The Hidden School from Minsk, Belarus, Published in Private Magazine

With the outset of Perestroika and the collapse of the Soviet Union, many former republics faced the task of restructuring and redefining their educational systems. On the 6^th of December 1990, in the Belorussian capital Minsk, the first evening classes started in what would become by 1992, the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum. The country’s most prestigious school, composed of around 500 students, was where at the start of every academic year, the Minister of Education gave a speech. In 1994 when Aleksandr Lukashenko won the presidential elections, problems started to surface, as some of the programs and teaching methods did not fit in with the Presidents views. Meanwhile, the fledgling school had already begun contacting schools from France, Belgium, Poland and Lithuania to promote student exchange programs. In 2003, Uladzimir Kolas who had been the school’s head from the start, was replaced by a Russian speaking principal, as a try to change the teaching in the Belarusian language and the reviving Belarusian culture, having been crushed for decades by the Russians. Teachers, students and parents protested against this but to no avail. By the end of the year the school was banned. Activities continued in private apartments, but this did not last long as the authorities constantly threatened them. They then moved to the basement of a catholic church but after 3 months and immense pressure on the priest, they were forced to leave. In 2005 Belarusian Humanities Lyceum reached a stable situation, settling in a house on the outskirts of Minsk and supported by the polish government, receiving tuition in Poland and scholarships to graduate students for polish universities. Today about sixty students and a little more than a dozen professors attend lessons in classes ranging from 9 to 15 students. In 2011, the Belarusian Humanities Lyceum was officially registered and recognized at the University of Gdansk in Poland.

An investigation that will be made during the month of March for Pubblicobene.

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The ground under Ripoli Santa Maria Maddalena is collapsing. There are two million m³ of soil and debris that are slowly slipping downhill threatening the jobs of the tunnel of San Benedetto Val di Sambro, a key part of the Variante di Valico, the new highway that have to improve the connection between Bologna and Florence. To say this is precisely the region Emilia Romagna, which recently updated geological maps of the area by converting the entire area from green to red: active landslide, in fact. According to surveys, the ground is moving at a constant speed of about two centimeters every 30 days, not little for those that over the monster of clay have built their own houses; two hundred and fifty families who live every day with the fear of losing everything. The elders of the little village were waiting for him. The landslide fronts, in fact, have been there for millenniums and the Region Emilia Romagna together with the Highways Company are aware of its existence for over 50 years. In 1969, just nine years after the inauguration of Autosole highway, the monster forced the engineers to build a bypass in a hurry one mile and a half to secure the route. The situation has not changed. But what it means to live in a village in balance? What would be the real risk of slipping of the landslide? Who are the protagonists of this big little human story?

text: Tullia Costa

It is a traditional practice about the migration of animals, led by shepherds who goes in search of mountains for fresh pasture during the summer months and warmer temperatures in the valleys of the south of the peninsula during the winter period.

In the twentieth century the practice of seasonal migration of livestock that has been gradually disappearing because of the convenience of transporting animals by truck or train, because of the lack of new labor and because of the progressive abandonment and deterioration of livestock path.

It is not the case of Doña Alicia Chico Garcia cattle, the last person in Spain to keep alive this tradition. Every year, at the end of May, hundreds of cows, bulls and oxen move from the hot lands of Andalusia, in Jaen province, to the cool mountains of Aragon, in Teruel province. The Mayoral Gerardo and three cowboys, Juan Manuel, Jose Luis and Vicente lead the herd. During a month these cowboys, followed all the way by Masimo, the jeep driver which is carrying food, clothes and everything it’s needed for the journey, travel over 400 km in stages of 25 km per day.

Along this path, which in Castilla-La Mancha coincides with the route of Don Quixote, pass 458 cows, 200 calves, three bulls and ten oxen, crossing mountains, small villages, rivers and roads.

For Doña Alicia the modern animal migration, with trucks and trains, is not economically viable, given the number of animals that she has to move, that’s way she has continued over the years, this thousand-year-old tradition.

Cowboys like Luís and Manuel gain live from other activities, but when it comes the moment of the seasonal migration of livestock they disconnect from the routine of the city and take leave to join the expedition.

A typical day begins very early in the morning before the sunrise; after a coffee they count the cows making them passing through a human tight spot and if none is missing the march starts until noon. The second part starts after a long siesta, around 6 pm and they walk until they reach the destination, normally when it is already dark. Despite the hard work, for some of them the day is not over, as they have to guarding during night time to prevent some animals to escape and to keep herd tight.

This adventure ends after almost four weeks once they reach Terriente, a small village in the Albarracin mountains. In November the livestock will be taken back to Jaen to spend the winter in a warmer environment.

Behind the Mask on august issue of Vision Magazine, China.

Belarus Free Thetare at Bin11 Gallery, Turin, Italy, from the 8th of July till the 23rd of July.

A selection of “Lonely at Night” published in Gioia magazine, May issue.

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