I arrive at la Gatta on a Vespa with the towering Carletto. Lilia, the Moldavian mediator, is already waiting for us in front of the little camper that is the physical incarnation of La Gatta The Cat.
La Gatta goes out a few times a week to look for transsexuals, migrant women prostitutes, and minors. They pay special attention to Nigerian migrant women, who are from the largest and most fragile immigrant community. The Nigerian mediator, Fatima, arrives last, arms loaded with biscuits and hot tea. But a larger problem presents itself tonight: there are no more condoms. Lilia is very annoyed. She makes a few calls, looks for them in every cupboard in the camper. This first hurdle is a clear indication of the colossal task the staff of la Gatta have undertaken.
They know the big facts and the little ones—who has the violent brother, who has two children to take care of, who has recently lost weight or dyed her hair. They know the three staff members very well and speak good Italian. Everyone makes jokes, talks about money and a recent trip to Bordeaux. Just for eating steak and potatoes they charge you 20 Euros!
Lilia has known Mimi a long time. Last year she wanted to stop and do a training with Dedalus, but a few months later she was back on the streets. And these itinerant psychoanalysts certainly do know how to listen.
The others stay in the camper. Tita is curled up on a vegetable crate and seems completely exhausted. She is pregnant, but she is already too far along to abort and so the baby will have to be abandoned. Lilia listens and murmurs quiet words of encouragement with unqualified kindness. The link is often based on a love-hate relationship. First, the girls are locked in a room and for weeks subjected to constant violence and rape, until they become completely submissive and dependent and any sense of dignity and self-worth has been destroyed.
