"Local Authorities and Ethnic Minorities: The Milan Experience"

Written By:
Mr. Andrea Vento
(General Management of the Municipality of Milan)

Third International Metropolis Conference
December 3, 1998
Zichron Yaacov, Israel

First Part

(The National Framework)

The overall framework of the Italian experience: the main flows and their history; the recent experience known as "Adriatic Corridor"; the phenomenon regarding the "first frontier" and the difficulties faced by the National Government; the negative interaction with the Schengen Treaty; the relationship between the national government (the Ministry of the Interior and the Prefectures) and the local authorities in the distribution of the responsibilities concerning the sheltering of immigrants; procedures regarding bills of amnesties (the Martelli decree law and its subsequent bills of amnesty).

Second Part

(The Milan experience)

A historical introduction, the main communities, figures and other data, territorial concentrations; the main policies of the Municpality of Milan (shelters, council flats, orientation desk); the "second frontier": the shift from the first to the second generation of immigrants; participation to the political and social life to gain the exercise of full rights.

Third Part

(The path towards integration. Conclusions)

The positive impacts of a multiethnic City; competitiveness or complementarity between resident workers and immigrants, skill and social status; the negative impacts: awareness of the risk, living in the slum areas, figures per offence and per community; conclusions.

FIRST PART

(The National experience)

After being a country of emigrants, Italy has gradually become a nation of internal migrations and then a country of immigration. This change which has involved Italy only after the other industrialized European countries is quite recent and goes back to the beginning of the eighties. It is a phenomenon obviously due to a steady improvement of the quality of life and to the economic growth. In the framework of a global economy and of mobility of physical and financial resources, migrations occur to pursue social and economic improvement replacing social mobility with the geographical one. Indeed, a country of immigration is often identified as the place where to accomplish one’s own economic and social dreams. For example, this is the way Albanians consider Italy depicting it like the land of their dreams as it was America for the Italians in the past. During the last twenty years, Italy has become the traditional target of a few ethnic communities which have gradually settled down without any resistance such as the Filipinos, the Chinese, the Egyptians, the Ethiopians and the Eritreans. The Eritreans who have a good knowledge of the Italian language, due to their past colonial experience, have encountered less problems with the integration.

In recent times we have observed a different phenomenon leading to frustrations and hardships due to a gap between the expectations of a higher quality of life by the immigrants and the opportunities offered by the host countries. This has led, together with the difficulties faced by the authorities in sheltering the immigrants, to a condition of exclusion and degradation which may also be the cause of deviated behaviours. The immigration from the southern part of the world has become more and more a social, political, economic and cultural issue of great importance among the European metropolis which are experiencing its strong impact. In particular a few towns from Southern Europe - such as Barcelona, Marseille, Lyon, Turin and Milan - have had to face this phenomenon which is steadily increasing. If we focus our attention on Italy, in recent times a certain weakness at our borders towards migratory pressure has led to the creation of two "corridors": one crossing the Sicilian Channel used by the Maghrebian populations (Tunisians, Algerians and Moroccans) and another one across the Adriatic sea used by the Balkan populations (Albanians and former Yugoslavians) and by Middle Eastern populations (Kurds). The Italian National Government has been unable to prevent through the intervention of the Navy and of various security forces the daily flow of immigrants landing on our shores. At the same time, the diplomacy has not been particularly successfull in reducing the possibilities of embarkation at the departure harbours (Vlore, Durres, Izmir, Tunis, and so on), despite the several incentives, also of economic nature, provided to the local governments of these countries. This situation has given rise to some polemics between Italy and the members of the European Union which have subscribed the Schengen Treaty according to which the internal borders have been "de facto" abolished. Indeed, the easiness with which the national borders of the European Union may be crossed can furtherly tempt those who wish to reach the Northern Europe passing through our peninsula.

In Italy this emergency has been faced through two different interventions: the national government controls the immigration flows and supervise the distribution of foreigners all over the Italian territory while the local authorities provide assistance through their "Shelters". The policies of integration in the economic, social, health and education fields are under the competence of the local authorities. However, the relationship between the national government and the local authorities is not easy because the latter have to bear most of the responsibilities without an equivalent power of decision.

The national policy for the management of the phenomenon of immigration has been marked in the last ten years by opposing and ambiguous initiatives with the presence on the one hand of policies of expulsions and on the other hand of bills of amnesty leading to the acceptance and regularization of illegal aliens. These antithetical attitudes are the result of the clashing opinions of the two main ideological line-ups on immigration issues. The ideas expressed by the right wing political groups are in favour of a higher rigidity and of stricter obligations imposed to the entry in Italy also resorting to procedures of expulsion as deterrent and control of the phenomenon of immigration. The left wing groups and the catholic world promote a higher solidarity. Thus, the Italian immigration policy seems to reflect the problems of domestic politics and of research of political consensus instead of focusing on the analysis of this phenomenon together with the proposals regarding effective and coherent solutions. Besides, the shifting and the enactment side by side of rigid positions and of bills of amnesty have discredited the first ones (menace of expulsion) giving rise to a discontinuous image of our country, where legal migrations are impossible and the aliens are forced to illegally live for years waiting for an unfailing bill of amnesty. Such bills of amnesty represent an opportunity for assessing the number of immigrants and for highlighting the development of this phenomenon in the last ten years. Four bills of amnesty have been passed so far (1987, 1990, 1995 and 1998). The last one is still enforced and its data are not available yet. At the end of 1996 the foreigners in Italy, possessing a regular permit were about 1.100.000 among which 900.000 were from non European Union countries.

The immigration policies passed by the national government are often unsuitable for such a phenomenon which mainly involves big cities that are undergoing huge and rapid social-demographic and cultural changes. A higher social cohesion, the elimination of an attitude underlying diversity, the participation of the new citizens to the social and political life, their presence within the local institutions, the sharing of interests and values represent the main issues the metropolitan areas have to face and solve in order to promote growth, economic development and a better quality of life.

SECOND PART

The Milan experience

It is possible to identify different "types" of population by analysing the characteristics of the contemporary metropolis. According to some sociologists there are two different populations: the residents and the commuters. A new category represented by the immigrants has recently joined these groups and in spite of its small number it is quite "visible".

Since Milan is an economic centre of primary importance in Italy, it is also one of the first places to live, chosen by foreign populations. At the moment almost 6 per cent of the resident population is made up of foreigners possessing a regular permit (79.980 out of 1.340.451 of which 66.665 are from non European Union countries) a figure which is smaller if compared to 42 per cent of foreigners reported in Amsterdam and to an even higher percentage in Paris. In Milan the majority of immigrants consists of male (42.473 males and 37.507 females). The foreign population is made up of a high percentage of minors which is a sign of a strong presence of families and of a fairly good degree of stabilization. In Milan the distribution per nationality is different from the one assessed at national level (slide 1): Albanians and Moroccans are not at the top of the list (on the contrary they are at the fifteen or fourth place in the list of the LDC). But the most interesting thing which has occured this year is the overtaking of the Egyptian community, which had been the largest for over twenty years, by the Filipino community (slide 2). Among the largest communities, there are many that have enormously increased at the end of the eighties. Among these there are the Chinese (which showed a trend similar to the Filipino community until 1980), the Cingalese and the Moroccan community. However, while the first two communities have grown steadfastly, the Moroccan community has grown by leaps and bounds. This subdivision does not allow us to draw a reliable picture of some national communities. If we look at the data regarding for example the Albanians and the Turks (including the Kurds) which are at the 24th and 25th places, we suddenly become aware that they do not reflect the real situation. Such a distortion is due to a recrudescence of the recent political crisis in these countries and to a lack of data provided by the fourth bill of amnesty which will regularize the aliens who are from these regions.

The diffusion in the metropolitan territory, including the hinterland of Milan of the foreign population possessing regular permits is fairly homogenous (slide 3). Although the overall ethnic distribution in the territory is quite homogenous, in some areas of the city certain communities are larger than others leading to concentrations of one ethnic group in certain neighbourhoods. For example the Chinese are mainly concentrated in the district number 6 while the Arab groups are concentrated in the districts number 15 and 16. As for the age distribution in the most recent years, Milan is now witnessing a "second generation" of immigrants due to newborn babies and to the fact that the immigrants’ wives have moved here to join their husbands. While the distribution of the Italian population is not dynamic, aged foreigners are almost non-existent as the largest majority of them is 30 - 35 years old.

The aspect recently emerged is represented by the group aged under 20 with a strikingly higher percentage than the Italian one (the Egyptian are up to 27%, the Chinese 29%, compared to 14% represented by the Italian).

Even more significant is the unbalance in the first age group (0-4 year).

Similarly to what happened in several other European cities which have undergone the same experience, also Milan is getting acquainted with the phenomenon of the shift from the first to the second immigrant generation. This implies a change in their social and economic features: from "immigrant-worker" (welcome as labour force) to representative of an "ethnic minority" and increasingly assuming the role of a citizen rather than of a guest.

The challenge Milan is facing now is the management of an awkward stage of transition concerning the transformation of its immigrant population from provisional workers to acquired citizens whose distinctive feature is permanence.

Such a transformation implies a dramatic change in the relationship between immigrant and society and the necessity to acquire, by the former, the rights and a status which can only be obtained by having a citizenship.

The acquisition of a citizenship is a procedure needing a course of action to be taken either by top and low levels: through the setting up of an institutional framework, but also by means of actual and sharing initiatives by the immigrant community.

With respect to the institutional level, the City of Milan has promoted several initiatives. The "Centri di Prima Accoglienza" (C.P.A.- Centres offering a first period of sheltering), spread all over the country have been increasingly reduced by the city government. Their having been closed down has been exploited as an excuse for charging the city government with a behaviour of rejection and poor solidariety towards the immigrants.

In actual facts the decision concerning the CPAs was combined with a series of allotment of council houses to representatives of ethnic minorities (approximately 10% of council houses assigned every year), showing the firm intention to regularize the position of the immigrants in the country.

According to the City Council of Milan, the conditions of CPAs in 1996 were so poor and burdensome to make public administrators think it would be better to close them down.

Despite the fact that they have played an important role in the recent past, it has been clear that neither have they contributed to the integration or accountability of the immigrant, nor have they helped create a positive image of immigration.

Lastly, the role of provisional sheltering providers had, after several years, exhausted its function (even if the CPAs have been recently beneficial during the Albanian and Kurdish emergency).

If we want to foster the crossing of the "second border" it is first of all necessary to weaken the ethnic-parental ties or clan-ties (which are effective during the first stage, when the immigrant is faced with the difficulties of adaptation, but which later on tend to produce exclusion by delaying the process of integration).

Secondly, also a course of action concerning the provision of information and advise into more specialized fields is necessary (labour, revenue and legal advisory service, educational service, etc.). In this respect, the city government promoted in 1997 the setting up of an "Orientation and Professional Training Desk", located in the premises of the Immigrants Office.

A process of ideal integration is under way thanks to the actual involvment of the immigrants in the Italian political parties and trade unions. During the latest administrative elections also some non-EC candidates appeared on the electoral rolls and an Eritrean woman-councillor was elected, undoubtedly a token of a broader involvment, useful if not organized on ethnical basis.

Thanks to the orientation tools, to the participation in the political and social life and to other integration policies it will be possible to deal with conflicts in the perspective of a peaceful social life avoiding isolation, seclusion devices and ideologies based on diversity.

THIRD PART

(The paths of integration and conclusions)

We should not fear globalization, which is most obvious in the transformation of towns into big multiethnical cities. Milan is the first town in Italy going through this phenomenon and, despite some occasional friction, cultural integration progressively goes on supported by the great majority of the resident population. The Milanese, for instance, seem to appreciate the increasing variety of ethnical restoration as well as cultural shows such as music and figurative arts.

The impact of immigration on the labour market is rather complex, featuring positive aspects (complementarity of labour factor) and negative ones (competitiveness). The fact that immigrants are willing to accept working conditions "refused" by Italian workers may be regarded as positive, as it enables to overcome "work shortages" which prevent growth and are typical of marginal areas due to the economic tranformations going on (deindustrialization and expansion of the service industry). The Milanese set up is marked out by clashing situations between various categories of Italian and immigrant workers: Italian unemployed versus immigrant unemployed; there are conflicts between Italian unemployed and lawful immigrant workers, and between Italian self-employed workers (traders and craftsmen) and immigrants who carry out "unfair competititon" (pedlars). As far as Milan is concerned, however, tensions on the labour market are likely to be less significant than in the rest of Italy for three reasons: first, because most foreign workers are little qualified and mainly oriented towards jobs that are "neglected" (traditional industry and household service) and located at the lowest levels of the wage scale; secondly, due to the prevailing tendency to regularize employment; finally, thanks to the prevalent complementarity due to the low unemployment rate in the area around Milan.

If we talk about progressive integration and multiethnical town mainly concerns lawful immigration, the problems related to illegal and unlawful immigration and the relevant deviance phenomena have not been solved yet. Besides being a final destination, Milan is also an important fixed course for emigrants going to Germany (mainly Turks, Kurds and people from the Balkans) and France (mainly North Africans). The fact that immigrants are seen in the City does not mean that they enjoy full rights. In Germany the word "Gastarbeiter" - guest workers - is used to indicate their temporary stay in the City. The fact that they are seen around is due to the lack of socialization places and the difficulty in entering the lawful labour market. Squares, streets and public transport are therefore often constantly "occupied", especially by unlawful immigrants, as substitutes for socialization places. Such space occupation may be accompanied in the long run by deviant or crime-bearing behaviours such as unathorized trade, prostitution and drug pushing. All of the above unfortunately contributes to raising in the other citizen category (resident and commuters) the so-called "perception of risk" which is excessive and often unwarranted.

However, a brief consideration needs to be made about the link between crime and illegal immigration. At a macro level, according to the public authorities, Albanian factions, Chines triads and Turkish Mafia are involved in the traffic of illegal immigrants, which is often managed in accordance with Italian crime organizations. At a micro-crime level, an involvement of single illegal immigrants in criminal activities is increasingly observed. At a national level, the trends are worrying, pointing out a constant increase in the number of immigrants reported to the police (from 30,000 in 1990 to 61,000 in 1995), and arrested (from 11,000 in 1990 to 23,000 in 1995). According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, foreigners act in mainly autonomous gangs compared to Italian criminals, being particularly active in the field of prostitution, public property crime, pushing and traffic in drugs. Again at a national level, immigrants make up 23% of the people reported for drug-related crimes, of which 78% are Africans, mainly Algerian, Moroccan and Tunisian citizens, who alone reach 66. A further alarming factor is the immigrant rate over the total number of prisoners (if foreigners make up 2-3% of the resident population, prisoners exceed 17%). In the prisons of the Milanese area such rate goes up to 25%. Unfortunately, ethnical bonds also carry out an initiation into deviance: always according to security authorities, immigrants are often initiated by their fellow-countrymen into well-defined monopoly-ruled sectors. Besides North Africans involved in drug traffic and pushing, there are Chinese involved in moonlighting (tanning, leather working, restoration), Africans exploited in street selling, women - particularly Nigerians or East-Europeans - initiated into prostitution.

To conclude, the range of political intervention must be based on three pillars: as already mentioned, promoting socio-political participation is essential; it is also important to soon carry out interventions in favour of youth as a fundamental requirement to avoid tensions in the future similar to those experienced in other European towns where, although segregation is not obvious, youth discomfort can be seen in the high levels of unemployment and in the emerging of micro-criminal behaviours; finally, we should not forget about the importance of building a positive image through media and educational workers.

I thank you for your attention.