Entry 9 – Immigration

It was really interesting observing the immigrant's interactions with daily Sicilian life. In Taormina, Corso Umberto, the main street, was lined with immigrants from Northern Africa and Southern Asia. They were all selling the same merchandise. Sunglasses, bags, scarfs, flowers and what can only be described as a sticky ball. It is a ball that you would throw to the ground and as it hits the ground it would flatten out, then magically reform into its original shape. I wish I could say it was popular with the kids but I rarely saw a sale. To make things worse, there were about 10 guys selling the same ball. It makes you question how can these people can make a living. I tried to ask them some questions about their life but they did not speak English and their Italian was only functional to their job. I don't if they were trying to avoid me thinking I was an undercover cop or reporter, or they really did not know a lot of Italian. The most interesting event that took place concerning the immigrants is their relationship with the police. Every time the police would either drive or walk down the main street all the immigrants would gather their goods and scatter from their post like a bomb went off and hide on the side streets. I know that immigration laws in Italy are much more strict than they are in America so that could be the reason for the scatter or it has to do with the illegality of the goods they are selling.

Immigrants arriving in Italy have been a current hot topic especially with the political unrest that has been prevalent in Northern Africa. The Italian island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily has seen a recent influx of immigrants from Tunisia and Libya. In The Economist's article “Take my migrants, please”, looks into this recent occurrence. The article states that while Italy is the first destination for these migrants, France and Germany are often the final destination as those two countries receive more requests for aslym.

Rima Al-Azar's article looks at a more historical view of immigration in Italy and suggests some changes that should be made. Italians have always looked at immigrants as outsiders and termed them extra-comunitari. Traditionally immigrants make up about 10 percent of the population with the majority coming from Albania or Morocco. According to this article the Italian government's policy towards immigration has always been strict in order to demonstrate that immigration to Italy is not worth the risk. However, the geographic location of the peninsula will always be an attractive destination for incoming migrants. To say the least the author believes that reducing the complex immigration policy would help Italy and it's people realize that immigrants could benefit all. A joint effort between the immigrants former country, Italian society, employers, and government will be needed. Immigration is always an issue that is constantly evolving and not much has changed since this article was published in 2006. Especially now all the political unrest in Northern Africa, Italy should look at how they treat their immigrants.

References: Al-Azar, Rima. "Italian Immigration Policies: The Metaphor of Water." The Bologna Center Journal of International Affairs (2006): 35-51.

"Take My Migrants, Please." The Economist 14 Apr. 2011 

My roommate with the immigrant flower guy