Luca Scarcella is a talented 30 years old freelance journalist from Turin, Italy. He’s also freelance social media manager at La Stampa (a major newspaper in Italy), and a TEDx speaker, with the talk “Investigative journalism based on music theory”. Now, he’s a part of an international board of jury for two Awards (one in the social media field, called Social Creative Awards, and another on innovation and startup, called Cool Ideas by the company Protolabs). At the age of 14, he was diagnosed with Asperger’s. He’s recognized as one of the most influential under 30 in journalism right now and has done two stunning web documentaries published on La Stampa — one about Yemen’s education system: “Sui Muri della Libertà”, that means “On the Walls of Freedom”.
- What motivated you to become a journalist?
Investigate the reality. This is what a journalist does. Journalism offers information that allows people to make decisions about their lives. Democracy continues to exist also thanks to journalists that continue to do their work, risking their lives, and continue to believe that they can make a difference. First of all, wondering, making questions, asking “why”, that for me remains the most important of the “5 W” of journalism. Since I was a kid, I always had the desire to understand things deeper, to understand which “why” was hiding behind what I saw and felt. So, I wanted to pursue a career as a journalist to offer people answers to their questions.
2) Has education played a key role in shaping you? Was it a factor for you to visit Yemen in 2018 for a web documentary on education?
Certainly university education was fundamental for me because it made me discover the passion for sociology. Studying sociology had and has a huge impact on my way to think, to work, to live. Sociology is the study of society, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture of everyday life. I use sociology’s methods of investigation in journalism. I didn’t have the chance to visit Yemen, but I read, studied and investigated for a long time, thanks to the help of journalists from the Yemeni area, and not only. It’s a Nation tormented by decades of wars for border control, and this situation has obviously been poured into education and the future of the new Yemeni generations. Talking to one of the protagonists of my web documentary, the award-winner street artist Murad Subay, he thanked me “for talking about education in Yemen, nobody does, and the situation is really serious”.
3) What did you find out in the education system of Yemen? Do you think the war has put an end to it?
There is a strong control of the government’s military forces on education, that cause distortion of educational programs in favor of regime propaganda. Furthermore, war, famine, and epidemics have had serious effects on every aspect of everyday life, including school education. According to UNICEF “an entire generation of children in Yemen does not see the future, due to limited or non-existent access to education”. There must be a greater effort at the international level to stop the clashes and get people back on their feet. Then there are isolated cases, like a school in Taiz, the most tormented city in Yemen, founded by a master in his ruined house, which saves 700 children from having to pass the “fire line” every day among the enemy militias, in this civil conflict, which, the UN warns, could cause 230,000 deaths by the end of 2019.
4) In your documentary “On the Walls of Freedom” you have mentioned that art has helped a lot of youths having the syndrome overcome it via art. Was it the same for you?
I will always say that music saves my life. I have always been able to express myself through the piano and music, and every time I can paint and draw. Art is a human expression: doesn’t matter with which medium, but thanks to art I can express myself. And I find art also in journalism, and I always try to combine art with my journalistic works.
5) What’s your view of Italy’s role in Yemen’s war?
Italy does not have a key role in Yemen’s war. But, of course, Italy, like any other Country, can push for a solution to the conflict.
6) How do you feel Italy allowing the sale of bombs (made in Sardinia) to Saudi Arabia despite strict regulation on arms sales to nations engaged in arm conflict and having a record of serious human rights violations?
I feel bad, of course. But as long as at the sale of bombs is not prevented, unfortunately, Countries will continue to sell arms.
7) Did your web documentary achieve anything substantial? Do you think art will overcome bitterness among Yemenis?
My web documentary gets very famous in Yemen, thanks to Murad Subay who is called “the Yemenite Banksy”. He is very popular in Yemen, and I have received many sincere tokens of esteem from young Yemenis. Art is important, it has always been, in every process of democratization in the world. It is a fundamental part of a Country’s culture.
8) Is there any hope for Yemen’s future education system? What’s your message to the Italy government?
This war has to end, and I hope it ends soon. Certainly, there is a future, and young Yemenis must not stop fighting for their future. What Murad Subay does with his art, for example, is so, so important: he brings hope, brings back the desire to look to the future through art. My message is: let’s talk about this war that is called “the forgotten war”. Let’s talk about Yemen, in newspapers, on social media. Stop the war. Now.
