At the age of 90, which he will turn in less than a month, he speaks casually of megabytes, transistors, microprocessors and so on. Technology has no secrets for him , he knows perfectly how modern equipment works, uses messaging apps, and has even designed and built two types of electronic alarms for cars and apartments.

Giuseppe (Peppino) Mureddu , born in 1932, from Lodine , has lived for years in Monza and has decided to tell his experience in the book “L'emigrato sardo. Towards the Italian and European continent ”(Leone editore). But before arriving in Brianza he spent a lot of time abroad, emigrated above all to have a life perspective made up of a well-paid job , “not like in Italy, where they earned half my salary”. This was the drive that led him to leave Sardinia.

When he was a child he would walk five kilometers to school in Gavoi, then he started as a shepherd, and his father - a pig trader - often took him with him. “After our round of sales in the various countries he entrusted me with the money - Mureddu tells L'Unione Sarda - and in order not to risk losing it he made me hide it in my underwear. Then I went back to town by bus: I was a kid, I didn't wear elegant clothes, nobody would have thought that I was carrying a small treasure with me. Father, on the other hand, was returning on foot ”.

Other times, in short, but the bus will be one of his "dots": "When my father asked me 'what do you want to do when I grow up?', I answered 'the driver' and at 21 he sent me to the Nuoro driving school . And do you know where I slept so as not to go back and forth to Lodine's? The owner of the driving school offered me hospitality, he just announced: 'Just don't formalize yourself too much'. 'Absolutely not', I replied, in fact I was very grateful for that opportunity. My bedroom was in his shop, he was selling coffins ”. Apart from the initial amazement, Peppino succeeded in his intent and obtained a driving license, which came in handy when he left for military service. After the 15 months of compulsory military service, the return to Lodine and another course to have the title to drive buses, this time in Cagliari. When he applied for a job as a driver, he hung up on the classic “we'll let you know”.

How did it end?

“I waited anxiously for 6 months, and then I decided to leave. The initial idea was to go to Germany, but the first stop was Belgium ”.

The work?

"At the employment office the first 'blow': 'You foreigners can only work in the mine, not on the surface', they told me".

And she?

“I accepted, the alternative was to go back to Italy and I didn't want to. The coal mine was built with different levels, the shallowest was 350 meters underground, I was there. I had Turkish, Spanish, Polish colleagues. I stayed for three and a half years ”.

Still working as a miner?

“No, after a few months they called me from the management: they had chosen me to attend a course to repair and test machines for the mine, so I worked and went to class twice a week”.

And where did he sleep?

“In a house with other people”.

But was he happy?

“In reality, when I left Sardinia I thought I was going to a factory, the prospect of staying there for hours in the dark could certainly not appeal to a boy like me. But when my mother wrote me that they had looked for me from Nuoro to be a driver and I learned that the salary was less than half of what I was getting in Belgium, I had no doubts, I wanted to stay and indeed I wanted to go to Germany ”.

Then? Has he left?

“Before I looked for a place to study German, no one would hire me without a good command of the language. Once I perfected they took me to Bayern in Leverkusen. I was doing a simple job, I was in the color mixing business. But I didn't settle for it, I applied to Ford, on the other side of the Rhine, in short, I went where I could earn more, and I stayed there for about two years ”.

But it wasn't the last stop ...

"Absolutely no. One Sunday I was walking near the Cologne Cathedral and I saw an Italian newspaper with job advertisements. One in particular referred to the search for technicians who knew lathes well, it was perfect for me. One Friday I took the train to go to Sesto, in the Milanese area, to Ercole Marelli. I took the test and they hired me immediately ”.

Are you all right then?

“Not so much, the paycheck was half of the German one. But I stayed 9 years and in the meantime I continued to study to become an industrial electronic expert, they sent me to various places to test the machines. In spite of the years, there was no talk of wage increases, for union agreements the increase was given to everyone or none. So I looked for another job in Milan, and I continued until my retirement in 1996 ”.

In all this traveling, love?

“There was indeed, in 1962 during a period in Sardinia, I met a girl from my country. In short we got engaged and then married. Grazietta and I have two children today, Giovanna and Franco, and we are also grandparents ”.

Why did you decide to tell your life in the book "The Sardinian emigrant"?

“Because so many people told me that it was worth leaving a trace of a story that is perhaps similar to many others, but I wanted to go further”.

And how?

"The subtitle says it all: 'Real advice to find work and keep it, to live better and longer'".

Any secrets?

“Especially to young people I would like to say that they must find the courage and the iron will to face today's problems. I always see them with these mobile phones in hand, hidden behind keyboards, behind those little processors that, in my day, were huge. They send photos, videos, to think that at their age we had nothing ”.

What should they do?

"Increase their culture if possible, make a lot of effort and study study study, deepen a subject for which they feel brought and put all the good will to learn a trade, become tireless and always work".

Do you have any remorse or regrets?

“I should have started studying first, yes”.

And what do you hope for the future?

"I would like my little book to be read by many young students to make them understand the importance of culture, and by people about to create or find a job to convey the importance of applying themselves with all the good will to deepen their knowledge. specific technique of the chosen profession and achieve the desired success ".

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