Dall'Alto al Basso Adriatico: i profughi invisibili nella provincia di Lecce. La famiglia Mihaljevich

Abstract

The story of an Italian family living on the disputed borderland with Yugoslavia. When, at the end of WWII, Istria is assigned to the newborn Yugoslavian nation, the population is subject to violent forms of intimidation ( such as the foibe massacre), as well as nationalization and confiscation of properties and different forms of discrimination which give them little option other than emigration. The Mihaljevic family choose, as other 350.000 people do, to leave their home and take refuge in mother country Italy where the exiles, having no shelter and food, are herded in former concentration camps and, often, are not welcomed by the locals.