On a Personal Note... Citizenship and Colombianness

As a second generation child of a Colombian immigrant living here in the United States, I have been intrigued by the experiences of the second generation people my age living in Italy. Because I was born in the United States, because my father was an American citizen, I was automatically considered a U.S. citizen at birth. But for children in Italy who are born to immigrant parents, this is not the case at all.

As one of the interviews in the Ius soli 18 documentary, which can be found by clicking on the link or by searching on Vimeo, people can live their whole lives in Italy from a young age or even at birth, and they will still have an impossible time in claiming their right to citizenship within this country. Reflecting on all of these issues of citizenship I began to wonder what kind of Colombian communities existed in Italy, especially those of second-generation children of immigrants.

In regards to the numbers of Colombia emigres, about one in ten are now living abroad. The high number of emigrants is due mainly to the amount of violence in the country that has cycled in intensity throughout these past decades. In 2003, the recorded number of Colombians in immigrants living in Italy was recorded at 8,728. But the estimate of the actual numbers of Colombians ran as high as 64,000 living in Italy at this time. This disparity in recorded and projected numbers is due to the necessity for Colombians to flee from their own country. Such a similar difference in numbers has been recorded in many other countries experiencing political upheaval.

As I searched for Colombian immigrant communities online, I was disappointed to find very little information. Some of the first articles to pop up were those regarding the cocaine industry in Colombian and the appearance of the Italian mob within the country. This is what is so frustrating about information and the way that it is spread today. Only the stereotypes of specific demographics find their way onto mainstream media. The communities that exist abroad have little to no voice in the world at large. Although it may not matter to them if they are publicized and understood by outsiders, I believe that it would do a world of good if these immigrant communities had a way to share more about themselves with those not living within their community.

Where can we begin to connect immigrant communities to those outside of their own community? How to share this information with others? These are questions that continue to bounce around in my head as I yearn to connect with communities of my own country abroad.

What Does It Take to Be a TRUE Italian?

I just finished reading a fascinating book called Class of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio, written by Amara Lakhous. If you are a lover of Italian literature and even slightly intrigued by immigration into Italy this book is for you. Written in the form of a libro giallo, known as a mystery novel, the book presents interrogations from the various residents of a building in Piazza Vittorio as the police investigate the death of a man found in the elevator in the building. Each character interviewed has their own strange theory about the murder but what is even more fascinating is the diversity of the characters that Lakhous presents to the reader. Most of the characters in the novel are immigrants and refugees who have carved out their lives in this bustling piazza. They each have their own vivid cultural experiences that they reveal even as they share their prejudices of the other tenants in the building. As the story progresses, the reader discovers that the suspect of the murder, Amedeo, is in fact an immigrant like many of the other characters. Most of the tenants in the building are shocked to discover the truth behind this man's identity and when they do a number of them quickly turn from his defense to condemning him.

The way that the other tenants turn on Amedeo highlights the prejudice of foreigners that is not only characteristic of many Italians but of the foreigners themselves who have come to build a new life in Italy. This prejudice found in these characters points to the natural tendencies that we human beings feel towards those we categorize as "other". What surprised me in this novel was not the prejudice shown towards foreigners but the way in which so many had misinterpreted Amedeo's origins as a native Italian?

Why was this? Amedeo didn't have false documents, he didn't go around claiming that he was not Italian. His wife in the novel was fully aware of his origins. So how could such a misunderstanding happen? 

Amedeo's mistaken identity was caused first and foremost from his ability to speak the Italian language. Yes, that's right. The fact that Amedeo was such a fluent speaker in Italian led even the native Italians to believe that he had been born in their country. Add to that his respect for Italian culture, his awareness of the country's history and politics, and it could easily appear that someone who appears so in tune with their country of residence could be none other but a native-born citizen. 

The questions of identity raised in this book lead me to ponder what it takes to be a full Italian. If the truth had never been revealed, most of Amedeo's neighbors might have lived the rest of their lives under the impression that Amedeo was a natural-born citizen of Italy. Why is it such a problem for him to be a foreigner? Why is his knowledge of the country and the language only validated by the location of his birth? 

This leads me to direct you to a documentary called 18 Ius Soli that came out in 2012 highlighting the lives of teens who have lived most or all of their lives in Italy and have yet to be recognized as Italian citizens. 

   

The people interviewed in this documentary talk about how they can have spent their whole lives in the country, how they know the food, know the language, how they have only ever studied in Italian schools, and how somehow they are still not considered Italian citizens under the law. They must wait until they are 18 to even begin the long process of claiming citizenship, and even then it is not guaranteed. 

This is not to say that nothing has changed. Just this year, the Italian government passed a law called Ius soli temperato, which allows children of foreigners to claim their rights to citizenship much more easily than before, if they can make it past the list of requirements and stipulations. 

How is it that neither the law nor the people of a country can recognize the people around them the way they deserve to be recognized? Why must a person who cares just as deeply for their country as someone else be excluded just because of their parent's country of origin? 

And the biggest question of all: how do we enact change? How do we make it possible for children of immigrants to feel safe and comfortable within the country they know and have grown up in? The people of Italy must open their hearts and their minds to those around them. If the law is still not willing to protect these children, then citizens must rise up to guide the government in a better direction.

The Cost of Migrants in Italy

The European migrant and refugee crisis continues to remain one of the issues at the top of media's attention across the world. Most readers may know of the migrant crisis because of the reports on the large number of refugees entering Greece in 2015, such a large amount in fact that it surpassed the previous year's record in a matter of months. What I want to draw attention to today is how media controls our attention and has aimed the world's eyes to look at only certain groups of peoples who have been misplaced. Even worse is the way that media has represented this crisis, portraying refugees and migrants in a much more negative light than they deserve.
Looking specifically at the movement of migrants and refugees entering Italy -- my blog aims to look at Italian immigration rather than immigration and migration as a whole across Europe -- I want to first highlight some of the history of migration into Italy. There are two great films I recommend looking at in regards to migration into Italy. The first is Lamerica, a film directed by Gianni Amelio from 1994. This film highlights Italy's first interactions with migrants; before this point in history the country had only ever experienced emigration. The film is set in Albania and is told through the eyes of a young Italian man, Gino, who attempts to exploit the opening of borders between the two countries. Throughout the film, Gino's eyes are opened to the true situation and desperation that the Albanians are experiencing. This film serves as an interesting representation and exploration of the perspective of Italians and their first occasion in receiving migrants into their country.

The second film I would recommend, even more so than the first, is Come un uomo sulla terra, or, Like a Man On Earth. This film is all the more powerful because it is a documentary told through the eyes of migrants who have successfully made it to Italy, most making the treacherous journey through Libya. As the film highlights, Italy actually made an agreement with Libya in 2008 to halt immigration by providing funds and equipment meant to detain illegal immigrants caught by Libyan officials. This film is the starting point of a scary and tragic truth: the media representation of migrants leaves out much of the hardship and danger of the journeys they have made and focuses on the affects of the country receiving these refugees and migrants instead. Articles and reports often attempt to highlight how detrimental these newly arrived people are to cities and countries, but this is a gross manipulation of the truth.

Most political leaders who speak out against refugees and migrants entering the country usually claim that migrants cost Italy a lot of money and use this as their primary reasoning for keeping newcomers out of the country. However, recent focus on migrants has become much more vicious. An article published on Newsweek reported the alarming rise of violence against migrants coming into Italy, pointing to the anti-migrant rhetoric from the country's politicians and the media as the root of this violence. The prejudice against migrants has risen dangerously: "a recent survey suggests that a third of Italians believe that migrants should be abandoned at sea and there have been reports of angry scenes at locations across the country as migrants are distributed at various refugee centres". The article also cites various political leaders, such as Giorgio Vianello, who argued that "residents should be given licenses to carry guns on request" in response to the influx of migrants. In Come un uomo, the film brings to light that Italy even chose to stop boats in the middle of their cross across the sea and deliver migrants to Libya where they were contained in inhumane prisons. Why would Italy condemn so many people to such an awful situation?

Before using the regular argument that there are not enough resources available for newly arrived migrants and refugees, I want to direct your attention to an article published by NPR highlighting an Italian town that was saved by the arrival of newcomers: A Small Town In Italy Embraces Migrants And Is Reborn. A town called Riace was in danger of coming a ghost town and had a high level of unemployment before the arrival of migrants. When the mayor of the town chose to welcome refugees in and offered them job training and moved them into housing that had been unoccupied, life was brought back into the town. Businesses have been able to expand, refugees have been able to find work and have been able to become fully acclimated to the Italian life. Obviously, this is a form of incorporaing newcomers into a country that works much more easily on a small scale, but it serves to highlight that not every arrival of new migrants is met with despair and frustration by locals. This article presents such a contrast from the rest of what is usually presented by the media.
In addition to the example of the town of Riace, Matteo de Bellis, a campaigner at Amnesty International, stated in Newsweek that "the fear held by some that the country will be swamped by migrants is unfounded, as the increase in those seeking asylum in Italy in the past year has not made the situation unmanageable for a country of Italy’s size and wealth". So if Italy is indeed capable of bringing in migrants, why do we listen to the media as they claim that newcomers are impossible to take care of?
If we give in to the fear created by the media, we run the risk of destroying the lives of countless others who are in need of a safe haven. As one article, which reported on a group of refugees saved by the Italian coastguard, pointed out: "European efforts to shut down the migrant sea crossing from Turkey to Greece will encourage more people to attempt the more dangerous Mediterranean passage from Libya to Italy" (Italian Coastguard). As concerns over the entry of migrants and refugees into various countries rise, Italy must become ready for the inevitable. These groups of people are desperate enough to make the crossing from their country to any place that appears to be a viable escape, no matter the difficulties they face in their journey. Why would we welcome them with such violence and hate when they have no choice but to flee their own country in the hope of a better future? 

The only thing that I can ask for from these contemplations is that you, as the reader, become acquainted with the plight of migrants. Find stories, like Come un uomo sulla terra, that come straight from the source. Do not let the first story to pop up on a news website be the only information you read about in regards to this issue. Become educated, share with others and do not let the truth of these people's lives be lost amidst political and popular opinion.