International migration presents new challenges in terms of management and integration for countries like Italy where migratory flows are a recent phenomenon. Moreover, countries with strong emigration flows towards other European countries have now joined the European Union.
Some European countries have a long history of immigration, others a more recent one. As a consequence of its late start, Italy still has a quite modest level of immigration, with much lower numbers compared to countries with a long history of immigration. However, current growth trends lead us to believe Italy will soon find itself with a greater share of foreign migrants. However, caution is required when making comparisons because interpreting the incidence of foreign migrants on the population also depends considerably on administrative and legal factors which can affect the definition of "migrant". Comparisons between different countries are thus not only influenced by their migration history, but also by legal and administrative systems for regulating and recording migration flows. There is the risk that numerical comparisons reflect not so much the extent of the phenomenon as the different migration policies adopted.
(Figure 7.2.1)
In 2009 Europe's migration balance was on the whole positive. Two main factors help understand the origin of migratory flows from third countries towards Europe. The first is geographic proximity. Most migrants come from European countries which are not part of the European Community, for example the Balkans or Eastern Europe. Many others come from Middle Eastern or African countries which are on the Mediterranean. The second factor is the historical and colonial ties which clearly represent a privileged route not merely from economic or commercial points of view, but also demographic, for instance the link between the United Kingdom and India, or between Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
(Figure 7.2.2)
Most migrants come from countries whose level of development is lower than their destination country. Some African countries on the Mediterranean have managed to improve their socio-economic situation. Others, for instance many East European countries, have faced a slowdown in development, as documented in the United Nations' Human Development Index.
(Figure 7.2.3)
Migrants are an irreplaceable resource for the labour market and total demographic growth as they make a positive contribution to population renewal and recovery of the birth rate.
There is a considerable amount of migration to Veneto. A total of 11.3% of migrants in Italy have chosen to settle in Veneto, making it the third most attractive region. The last four years have been exceptional with over 120,000 more foreigners recorded between 2006 and 2009. The last year has seen a slightly lower increase than previous years.
Today there are 480,616 foreign residents in Veneto and they account for 9.8% of the population. This is somewhat higher than the national level (7%) and, according to projections by Italy's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in 2030 there will be over 1 million, that is over 19% of the whole population. A total of 49.2% are women and there is a considerable presence of minors in Veneto as they account for almost one quarter of foreigners in Veneto (24.3%), compared to 22% in Italy.
(Figure 7.2.4)
On the basis of ISTAT data on foreign residents, the organisation Caritas/Migrantes has made a higher estimate of resident migrants which also includes those who are present but not resident, because there is no record of them in the council registry offices
(Note 6). According to this estimate there are over 550,000 foreigners in Veneto. If we also consider those here illegally, we would have to add something between 55,000 (more realistic) and 90,000 on the basis of an estimate made on 1 July 2009 by the Regional Observatory on Immigration.
Although press reports might lead one to think that illegal migrants have arrived clandestinely via sea or land, most are actually
overstayers, that is they arrive as tourists or with visas for other purposes, and stay on here once these have expired.
A mosaic of nationalities
A characteristic of migration to Veneto is the great diversity of countries of origin. Veneto is beginning to look like a mosaic of different nationalities. Over the years there has been a change in the migratory flows, both in terms of quantity and nationalities. Today there are representatives from all five continents and a total of 169 nationalities.
Verona sets the record with 142 different nationalities, followed by Venezia, Padova, Vicenza and Treviso, with well over one hundred. Besides the provincial capitals, most different nationality groups are concentrated in the towns in the central swathe of the region. The provinces of Treviso and Venezia stand out, where the majority of local municipalities have at least 30 different nationalities; in the province of Padova, however, it is the Alta Padovana, its northern area, which has the greatest variety.
(Figure 7.2.5)
The five most common countries of origin are, in order, Romania, Morocco, Albania, Moldavia and China, which together account for over half of resident migrants. Romanians alone account for over one fifth (20.2%) of all foreigners in Veneto. Since Romania joined the EU there has been a considerable increase of foreigners in Veneto, some of whom were already in the region and simply formalised their presence, others hastily came from Romania. Until 2006 foreigners from other European countries resident in Veneto accounted for less than 5%. In 2009, this share rose to 24.8% due mainly to the arrival of Romanians, who have overtaken Africans (23.4%); the share, however, is lower than that of citizens from non-EU Central European countries (30.9%). Today migration flows seem to have stabilised, with a lower increase in the number of foreigners last year than in 2007 and 2008.
To understand the geographic distribution of a certain nationality group the diffusion index is proposed as a percentage of municipalities in the region where there is at least one resident registered from that group. Values of 100 indicate that the group is well distributed across the region, while values close to 0 indicate a concentration in few municipalities. The Romanian community is the most widespread across the region (index 97.6) with a presence in all the municipalities of the provinces of Padova, Rovigo, Treviso, Venezia and Verona. Moroccan, Moldovan and Ukrainian communities follow, the latter having stronger roots in the province of Belluno. Other nationalities like Serbians and Indians are quite numerous but less equally distributed across the region.
(Figure 7.2.6)
Choosing integration
Integration is a challenge for society and a prerequisite for peaceful cohabitation.
This is a heated issue in Veneto, and our economic, social and cultural future depends on how carefully it is managed.
A long-term view of integration aims to establish equality, reciprocity and responsibility between all members of society.
Integration is particularly challenging in areas like Veneto where there are many different nationalities, with very different socio-economic starting points. Before settling and integrating in a country, each foreigner brings not only a cultural baggage, but also the stamp of the social, economic and level of development of his or her country.
The Human Development Index, devised by the United Nations for all countries of the world (United Nations, Human Development Report 2010), considers a country's quality of life not only in economic terms, but also on the basis of other fundamental dimensions such as life expectancy, access to education and standard of living
(Note 7). Starting from this measure of development, a value is applied to each foreign citizen according to his or her country of origin, and an average index for all the municipalities in Veneto is calculated. Those between the provinces of Vicenza and Verona extending across the lower areas of the province of Verona and some municipalities in the provinces of Rovigo and Padova receive citizens from areas with lower levels of development. However the mountain areas in the provinces of Verona, Vicenza and Belluno on the borders with Trentino receive foreigners from less disadvantaged areas.
(Figure 7.2.7)
True integration goes through different stages. Integration is when foreigners manage to find a space for themselves in society, education and the world of work and have certain rights. True integration cannot happen if a region does not develop political and economic integration strategies to involve foreigners in public life.
Socio-economic integration has not yet been achieved. Foreigners currently experience less favourable working situations than their Italian peers and for this reason are also more affected by the economic crisis. The unemployment rate in Veneto in 2009 for migrants was 11.5%, 2.6 percentage points higher than the previous year. The rate for Italians is just over 4%. Losing one's job and extended period of unemployment push many migrants to consider returning to their country of origin, where at least the cost of living is lower and they can count of the support of family members. It is a difficult decision, particularly for those who have been in Italy for a long time. It can be experienced as a sense of failure and put off as long as possible. Yet in 2009 alone 11% of resident immigrants left Veneto for another foreign country, often their country of origin. That means over 5,000 people, 19% more than the previous year.
Of those who work, 40.3% are overqualified for their jobs, as opposed to 17.1% of Italian workers. Though this figure is above the national average, it has worsened recently, perhaps in part due to the economic crisis. This is reflected in their lower salaries. In Veneto a full-time migrant worker earns, on average, about 150 euro less than an Italian, nevertheless the gaps is the lower if we compare regions. (To read more about foreigners' employment situation see Chapter 11).
(Figure 7.2.8)
Many migrant families are affected by socio-economic difficulties and are not able to have an acceptable standard of living. For example, in the regions of the North East, 38 out of 100 families experience material deprivation, that is they cannot have certain basic goods
(Note 8), compared to 8 for Italian families. Many are behind with payments and 65% of foreign families in Italy say they cannot face unexpected expenses.
They are also worse off when it comes to accommodation. The majority live in rented accommodation, which is often of poor quality and overcrowded. Homes are not equipped with all the electrical appliances and comforts that are found in Italian homes. A migrant's initial concerns with integration in fact regard finding adequate accommodation.
(Table 7.2.1) and
(Figure 7.2.9)
Socio-cultural integration occurs when there is non-conflictual cohabitation between cultures, lifestyles and religions, which can also be obtained through membership of associations, language courses, and involvement in leisure activities.
This is perhaps the most capillary form of integration as not only does it affect the social and economic structures of a region but also individual citizens and their mentality, culture, openness to dialogue and reception.
Integration is above all a question of relations between people of different identities and backgrounds who share the same physical and social space. It is not only ideas or cultures which meet and clash, but real people.
This takes more time, but if well-rooted it can provide a good basis for political measures.
Migration is not always seen as a resource and opportunity. In 2009 39% of people in Veneto considered immigration a serious problem for Italy, after unemployment and crime. This is above the national average (30%). This leads to the consideration that integration is still underway and constantly evolving. New strategies are required to avoid open hostility towards the new population.
From a social participation perspective, it appears that foreigners are gradually beginning to find their space. The number of associations and initiatives involving migrants is growing, which can favour peaceful integration. In 2010 there were 81 associations of migrants and 124 associations for migrants in the Veneto's regional register for immigration. There are a further 29 associations which are not registered, but which operate in the region. There are also many requests for permission for public events from migrants, as well as cultural mediation events.
(Table 7.2.2)
So-called "legal" integration is central to lasting and peaceful social and cultural integration. This means the acquisition of citizenship of the country the migrants are resident in, thus they acquire equal rights to the local population.
Regulating access to citizenship should be seen as an instrument to favour integration. Currently in Italy the criterion of
ius sanguinis is in force, that is citizenship is determined by having parents who are citizens of the nation. There is currently debate as to whether this principle, or ius soli, birthright citizenship, which is in force in other countries, facilitates the integration of migrants. To this end, proposed revisions to current regulations are underway.
In Veneto citizenship has increasingly been granted, particularly since 2005. In five years the number has more than doubled, and reached 4,495 citizenships granted in 2009, 10.9% of the Italian total. In the last two years most citizenships were acquired by ordinary naturalisation for residence, unlike the trend in previous years whereby marriage was the main reason, particularly for women. On a national level the distribution of citizenships granted by country of origin is similar to distribution of foreigners in the region, at least for the rankings. Albanians are top (15.2%), followed by Moroccans (14.8%) and Romanians (5.1%).
(Table 7.2.3)
For foreigners, marriage is an important stage in the migratory path which has brought them to Italy and Veneto. For the region that receives the migrant, marriage not only becomes one of the ways to make integration "legal" but it can also affect the socio-economic and cultural sphere. Mixed couples indicate a growing level of social integration, while marriages between foreigners indicate a transition to a more mature stage of foreign presence. In 2009 one in ten households in Veneto had at least one foreigner (209,342), up 16.5% since 2007.
In 2009 one fifth of marriages in Veneto had at least one foreign spouse (3,588), 11% in Italy. This share has been in constant growth since the 1990s, indeed it is currently three times what it was in 1995. Most common are mixed marriages, that is between Italians and foreigners. The rest are marriages between foreigners, a share which decreases further if we consider only those in which at least one of the two foreign spouses lives in Veneto. As for mixed couples (1,936 marriages in 2009), in 78.9% of cases it is the bride who has foreign citizenship. The frequency of mixed marriages is proportional to the share of foreign presence. They are more common in Northern and Central Italy, that is where migrant communities are more deeply rooted. They are less common in the South and on the Islands. Mixed couples almost always come from countries with strong migratory pressure. Veneto men tend to marry East European or Central-Southern American women, while women more frequently marry men of African origin. If we consider only European countries, foreign women who marry a man from Veneto mainly come from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Poland and Albania. Foreign men come from Albania, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Romania.
(Figure 7.2.10)
Supporting emergency immigration
Finding the right balance between migratory flows and sustainable reception in a region is key to implementing effective integration policies. This helps avoid tensions in society besides those physiological ones due to the cohabitation of people from different cultures. Every strong migratory influx to Italy is often perceived as a potential danger which may have negative repercussions on stability and security. Having to face more or less frequent urgent situations should not deflect from the importance of implementing sound inclusion policies for migrants and their families.
Pope Benedict XVI underlined this on his recent visit to Venezia where he highlighted the risk of closing ourselves off from the challenges that today's society presents: "The fear of others, of strangers and of those who come to our lands from afar seem to threaten who we are", and he underlined how "the churches to which Aquileia gave birth are today called to strengthen their ancient spiritual unity, particularly in light of the phenomenon of immigration and the new geopolitical circumstances." This invitation was welcomed by the president of Regione Veneto who highlighted the need to "grasp the true meaning of reception, which should be ordered and respect the human rights of all peoples and not lead to pernicious social tensions and disorder."
Asylum-seekers
Alongside the voluntary migration of those who choose to settle in Veneto, possibly with the long-term aim of living here, is a more forced migration of people who have had to leave their land of origin due to persecution, ethnic rivalry or wars.
The Commissione Nazionale per il Diritto di Asilo (National Commission for the Right to Asylum) deals with foreigners asking for international protection. It oversees territorial Commissions which examine requests for recognition of refugee status, and gathers information on a central level. Each Commission deals with requests presented in its supra-regional territories. The Gorizia Commission is the reference point for Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia.
It is very likely that the Italian government's policy of pushbacks to Libya from May 2009 has led to a reduction in requests for asylum. A total of 1,383 requests for political asylum had arrived at the Gorizia Commission by 31 December 2009, almost 9% of all cases on a national level, down from 2008 when the highest number of requests was registered in Italy.
Yet 2,107 requests were examined in 2009, which include those presented during the year and some from the previous year which had not yet been checked. Of these, 68.2%, that is 1,437 requests, were rejected.
(Figure 7.2.11)
"Greater interest" in minors
There are also many unaccompanied minors coming to Italy amongst those who have arrived in Veneto not out of choice but of necessity.
Minors are the new protagonists of migration. The number of these young people has drastically increased and they make up a significant part of the asylum-seeker population.
Unaccompanied foreign minors are minors who do not have Italian citizenship and, not having applied for political asylum find themselves here without assistance or representation by a parent or other adult who is responsible for them.
In these conditions they cannot be expelled, but rather they have the right to protection and to receive a permit to stay because they are under-age. This is valid until they are 18. They have to be sheltered in safe places and taken on by the local authority's social services.
They can be minors who migrate of their own will, or victims of trafficking or exploitation. This requires complex management of extremely diverse needs: initial reception but also training paths and the need to find suitable solutions for when they reach eighteen.
There are concerns that when they turn 18 they will not have the requisites to prevent them from being expelled, i.e. being employed or studying; therefore they escape the protection of social services and face risks which could threaten their safety and increase pockets of marginalisation.
There were 4,437 unaccompanied foreign minors present in Italy and reported to the Comitato per i Minori Stranieri (Committee for Foreign Minors) (CMS)
(Note 9) from January to December 2010. Yet this is an underestimation as it does not include EU minors, victims of trafficking and asylum-seekers. Furthermore, many minors escape from institutions and are not reported or identified by the competent authority, which means they risk finding themselves living on the street and being exploited, in makeshift dwellings, or in other temporary solutions.
Some young people without identification papers say they are adults in the hope that they will not be held in centres for minors and so they can find a job more easily. In this case they risk being condemned for the crime of illegal entry and stay, expelled, repatriated or held in centres for adult migrants.
Until 2009 about 7,000 unaccompanied foreign minors were reported to the CMS every year. This number has decreased since Romania and Bulgaria entered the European Union; over 30% of unaccompanied minors came from Romania. It is also due to the new immigration and security policies adopted by the Italian government. Following the agreements made with Libya, from May 2009 arrangements were made for coasts to be jointly patrolled and migrants found in international waters were returned, including adult men, women and unaccompanied minors.
According to the CMS, the share of unaccompanied minors in Veneto is between 4% and 5% (about 300 every year) of the total reported. In the first six months of 2010, 267 were counted, almost half in the province of Venezia alone
(Note 10).
Over three quarters of unaccompanied minors are aged between 16 and 17. This corroborates the hypothesis that migration of minors is an alternative to adult migration, which is more problematic. This means that "if the minor succeeds in his migratory path, he will be able to bring income and become an economic migrant" (CMS Vice-president).
Once reported, minors come under the care of the social services of the municipality where they were found, and sheltered in a suitable environment, either foster families or, more often, in reception centres for children.
At the same time they are assigned a public guardian, nominated by the Juvenile Court, who follows them until they are 18, liaising with social services, healthcare and education providers who deal with their growth and development.
The CMS attempts to identify the minor and, together with the consulates of the country of origin and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) checks whether the environmental, security and family situation in the country of origin would allow for assisted return or else, if it would be in the best interest of the minor for them to stay in Italy in order to receive maximum protection. The 1989 New York Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by Italy in 1991, states that the fundamental principle "best interests of the child" should be the leading criterion in all decisions made regarding the life and future of every child.
According to a recent study carried out by Anci, which monitors the National programme for protection of unaccompanied minors, on 31 December 2008 there were 7,216 unaccompanied minors in the care of social services in reception centres in Italian municipalities, 636 of which were in Veneto. Yet it is difficult to acquire precise data on this phenomenon given the high mobility of this group of foreigners in the region and their tendency to escape from institutions.
Finally, since 2007, on arriving at the border, unaccompanied minors requesting asylum have had the right to be placed in a shelter of Italy's System of protection for asylum seekers and refugees (SPRAR)
(Note 11), if there are places available. Unaccompanied minors asking for international protection sheltered in SPRAR accommodation rose from 31 in 2006 to 197 in 2007, up to 409 in 2008, then falling to 320 in 2009.
Irregular entry
Supporting a commitment to effective integration also means territories have to control the arrival of irregular immigrants. Keeping the phenomenon under observation helps understand its extent without risking the management of reception getting out of hand.
Compared to 2008, there was a considerable reduction in sea arrivals, from 37,000 in 2008 to less than 10,000 in 2009, and the trend seemed to further decrease with little more than 2,200 in the first 8 months of 2010. Here too, intensified patrolling and the bilateral agreements made with North African countries, Libya in particular, seem to have discouraged migrants from heading to Italy's shores, probably encouraging them to try new entry modes or new destinations, as witnessed by the increase of flows towards Greece, Cyprus and the Canary Islands
(Note 12).
Those who do arrive land on the coasts of Calabria, Puglia, Sardegna and Sicilia, but mainly in Lampedusa (in 2008 83% of sea arrivals came via Lampedusa). It is not only the idea one gets from the news, but also the average number of people per boat which leads to the supposition that these arrivals are not the result of improvised individual or group attempts, but rather of an organised trafficking operation. According to 2008 data, the migrants arriving in Sicilia travelled in groups of almost 70 people on average. They are mostly men, and almost always from North African countries on the Mediterranean.
(Table 7.2.4)
Identification and refoulement of irregular migrants also declined. Compared to ten years previously, the number of irregular migrants traced in 2009 was less than half. The reduction in refoulement in recent years can be attributed to Romania and Bulgaria's entry to the EU, since prior to this citizens from these two countries were the most numerous to be expelled at the border.
There are various reasons why only a small number are sent back, including the lack of human resources and the difficulty in identifying foreigners and understanding their origin. Since Italy signed the Geneva Convention, it is obliged to not push back people who have been recognised as needing international protection
(Note 13).
(Table 7.2.5)
Escaping to democracy
Recent events in North Africa have led to the movement of large groups of people, not just to neighbouring African countries by land, but also towards Italy and Malta by sea. For instance, according to the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees, on 10 April 2011 498,313 people had escaped the violence in Libya by crossing the borders to Tunisia (236,151) and Egypt (199,700) mainly, but also to Niger, Algeria, Chad and Sudan.
There were fewer escapes by sea. The same source revealed that in mid-April about 1,100 people from Libya arrived in Malta and about 3,300 in Lampedusa.
An update on 3 May revealed that 8,100 had arrived in Lampedusa from Libya in all, on average about 208 people per day, with varying intensity. So many arrived that the threshold of almost one migrant per inhabitant was reached, in a territory of just 20 square kilometres.
Landings by sea are no novelty for Lampedusa. It normally deals with 30,000 arrivals a year, with an average of 84 a day. But in these exceptional circumstances, with concentrated flows which more than doubled in just a few days, the situation became difficult to sustain, despite the efforts and assistance provided, with tension both within migrant groups and between migrants and the local population. Up to 2,000 people stayed in extremely overcrowded conditions in the island's reception centre, which was designed for a maximum capacity of 850.
What is clear is that they are not all Libyans. Many migrants arriving in these months come from Tunisia. They are not refugees escaping war, but young, healthy illegal migrants looking for work. On the other hand, those escaping from Libya include women, men and children. These people can, by law, request political asylum. Together with others from the Arab world, they are escaping from a very difficult political and social situation.
Once they have landed comes the delicate phase of identification. Those who have not escaped from conflict zones face refoulement, while for the others Italy has committed to providing shelter and adequate hospitality in the various centres across the country. The distribution of these displaced people across regions is based on the resident population, which means that 93 of every 1,000 are accommodated in Veneto.
According to data supplied by the Civil Protection Department of the Veneto Region, from mid-April to 16 May 2011 several groups arrived, totalling about 700 people. In April about 200 people were received, all Tunisians with temporary stay permits lasting 6 months. Of these 44 are still here, the others have continued their journeys to other countries, mainly France, where they say they have relatives or friends. Since May, however, political asylum seekers have been arriving from Libya and other conflict-torn zones. A total of 580 asylum seekers are currently being sheltered in the region, but at least another 75 are predicted to arrive in the next few days.