for the commemoration, which unfolded over four days in August 2025. Their initiative was supported by the Fondazione di Sardegna, the Municipality of Porto Torres, the Association of Exclusive Guides of Asinara (A.GU.A), and the Educando Asinara Network.

As a co-organizer, I helped bring together descendants scattered across Ethiopia, Europe, and beyond. Alongside Paola, I co-hosted the ceremonies and had the honor of connecting with the family of Mrs. Yeweineshet Beshawured, 93, the sole survivor of that time, whose presence gave the event profound emotional resonance. This effort to reconnect broken genealogies and shared stories was at the heart of the initiative: remembrance was no longer only about documents and archives, but about people, their voices, and their presence.

The research foundation was carried by Andrea Giuseppini (3), curator of the Campi Fascisti project, who continued the path first opened with Roman Herzog. Their work documented the lives of Ethiopian prisoners on Asinara and anchored memory in historical truth, allowing family testimony and official records to finally meet.

From Silence to Shared Memory

The case of Asinara shows that the conflict was never simply between nations, but between fascism and human dignity. While Mussolini’s regime waged war and tore families from their homeland, courageous Italians rose in opposition—antifascists like Carlo and Nello Rosselli, who denounced colonial violence abroad and dictatorship at home.

Today, collaboration between Ethiopian families, Italian scholars, and civil society continues. Our priority now is to trace as many descendants as possible and to collect information on the families detained, not only on Asinara but also in other places in Italy such as Mercogliano, Longobucco, Rome, Tripoli, Turin, and Ponza.

Through this collective effort, we are working to build a clearer picture of what happened, weaving together documents, testimonies, and family stories.

Further Resources

(1) Campi Fascisti – an online research project mapping fascist camps: www.campifascisti.it

(2) A Place in the Italian Sun – Ethiopian Deportation to Asinara : https://youtu.be/w86k33PeqGc?si=n-Gw4y1JSHf39iXZ

(3) Andrea Giuseppini  – https://ilmanifesto.it/asinara-lisola-delle-punizioni

Contact/Collaboration : Elfy Getachew. Nouvellon  email: legacy4nextgen@gmail.com