44/1 - Qualestoria. Rivista di storia contemporanea. Anno XLIV, N.ro 1, Giugno 2016

The so-called dikle – girls from the region of Slavia friulana who used to work in Italian cities as housemaids in many cases didn’t understand their work as «maledet», cursed and «schiavitù», slavery. At least this is what they tell us today, long decades later when the experience, meanings, testimonies have been covered by a lot of ubiquitous dust; the dust we cannot completely blow away, clean, remove in order to come to the original sparkle (of the original experience). And yet, this is the only voice – no matter how muted – that can stand up against the voice of authority that has resounded for half a century. Some girls, as personal testimonies tell us, were also looking for an «adventure», a change in life, at least partial financial, economic independence, they wanted and tried (at least partly) to shake off the shackles of a patriarchal family, to replace hard farm work with the more attractive duties of an urban household, wanted to get to the city where they could admire and desire shiny shoes in the window, although they usually couldn’t afford them.