Global Issues
MIGRATION-ITALY: A Helping Hand in a Hostile Land
Italy is in many ways a country of contradictions, known for its beautiful beaches and vulnerable coasts, its staunch Catholicism and growing intolerance towards immigrants.
Italy has struggled with the issue of migration for a long time. It ranks first in Europe, alongside Spain, for the annual growth rate of immigrants, and regular immigrants now number more than 3.6 million - 6.2 percent of the population.
Italy's position in the Mediterranean Sea makes a strategic route for migration. On Aug. 20, 73 migrants from North Africa perished off the coast of Sicily. Earlier that month, the Italian Parliament passed a new 'security law' that formally made clandestine status a crime, punishable by fines of up to 10,000 euro and six months detention.
The new policy allows the government to intercept boats at sea and forcibly return migrants to their point of departure. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this practice violates international law.
'We are obviously worried about the government's attitude towards immigration,' Tana Anglana, project manager of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) in Rome, told IPS. 'But we still have - and want - to cooperate with it to achieve our goals.'
The IOM works to raise awareness about migration patterns, as well as providing assistance to migrants, conducting research, and promoting dialogue and activities between different ethnic communities.
Now the IOM is preparing to launch a new project called MIDLA - Migration for Development in Latin America — that focuses on immigrants coming from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru who are living and working in Italy.
The number of people currently residing in Italy from these four countries totals about 280,000. The Ecuadorian community is the largest, with almost 74,000 people.
MIDLA is based on the experience gained from another IOM project in Italy called Migration for Development in Africa (MIDA).
Cesar Estrella of IOM Peru told IPS that the project is still in the initial stage of gathering information and data 'to have a better picture of the situation'.
For example, not all migrants stay temporarily. According to data gathered by the IOM and the Peruvian government, one Peruvian in 10 among those working in Italy decides to remain in the country instead of going home.
A key aspect is analysing remittance flows to determine the economic impact these migrants are having in their home countries, how the money is being used, and the mechanisms for transmitting it, Isabel Cruz from IOM Ecuador told IPS.
While the exact numbers for Latin America are still being compiled, in 2008, migrants in Italy sent home more than nine billion dollars, with about 12 percent going to the Americas.
The next step is to figure out 'which are the plans and priority sectors for the development of the [home] country,' Anglana told IPS.
One of MIDLA's key concepts is 'co-development'.
'We will promote the creation of territorial partnerships among Italian actors and migrants' associations for setting up socioeconomic development initiatives in Latin America, and at improving potential migrant entrepreneurs' professional skills,' Anglana said.
'In this way we will be able to identify interlocutors, set up partnerships and develop projects and initiatives for specific countries of origin of Latin American migrants in Italy. MIDLA will then continue to look for resources and promote support to migrants' initiatives for the development of their origin communities,' she concluded.
It remains to be seen whether this collaborative spirit will be embraced by the Italian government, whose defence minister, Ignazio La Russa, earlier this year attacked UNHCR, saying 'I accuse this so-called agency, which isn't worth a damn, of being either inhuman or an accomplice of those who want to break the law.'
However, some of the country's Catholic bishops have protested the tough migration policy, and one opposition leader Antonio, Di Pietro, compared the current anti-immigrant climate to racist laws during Italy's fascist dictatorship.
© Inter Press Service (2009) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service