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Tra i nomadi, chi lavora, chi riesce a disconnettersi.

Tra i nomadi, chi lavora, chi riesce a disconnettersi.
Among the nomads, some work, some manage to disconnect.
From Lesson 443:Distributive correlative (chi ... chi ...)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Tra i nomadi, chi lavora, chi riesce a disconnettersi.

How does chi ... chi ... mean 'some ... some ...' here when I learned chi means 'who'?
By repeating chi in separate clauses, Italian creates a distributive correlative structure that divides a group (here, i nomadi) into contrasting parts. It translates to 'some do this, some do that.' It is a stylistic alternative to alcuni ... altri ....
Why are the verbs lavora and riesce singular if they refer to 'some' nomads?
The pronoun chi is strictly singular in Italian grammar. Even when we translate it as the plural 'some,' any verb attached to chi must take the third-person singular form.
Why do we need the preposition a in riesce a disconnettersi?
The verb riuscire (to manage to / to be able to) always requires the preposition a when it is followed by an infinitive verb to connect the two actions.
Why use the reflexive form disconnettersi instead of just disconnettere?
Here, the nomads are disconnecting themselves from work or the digital world, so the reflexive disconnettersi is used. If you used the non-reflexive disconnettere, you would need to specify an external object being disconnected, like a plug or a server.

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