«Come alberi senza radici»: le sfide dell’accoglienza ai giovani migranti nelle narrazioni degli operatori

«LIKE TREES WITHOUT ROOTS»: THE CHALLENGES OF SUPPORTING YOUNG MIGRANTS IN PRACTITIONERS’ NARRATIVES Abstract The article explores the challenges that operators of reception centers face when working with young migrants. The research analyzes the perspectives of professionals who participated in an experiential training project based on case discussions. Six main themes emerge from the observational reports: learning the Italian language, meeting deadlines, sending money home, the temptation of «easy money», bureaucratic complexities, and difficulties in mutual understanding. The narratives around these themes show the many «voices» involved (regulatory framework, institutions, migrants, families) and the complexity of managing integration requests. Many of such requests are indeed full of paradoxes and difficulties. Operators seem to find themselves amid these tensions alongside their young clients, caught between standard regulatory demands and the reality of individual particular cases. In this complex scenario, the role of the operators is crucial. Not only do they offer services with practical utility, but they also act as a bridge between two worlds that meet and clash, requiring the deployment of intercultural sensitivity and the capacity for empathetic listening.