I paesi della provincia di Ragusa stanno “ospitando” dei richiedenti asilo ma la gente non lo sa.

Vedono “questi immigrati mantenuti negli alberghi” (alberghetti che sarebbero comunque vuoti in questo periodo) che non fanno nulla e si arrabbiano, si indignano, si sentono fregati, etc…. Ne ho sentite di tutti i colori “sti picciuttuna ca ‘nfanu nenti!” (Sti ragazzotti che non fanno nulla! Intollerabile!)

Nessuno sa, nessuno gli ha spiegato che sono richiedenti asilo e quindi NON POSSONO LAVORARE per legge. Legge ITALIANISSIMA. Che vengono da paesi martoriati dalla guerra, fra loro ci sono molti Somali e Sudanesi, e che sono nel limbo dell’attesa di un giudizio sulla loro richiesta d’asilo.

Luoghi così piccoli, di poche migliaia di abitanti, sarebbero un laboratorio ideale per poter spiegare alla gente, per creare il giusto spirito di collaborazione e tolleranza. Ma i politici tacciono, l’informazione non spiega nulla.

Italiano

Sembra che dopo il voto del 9 aprile, oltre un mese fa, l’Italia si appresti ad avere un nuovo governo non appena superato il grande scoglio dell’elezione del Presidente della Repubblica.
Ho quindi deciso che fosse arrivato il momento di parlare della parte del Programma dell’Unione che si occupa di immigrazione. Lo farò prevalentemente in inglese, per chi fosse interessato a leggere il programma direttamente basta scaricare la versione PDF disponibile sul sito dell’Unione e andare a pag. 247 del documento intitolata Migranti e Nuovi Italiani.

Il capitolo è diviso in cinque parti:

Per una immigrazione governata

Gestire l’immigrazione con l’Europa e col Mondo

Vie legali per l’immigrazione

Politiche del soggiorno e della cittadinanza

Diritto di Asilo

English

Italians voted at the general election on the 9th of April, more than a month ago, and for different bureaucratic matters the new government is not in place yet. Finally, it seems we are getting closer and after the election of the new President of the Republic that should take place soon, Prodi’s government should start working. So I thought it was time to have a look at the programme of Prodi’s coalition, l’Unione, focusing on the ten pages which tackle issues related to immigration. For those interested in the original document in Italian, you can simply download the full programme on the Unione’s website and go to the chapter entitled Migranti e Nuovi Italiani pag 247.

The chapter is divided in five different parts:

Towards a governed immigration

Managing migration in collaboration with Europe and the rest of the world

Legal routes to immigration

Settlement and citizenship policies

Asylum right

Italian

Oggi, Primo Maggio, ho ricevuto con ritardo la notizia che tre settimane fa la comunità dei Gesuiti a Malta ha subito degli attacchi incendiari a sette veicoli appartenenti a persone dell’organizzazione Jesuit Refugee Service dopo aver pubblicato un dossier sul razzismo e la xenofobia a Malta.

Sfortunatamente, questi attacchi non sono i primi in quanto l’anno scorso un prete, l’avvocato di JRS ed altre persone che collaborano con l’organizzazione sono rimaste vittime di attacchi simili.

Ho scritto subito a Padre Pace, direttore di JRS Malta, per manifestargli la mia solidarietà e il mio sostegno. Lo conobbi lo scorso Dicembre ad una conferenza a Malta e mi colpì per la sua conoscenza dei problemi legati all’asilo politico e all’immigrazione, per la sua esperienza e per la moderata, ma al contempo forte e determinata posizione sulla situazione dei migranti a Malta.

Se volete dare il vostro sostegno al lavoro di JRS Malta, credo che la cosa migliore sia quella di non lasciarli soli, cominciando a visitare il loro sito internet sul quale potete capire meglio il lavoro che svolgono, leggere le pubblicazioni e scoprire come potete aiutarli.

English

Today, Labor Day, I received News that three weeks ago the Jesuit community in Malta was the target of an arson attack on seven of its vehicles following publication of a report on racism and xenophobia.
These attacks are not the first ones as similar episodes of violence have accurred before involving a priest, the Jesuit Refugee Service lawyer and other people associated to JRS.

I wrote to Father Pace, who is the director of JRS Malta, to express my solidarity and my support. I met him at a conference in Malta in December 2005 and he impressed me with his knowledge, his experience and the moderate, though firm and resolute, approch to the problems regarding asylum seekers and migrants in Malta.

If you want to support JRS work in Malta, do not leave them alone. I think the best thing you can do is to visit their website and find out about their work, their publications and the way you can help them to help others.

E’ con grande piacere che annunzio la quarta edizione della Forced Migration Student Conference che si terrà presso la University of East London il 18 e 19 March 2006.
Avendo fatto parte del gruppo di ricercatori-dottorandi che concepì ed organizzò la prima e la seconda edizione, sono lieta di constatare che il progetto continua in mano ad altri e ha raggiunto il quarto anno.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the fourth edition of the Annual Forced Migration Student Conference that will take place at the University of East London on the 18 e 19 March 2006. I had the wonderful chance of being part of the first group of post-graduate students that conceived and organised the first and second editions of the event and I can only be pleased knowing that other students are continuing with this project.

The Fourth Annual Forced Migration Student Conference
Refugees: Questions of inclusion and exclusion
University of East London
18-19 March 2006

The global importance of the refugee phenomenon has been reflected in recent years in the growing number of academics conducting research into forced migration. Many postgraduate students are at the cutting edge of such research, undertaking important studies from within a wide variety of academic fields – such as refugee studies, development studies, law, geography, anthropology, sociology and international relations. In order to provide an ongoing forum for post-graduates to come together to share their research, the 4th annual Forced Migration
Student Conference will be hosted by the Refugee Research Centre at the University of East London on 18-19 March 2006. And this year we are pleased to have attracted speakers from across the UK, as well as Europe, Africa, India, and South and North America.

The theme of this year’s conference is Refugees: Questions of inclusion and exclusion, reflecting the often paradoxical nature of refugee policy and its implications for refugees. Panel sessions include discussions on the current restrictive era of asylum policy, inclusive refugee education, experiences of integration, the state control of refugees, refugee camps and internally displaced people. Please see the attached draft programme for more details.

A registration form for the conference is attached and can be returned by post or email to fmsc2006@ntlworld.com
The registration fee for the conference is £10 sterling.
You do not need to be a post-graduate student to attend – we welcome the input of those working with refugees and those with personal refugee experience, as well as academics working in parallel fields.

Last December, the Eurofor conference in Malta was interesting. A variety of papers on different subjects were presented. This gave me a good chance to hear about areas of research in migration studies which are not directly linked to mine, moreover, I had the opportunity to meet a few friends and other researchers.
Of particular importance to me the two panels on Malta and a trip to the Marsa Open Centre where successful refuge claimants and people with humanitarian protection are accommodated upon release from detention.
Terry Gosden’s presentation, during one of the panels on Malta, and the following debate gave us a first introduction to the issue. He explained what the centre is, how it works, who the residents are and what they do.

He talked about the severe psychological conditions in which people arrive at the centre, traumatised by a conflict in the country of origin, a terrible journey to arrive to Malta and the previous experience in the close detention centres. Then he focused on the way in which he manages the centre and tries to motivate people to regain their agency through self and group empowerment. He stressed the point that they “are not a charity!�, the centre provides people with accommodation and other basic needs, and with guidance for self-organisation encouraging them to pursue certain initiatives as setting up “ethnic restaurants� for residents or buying a TV, or organising prayer groups, etc.

The debate following Gosden’s presentation was characterised by positive comments from some of the Maltese attendees who knew already about the centre and by others who expressed curiosity about the model and its possible application elsewhere in Europe. However, Gosden answered to these comments and questions stressing how far the centre he runs is from what it would like it to be and what the residents, as human beings, deserve. So I was left with even more curiosity about the centre and the way it operates that was clarified when I finally visited it few days later.

I will write about this in the next post. Here I simply want to add a note on the internal debate among researchers about whether visiting the centre was actually appropriate. Some people felt the experience would have felt like visiting a showcase of “human despair� and preferred not to come. Others thought it was important to see first hand what the centre is like and considered that our visit could have been also an interesting chance for the residents to meet other people, talk and pass the time. The most surprising thing for me was the discovery that for some colleagues this was the first time they ever visited a centre where immigrants live and had the chance to talk to so many of them. Too much work behind the desk I guess! Time to make time for some valuable fieldwork…..

I have neglected the blog again! Now, I am back and will soon post on the Malta conference and other new issues of interest to me. The drafting of the first research project in Sicily is getting to the final stage and it will be time for fieldwork soon. More on this later….

Now I simply want to wish everybody a great 2006 and wish those who will start their migration or return migration movements this year a safe journey and a happy ending.

ITALIANO

Domani partirò dalla Sicilia per raggiungere Malta, un’altra delle mie adorate isole del Mediterraneo, per la quarta conferenza Marie Curie della serie intitolata Dalle politiche dell’immigrazione a Migration Management- Cambiamenti del Migration Management. Il mio viaggio seguirà la rotta opposta a quella di molti immigrati che passano da Malta e continuano il loro viaggio disperato verso le coste siciliane.

Il tema della conferenza è International Organisations and the Settlement and Integration of Migrants and Refugees. La conferenza sarà seguita dal seminario su New Governance of Immigration, Refugee Protection and Minority Politics in a new Europe: the EU Enlargement as a challenge to the European Union Migration Regime.

Io aprirò e modererò il workshop intitolato Managing International Flight and Migration: The Case of Malta che vedrà fra i relatori anche Terry Gosden (Manager, Marsa Open Centre) che parlerà del Marsa Open Centre e Neil Falzon, (UNHCR’s Legal Consultant to Malta) che interverrà sul ruolo dell’ACNUR nel contesto maltese.

Per ulteriori informazioni sul resto del programma e sulla conferenza visitate il sito del Berlin Institute for Comparative Social Research

8 – 11 DICEMBRE 2005 MELLIEHA (MALTA)

Maritim Antonine
Hotel and Spa Malta
G. Borg Olivier Street
Mellieha MLH6
Malta
Phone: (+356) 215 209 23
www.maritimmalta.com

ENGLISH

Tomorrow, I will depart from Sicily to reach another of my beloved Mediterranean islands, Malta, where the fourth Marie Curie Conference within the series From Immigration Politics to Migration Management – Changes in Migration Management will take place. I will take the opposite journey of the so many migrants who pass from Malta and then continue their despearet attempt to reach the Sicilian coast.

The theme of the conference is International Organisations and the Settlement and Integration of Migrants and Refugees. This is followed by the Phare Small Scale Seminar on New Governance of Immigration, Refugee Protection and Minority Politics in a new Europe: the EU Enlargement as a challenge to the European Union Migration Regime.

I will open and chair the workshop entitled Managing International Flight and Migration: The Case of Malta which will have presentations from Terry Gosden (Manager, Marsa Open Centre) on Marsa Open Centre: First Experiences, Assessment and Outlook and Neil Falzon, (UNHCR’s Legal Consultant to Malta) on The Role of UNHCR in the Context of Maltese Migration Management.

For more info on the programme of the conference check the Berlin Institute
for Comparative Social Research.

8 – 11 DECEMBER 2005 MELLIEHA (MALTA)

Maritim Antonine
Hotel and Spa Malta
G. Borg Olivier Street
Mellieha MLH6
Malta
Phone: (+356) 215 209 23
www.maritimmalta.com

Nella provincia di Ragusa i cittadini reagiscono all’ultima tragedia dell’immigrazione.

Il 17 novembre, a largo della costa ragusana, tra Pozzallo e Sampieri in Sicilia, un barcone con oltre 200 persone è naufragato a cuasa delle pessime condizioni atmosferiche. I migranti a bordo hanno cercato di salvarsi nuotando verso la riva, ma molti hanno perso la vita nel tentativo di raggiungere la costa. Per il momento il conto dei cadaveri resi dal mare è di 25 persone, ma il numero è destinato a salire.

I cittadini della provincia di Ragusa, indignati ancora una volta dall’ennesima tragedia, vogliono far sentire la loro voce e hanno organizzato una marcia verso la spiaggia di Pozzallo che si terrà giorno 1 Dicembre in segno di rispetto verso le vittime e di protesta verso l’indifferenza e il silenzio che ha avvolto questa tragedia.

I numerosi cittadini, le associazioni e le organizzazioni firmatarie di un documento ufficiale protestano anche contro il trattamento degli immigrati che sono arrivati in vita a Pozzallo, ai quali sono state tolte scarpe e cinture per prevenire potenziali fughe.

Ma questa vicenda apre degli interrogativi ancora più gravi a livello Europeo, specialmente nelle relazioni fra Malta, l’Italia e la Regione Sicilia in materia di immigrazione.

Infatti, il barcone con a bordo gli immigrati era stato intercettato dalle motovedette maltesi e secondo la versione riportata dalla stampa locale i migranti hanno rifiutato i soccorsi, proseguendo verso la Sicilia. Le autorità maltesi hanno comunicato a quelle italiane l’arrivo dell’imbarcazione, ma il rimorchiatore partito dal porto di Pozzallo per prestare soccorso, dovette rientrare alla base immediatamente a causa del mare Forza 7 e delle fortissime raffiche di vento da Nord Ovest.

Chiramente, come scrive la stampa locale “la scelta delle autorità maltesi di lasciare proseguire il barcone carico di immigrati, nonostante il mare in tempesta, è destinata a suscitare polemiche.� (LA SICILIA 18 Novembre 2005)

Nonostante, il 18 Novembre, il sottosegretario alla Difesa maltese Toni Abela, abbia puntualizzato che il barcone «era in acque internazionali» e che gli immigrati «hanno rifiutato i soccorsi» e quindi le autorità Maltesi non erano responsabili, rimane la questione morale che concerne tanto il governo Maltese, quanto quello Italiano e l’Europa tutta.

La gente di Ragusa non si rassegna a spiegazioni formali e al silenzio della stampa nazionale, il 1° Dicembre raggiunta la spiaggia deporrà un mazzo di fiori per ricordare le vittime del 17 Novembre 2005, perchè l’indifferenza uccide e distrugge ogni speranza di miglioramento.

I have been away from the blog for a while, the main reason is that I am working to two book chapters and revising some articles which have a similar deadline, this leaves no wish for further typing on my computer.

Obviously, I have been following the riots in France and the different reactions and interpretations given by the press, politicians and experts.

Here I copy the analysis of Prof. Danièle Joly, who was my PhD supervisor. She is the director of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at the University of Warwick and is an expert on the subject. This is what she wrote for the Warwick University Media Log:

Non scrivo sul blog da qualche giorno. Sto lavorando a due capitoli per due testi diversi e sto rivedendo alcuni articoli che hanno una scadenza molto ravvicinata e questo lascia poca voglia di scrivere ulteriormente al computer.

Chiaramente ho seguito i fatti riguardanti l’esplosione di violenza nelle periferie di alcune città francesi, soffermandomi su alcune reazioni ed interpretazioni della stampa, dei politici e di alcuni esperti.
Qui vi rimando alla breve ed efficace analisi della Prof.ssa Daniele Joly, mia relatrice durante il dottorato di ricerca, che conosce il problema molto a fondo.
Lei dirige attualmente il CRER, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations presso l’ Università di Warwick. Qui leggete le dichiarazioni da lei rilasciate al Warwick University Media Log:

Rioting in France

Two decades after the riots which set fire to the main British cities and shook the British Establishment, France is confronted with a similar scenario, apparently much to the surprise of media and politicians. In reality, this conflagration was waiting to happen.

The situation of ethnic minority youth in disadvantaged suburbs displayed all the ingredients necessary for a violent upsurge; in those suburbs, French society was sitting on a barrel of powder and a single spark triggered off the explosion.

The youth of immigrant origin involved in the disturbances suffer from a double jeopardy. All the indices of poverty and deprivation are present while unemployment and school underachievement condemn them to a bleak future. Moreover, the social disadvantage they endure is further compounded by racial disadvantage, racism and discrimination. The promises of the Republican contract were never delivered for their benefit; on the contrary, the colour blindness of French policies and the dearth of effective tools to identify and challenge rampant discrimination have meant that the liberty, fraternity and equality they were urged to aspire to, remained unattainable. Stigmatisation and the non-recognition of their cultural specificity added insult to injury, resulting into the denial of justice and dignity. The violence expressed is commensurate with the frustration caused by thwarted expectations. The law and order approach pursued by the government could only enflame the situation further, all the more as perceptions of police racism prevail among those youths. The lack of hope, meaning and positive projects has led a demoralised and embittered population, deprived of a stake in society to rampage through French cities. The current discourse of government ministers, laden with threats of a police crackdown is a testimony of their failure to grasp the problems involved or to offer any constructive proposal.

Daniele Joly
Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations
University of Warwick

6–11-2005

Italiano

Domani a Ragusa si terrà il terzo incontro del nuovo Forum sociale che ha lo scopo di
dare la possibilità ad una pluralità di soggetti istituzionali e non, di aprire un confronto e di attivare iniziative che abbiano come obiettivo preciso il riconoscimento dei diritti
fondamentali dell’uomo.
Si partirà dai diritti dei migranti, rimettendo al centro l’universalità del diritto alla vita e al rispetto della dignità umana e sottolineando la necessità di contrastare in maniera forte e determinata la presenza dei Cpt.

Fra qualche giorno scriverò dei progressi fatti in questo incontro e delle prime iniziative concrete lanciate dal Forum.

English

The third meeting of the Human rights Forum will take place in Ragusa tomorrow, 25th of October 2005. The forum offers a platform to debate about fundamental human rights and promote related initiatives. It is open to representative of governmental and non-governmental organisations, local associations, schools and individual citizens.
The first focus of the Forum will be on migrants’ human rights, starting from the right to life and respect of human dignity, and a campaign against the current detention centres regimes.

In a couple of days I will write about the meeting and the first initiatives we are planning to work on.