MINISTERO DELL’ISTRUZIONE, DELL’UNIVERSITA’ E DELLA RICERCAISTITUTO PROFESSIONALE DI STATO PER L’INDUSTRIA E L’ARTIGIANATO

Via A.D. Ferrari, 2 – 41053 MARANELLO (Modena) 0536 – 941233 - Fax 0536 - 940262http:/www.ipsiaferrari.mo.it – e-mail: info@ipsiaferrari.mo.it

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500.000

1.000.000

1.500.000

2.000.000

2.500.000

3.000.000

NUMBERS IMMIGRANTS

1971 1981 1986 1990 2005 2006

YEARS

IMM. IN ITALY IMM. IN ITALY

Migratory flows up to the Seventies

Italy is interested by a constant immigratory phenomenon, which increased progressively since early Eighties. During the previous decades there weren’t many people who left their home town to look for a job, because there was no need of foreign manpower.

On the contrary, many Italian people were compelled to migrate to look for a job, mainly to other European countries (above all France and Germany); to Norh America, to Latin America since the end of the 19th century.

The emigrants mainly left from the South of Italy, however there were few from the North too, for example from Veneto.

After World War II immigration has steadily increased. Many entered clandestinely, and it is still hard to assess the number of people coming in.

In order to regulate these workers, a law was issued in 1986.This law states rules for the placement of foreign workers and rules to prevent clandestine immigrations.Neverthless, in 1990 the Italian government decided to regulate clandestine workers who had been in Italy since December 1989, granting them the rights to the labour and health care.

At the meantime they were strongly advised to take the same reponsabilities and duties as an Italian citizen. In addition the status of political refugee has been granted to whom had been persecuted in his own country.In 1995, 250.000 clandestine workers were regulated. In 1999 immigration was regulated fixing the rules for the expulsion and facilitating the reunion of the families. They have been granted the right to education, health care and accomodation.

In the Fifties, in Italy there was a strong economic development.This “economic miracle” had different reasons. First there was a general world wide econimic improvement, due to free trade policy. This policy was also supported by the adhesion to the European Community in 1957.Moreover, raw materials and labour didn’t cost much, thanks to a larger availability.

This let national companies be competitive abroad and make big investiments.As a consequence, production together with work and employment increased a lot.The leading fields of Italian industry were: cars, household appliance and chemistry.The most important industries were in the North, in a triangle between Milan, Turin and Genoa.

This is the reason why many people from the South moved to the North. In the period between 1958 and 1963, more than one million people left South Italy; between 1955 and 1971 about nine million people (almost 20% of the whole population) moved to Northern Italy.

Thanks to the shared working experiences, the reform of Scuola Media (1962), which made school compulsory until the age of fourteen, the great deep sociocultural and linguistic gap which had created diversity or exclusion among the Southern immigrates, and the native Northerns slowly diminuished. We might say that nowadays there is almost a full integration.

However the economic gap among the North and the South still exists. For this reason, inland immigration has never stopped, even if the number of people obliged to look for a job in the North has diminuished since the year of the economic boom.

Immigration in our area

The forein immigrants come mainly from Maghreb (North-West Africa).They are chiefly Moroccan, but there is also a strong immigration from Tunisia and Algeria. Other countries which are interested in this phenomenon are Albania, Eastern Europe countries, in particular Romania, China (with a remarkable concentration of workers in the textile industry especially in the area around Modena) and other Asian countries such as the Philippines.

Smaller numbers of foreign workers come from Latin America and from the Middle East.The situation of extracomunitarian workers is continuously changing. According to the Acts which have been passed in these years.While during the last twenty years of the XX century immigrants were mainly males who came to Italy alone, now it is common to find whole families because the number of female immigrants and children is steadily increasing.

The constant increase in the migratory phenomenon has economic reasons, but sometimes it may be found in the social and economic situation of the country of origin.The effects on the Italian society are evident. We have to face a real problem of integration owing to the cultural and religious differences of the people who come to our country and decide to remain.

The debate is open also on a legal basis.Another important aspect which is remarkable from a social point of view is the phenomenon of “carers” who generally come from Eastern Europe. They take care of elderly people and disabled whereas their family is not able to cope with this problem, despite the help of social work.

THE OUTLOOKS The estimates indicate that during the next decades the flow of immigrants from the countries of origin will go on, especially from the Mediterranean area, but they also foresee an increase in immigrants from the Sub-Saharian area, especially between 2010 and 2020.

EMPLOYMENT SECTORS

Italy needs non EU-workers and in fact the demand for foreign labour is very high. The majority of seasonal workers in our country consists of non EU-citizens.The same can be said for the fishing, baking, and building sectors.

Notwhitstanding these immigrants have high educational qualifications, they provide work to the increasingly lack of Italian manpower, mainly in the field of family assistance and co-operation, and in similar jobs. Qualifications obtained in the country of origin are often not recognized in Italy.

Even if immigrants may have economical and social problems, however working in Italy shows economic and social advantages for them. When they go back to their country of origin they can boast they have acquired a considerable working experience as well as a wider knowledge which give them better qualifications in their own country. It is evident that there are also social and political advantages deriving from the comparison with a different culture.

Economic advantages can be observed in the short-medium term, while political-social advantages are visible also in the long term.To conclude, the presence of a Southbound migratory flow might represent an effective form of international co-operation and global growth.

THE FIGURES

In the early nineties the immigrants regularly registered were about 750.000 and 1.400.000 were the clandestine immigrants. Thanks to severaly laws there has been a new trend; as a matter of fact in 2000 the regular immigrants were 2,2% of the population (1.270.000 on 58 million).

In 2005 they were more then two million (3.2%) and by 2017 they are supposed to be one million more, that is to say 5% of the whole population .Nevertheless clandestine immigration is still a great problem. They come mainly by ship.

Clandestine immigration is encouraged by the criminals organization wich work together with the Italian ones. It will be defeated only thanks a strong co-operation inside European Union.The standard of education of the immigrants mainly males is rasher high: about 35% have got a diploma or a degree; many have got a vocational education (22%).

CULTURAL INFLUENCES OF INNERAND FOREIGN IMMIGATION

The cultural interaction between the southern and northern citizens had place in years fifties and sixties mainly, when, because, of the economic boom, the flow was continuous. Thanks also to other elements, for example the spread of television, and the military service the process of cultural assimilation, invested the people who moved to the north. The traditions of the immigrant citizens were mostly supplanted by northern ones and this facilitated integration. On the contrary the process of the integration of foreign people has been more difficult.

This is mainly due to the cultural and religious background of those people. Italian government has promoted many activities, from italian language courses, vocational training, as well as legislative courses, for immigrants. The school too wants to help the process of integration of foreign pupils, integrating them in all educational activities, supporting them when language and cultural gaps show.