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.