Selam Palace
The inhospitable concrete block in the middle of Rome is known as the “Palazzo Selam”, which translates as the Palace of Peace. Cameras are not welcome here, although there are countless stories to be told there. Because the former university building is the involuntary home to over a thousand refugees, mostly from Africa. In some cases, they have lived here for years, in the largest refugee ghetto in Europe. Sealed off from the outside world, it is almost like its own little country. They have their lives and their survival into their own hands, like Muna, a 26-year-old Somali. Actually, the Palazzo was only supposed to be an intermediate step on her way to a grand future as an actress. However, now she struggles, just like Ali, a 32-year-old political refugee from Sudan, to cope with the onslaught of new refugees.