Assignment 4: “When you are an immigrant, many doors are closed. Well, yes, some, some are open-- but they are hidden. Without help I can't find them” (Edgar)

There are many controversial issues influencing immigrants throughout the world: socioeconomic status, religion, family, government, media, the economy, gender, and, what I think is central to them all: education. Without access to education, it would be virtually impossible for an immigrant to move up the social ladder in their new societies. Immigrants throughout the world face many challenges in all aspects of their lives, particularly when it comes to obtaining an education. Education has been at the core of the debate about immigrants in America for decades while legislation regarding education for immigrants in Italy newly came under fire in 2007.

Although education policy of immigrants in Italy is a relatively new issue, there are many parallels between immigrant education in Italy and immigrant education in the United States. In both Italy and the United States, children must be accepted into school without documents evidencing citizenship. However, in Italy while documentation is not necessary to be provided for enrollment in schools, parents must ensure that documents of citizenship will be provided in the future.

Where Italy fails to compete with the United States' education policy for immigrants is when it comes to the idea of teaching a foreign language in schools. In the United States, there is an English as a Second Language (ESL) program in place. Unfortunately, in Italy this is simply not the case. According to Anna Onorati, expert on Italian education, Italian is only taught as a second language in primary school. This means, if a child immigrates to Italy when they are over the age of ten, they will not have the privilege of learning Italian as a second language. The language barrier is only one of the obstacles that immigrants in Italy face.

The large influx of immigrants throughout Italy are also faced with a stringent centre-right government headed by Silvio Berlusconi, a lack of integration programs, and a lack of jobs in the public sector. All of these issues contribute to the making of a tough education system for immigrants. With the centre-right government in power and Mariastella Gelmini as the Italian Minister of Education, the education situation for all Italians, particularly immigrants, became bleak. With budget cuts and a new policy mandating that only thirty percent (Manka in class discussion) of students in a school are allowed to be immigrants, Italy faced the biggest revolt in the young country's history. On October 8, 2010 (unita.it) thousands of students stormed the country's capital, Rome, to show their disapproval for the new education policies resulting in twenty million dollars of damages (unita.it). With these budget cuts coupled with the new thirty percent rule, many are left to wonder: how will immigrants get an equal education as native Italians? Gelimi's reform “includes loss by natural wastage of 87,000 teachers' jobs over the three academic years to 2012 and the return to a system in which just one teacher is allotted to each year of elementary school,” (economist.com), with only one teacher per grade, immigrant children will not get the special attention that they need to adjust to Italian culture and learn to speak the Italian language. With a lack of teachers in schools, won't immigrants simply fall between the cracks of an underfunded system?

Underfunding is just the beginning of immigrant issues in the Italian education system. While schools are newly underfunded, immigrants have been arriving in Italy in increasing numbers, making it simply impossible for all immigrants to be integrated into Italian culture. Even with the help of cultural mediators provided by the charity organization CARITAS, it is not enough to help all of the immigrants assimilate to Italian culture. Without integration into Italian culture, it makes it difficult if not impossible for immigrant students to adjust to life in an Italian school.

The lack of assimilation programs for Italian students parallels some of the struggles that adult immigrants face in Italian society as well. As immigrants grow up in Italian society and are able to enter the work force, they are faced with a cold reality. Although immigrants may have obtained their education in Italy, it is illegal for immigrants to get a job in the public sector, “Public sector jobs are much sought-after in Southern and Central Italy, areas of high unemployment, because they offer security and pensions. It is one of the few jobs which will allow women to work and have children without making sacrifices,” (Chaloff 4). Since this public sector jobs are outlawed for immigrants, there is no incentive for immigrants to obtain an education.

While there are many aspects working against immigrants in the Italian education system, there are also some doors that are left open for immigrants. Diversity can often be seen as a resource and “as an opportunity for growth” (childrencrossingborders.org). Often it is ignored that diversity and multiculturalism opens doors to other communities that, in this case, native Italians may not have access to. Speaking a second language in a foreign country opens lines of communication amongst minority groups. Particularly in a country with a failing economy, immigration and diversity should be embraced. The young immigrants migrating to Italy have the opportunity to network with groups of people native Italians do not have access to.

However, many argue immigrants should see their diversity as a blessing. Personally, with Italy being a dying population, often compared to a dinosaur generation, “the Italian is doomed to die out in the next century” (Lakhous 72) I think the immigrants in Italy have an advantage they need to begin monopolizing. With the lowest birthrate in Europe, Italy's “solution lies in the increasing presence of immigrants,” (Lakhous 72).  

Writing Assignment 3: Interviews in Piazza Vittorio

As we walked into the Piazza Vittorio, the diversity of the piazza was clear. There were Italians, Asians, Eastern Europeans, Middle Easterners, Africans, individuals from all walks of life. Initally, I was struck by the diversity as well as the many youth concentrating the piazza. After talking to my first interviewee, Antonio, I quickly learned there is a University in the Piazza Vittorio which explained the youthful population.

With a goal of interviewing one individual that had immigrated to Italy and one native Italian, my partner, Brittany, and I peered into the piazza and decided to approach two college-aged boys. As we approached them and introduced ourselves it was clear one of them, Antonio, fluently spoke English. Antonio shared with us that he was from Calabria and had migrated within Italy to Rome to attend university. Continuing to ask him questions, Antonio's leg began to shake as he spoke. It was apparent he was nervous, so we attempted to calm his nerves by telling him how good his English was and sharing with him a few stories of our own; such as how we chose our respective colleges, where we grew up, and why we decided to come to Rome to study abroad. After sharing a few stories of our own, he began to freely share his own experiences.

He shared that he hopes to stay in Rome for about seven years and hopes to finish his education here. When we asked why, specifically, he chose to migrate to Rome he said “There's no life in Calabria.” He said that Rome is a much more lively city. With our base-level questions out of the way, it was time to ask Antonio his opinions about immigration and politics in Rome.

Initially when we asked, “What do you think about immigration?” he simply responded, “My grandparents are immigrants.” He shared that his grandparents had moved to Toronto, Canada for a job. Although he shared with us that his grandparents are Canadian immigrants, when we asked him his opinion on immigrants coming to Italy, he stated that all immigrants are bad and they simply come to Italy to steal jobs. When we asked his opinion on American immigrants in Italy, he also stated that they are bad and no matter what country they come from, they steal jobs that Italians need to survive. Antonio's opinions on immigration were very ironic. Although Antonio's grandparents immigrated to Canada for the sole-purpose of a job, he opposes any and all immigrants in Italy because they steal jobs. Making his opinions on the economy in Italy clear, it was time to ask Antonio what he thinks the biggest political problem in Italy is. He was quick to state that the biggest problem is the lack of jobs. In Rome, he said that there are no jobs and said that means in Calabria there are zero jobs. Basically, he stated that as you go further south in Italy, the job situation goes from bad to worse.

After taking a short break and heading to a bright red table in the Piazza Vittorio to collect our thoughts, Brittany and I walked back over to Antonio to ask him a few final questions about his 'Southern roots.' We asked Antonio if he ever feels discriminated against in Rome because he is from Southern Italy. He was quick to say that while he does not feel discriminated against in Rome, when he travels further North, they recognize his different accent and act racist toward him.

What I found to be most interesting was Antonio's opinion on the North and South divide in Italy. The discussion of this divide in many ways mirrors the divide that there is in the United States. Antonio shared that the way Southerners are recognized as Southern is by their accent. This is similar to in the United States how Southerners have a much different accent from Northerners. The differentiation of accents can lead to racism in the United States as well as in Italy.

Ending our interview with Antonio, we continued to walk around the piazza to find another youth to interview and asked about their opinions on the city of Rome. After wandering around and observing the piazza for a while, we approached a college-aged female and asked her if she was native to Italy. She quickly responded with immaculate English that she had immigrated to Rome from Morocco when she was seventeen. While her father has been in Rome since 1987, Basma and the rest of her family were able to join him in 2007. Basma, a name meaning 'smile', was quick to open up to us about her enjoyable experiences in Italy thus far. While she is an immigrant, Basma stared that she feels accepted in Italy and has yet to experience much discrimination from Italian citizens. Studying oriental language and Abrabic, Basma hopes to move to either France or London once she graduates from university. Similar to Antonio, she stressed that there are no jobs in Rome where she would be able to use her degree and, therefore, would likely once again have to immigrate to a new country.

Basma's experience reflected Castles and Miller's article “ The Age of Migration.” This article states that there are five core reasons why migration occurs: “people migrate as manual workers, highly-qualified specialists, entrepreneurs, refugees, or as family members of previous migrants,” (Castles 3). Looking at immigration in the context of these five ideas, Basma's experience correlates to that of an immigrant that migrated in order to join a family member. While her experience was as a migrant joining a family member, her father's experience was that of an entrepreneur. Her father chose to move to Rome with an entrepreneurial spririt in order to open up a clothing store. Comparing the “Age of Migration” to Basma's family's experience presented many parallels.

While I was initially scared to approach strangers in the Piazza Vittorio and nervous my lack of Italian would pose a problem for my communication with anyone that would be there, I quickly learned my nervousness was unnecessary. After talking with Antonio and Basma, I learned that they are my peers and very open to sharing their opinions and dreams with me. Perhaps what I was most surprised about was both Antonio and Basma's English language skills. I was very impressed and envious that they were both able to speak another language so flawlessly. Although immigration is not the easiest subject to talk about, they both seemed to be very open to me.

Interestingly, Antonio and Basma had very different opinions on immigration. Antonio, being a native Italian, expressed his thoughts about how bad immigration is for the country of Italy while Basma shared her affinity for Italy and how accepted she has felt as a Moroccan immigrant living in Rome. I think that both Antonio and Basma were somewhat surprised that me, being an American student, would even care to ask about their opinions on immigration. They were very open to talking to me about the topic because it was not something that they were regularly asked their opinion about. If they were to be asked by a fellow Italian about their opinions on immigration, I do not think that their opinions would have been any different from what they shared with me. Being a peer of theirs, I think it was much easier for them to express their opinions to me. The only difference there may have been was their word selection. Since they were limited to the word and expressions they knew in English, if they were speaking in Italian they may have expressed their opinions using a different vocabulary.

Getting out of my comfort zone and pushing myself to approach new people in the Piazza Vittorio was a very enlightening experience. Talking with fellow youth in Rome confirmed many of the issues we have been discussing in class. Antonio's negative opinions about immigration reiterated the majority of opinions we have learned in class that many Italians have. I was most surprised that neither of the two people I interviewed mentioned that there is a lack of rights for immigrants and other minorities throughout Italy. When I asked about political problems throughout Italy, both Antonio and Basma's mentioned the state of the economy but did not mention the state of the government.

Assignment 2: Rome's Resistant Identity

Perhaps the most glaring aspect of a Roman's identity is their pride. Dating all the way back to antiquity, the Romans have been a prideful people, protective of their land, and boasting their accomplishments through the creation of arches documenting their victories over their enemies, statues looming over the city representing the emperors who brought them to victory, and the imposition of statues of the ancient Roman gods virtually everywhere representing their divinity as a city-state. This prideful theme continued when the Catholic church decided to call Rome its home and built countless basilicas throughout all of Rome, representing their control over the city. Paralleling the ancient Romans, the Catholic church topped their columns with statues of saints once again representing Rome as a divine city.

Rome's roots continue to be represented throughout the city and are unable to be ignored. While Rome has been able to beautifully maintain its history, this has, in effect, caused Rome to become 'frozen in time.' Although Rome's social identity is continually evolving with increasing numbers of immigrants every year, the Roman government refuses to recognize its changing demographics and fails to provide protection or security for minorities immigrating to Italy. With a population in Rome consisting of ten percent of non-Italians and an influx of individuals from Romania, the Ukraine, Poland, Albania, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Peru, China, and Morocco, the immigrant population of Rome can no longer be ignored. These immigrants are present in Roman society but native Italians, influenced by the ideas of Silvio Berlusconi, the Prime Minister of Italy, refuse to allow them to integrate into society. For me, the opposition and resistance to the creation of a multinational identity in Rome is what represents the social, cultural, and physical forces shaping the Roman identity today.

While it would be ignorant to say that all Romans are resistant to change, I will focus on the Italian government's strong opposition to evolution. While there are many facets to Roman society, the government is the one that represents the majority and opposes the granting of rights for minorities. Prior to my arriving in Rome, I was unaware of the stringent social policies that Romans must abide by such as the process to gain citizenship in Italy. Physically, I think that this biggest force shaping the Roman identity is the presence of the Vatican in the city of Rome as well as ancient ruins such as the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. With a view of the Vatican's dome from virtually every point in the city, it is impossible to ignore its implications throughout Rome. The Vatican's looming imposition over Rome literally represents the role that government coupled with religion has in the city. From virtually everywhere in Rome, one can look to the Vatican and be reminded of the force that drives Rome: Catholicism.
Furthermore, the ancient ruins that have been preserved in Rome once again represent a prideful theme that is so common in Roman society. As Margaret Brucia lectured our group about Ancient Rome, specifically gods and goddesses, she highlighted the fact that Roman gods are much different from Greek gods. She emphasized that while often Roman gods are seen as pseudonymous with Greek gods, the Romans would be immensely offended if they thought anyone was comparing their similarities to the Greeks.This theme that Romans dislike being compared to other cultures continues to mold the Roman identity today.

The Roman government continues to resist comparison to other cultures today by refusing the acceptance of immigrants as citizens of Italy. With their strong opposition to  immigration, it is clear that the Romans, and Italians as a whole, are hesitant to allow their society to evolve into anything but a city that is stuck in its past, rejecting all progressive thoughts and ideals. In effect, Rome and the whole of Italy is forcing emigration by rejecting any thoughts outside of conservative ones and virtually outlawing any religion outside of Catholicism. If Italy continues to resist supporting any people living in Italy that are not Catholic, well-versed in Italian, and conservative, I argue that Italy will once again experience high numbers of emigration, similar to that discussed in Aliza Wong's Race and the Nation in Liberal Italy, 1861-1911 when "emigration was also characterized as a plague that had befallen the ill-prepared country," (Wong 127).

When asked: Who beings and who does not belong in Italy, I think the answer is clear: anyone who is not an Italian citizen does not belong. Isabella Clough Marinaro's article "Between Surveillence and Exile: Biopolitics and the Roma in Italy" beautifully depicts how the Italian government is shaping the identity of immigrants in Italy by stripping them of it, "The ancient Roman figure homo sacer, a criminal whose punishment was banishment from the community through the loss of all political and citizenship rights- who could be killed without his death being considered murder- frequently reappears in modern societies," (Marinaro 268). This idea of the homo sacer certainly reappears in Italian society with the homo sacer mirroring an immigrant.With the government making jure saguinis virtually impossible for an immigrant,  I argue that the Italian government strives to forcefully limit Italian identity to only Italians jus saguinis, or Italians by blood. These resistant government policies depict the people of Italy as resistant to change and backwards in their ideals. Such strong opposition and government impact on the identity of the country of Italy leaves them frozen in time. 

A weekend in Firenze!

After spending our first night in the hostel- I must say, it was very nice- we headed out to explore the city of Florence. Grabbing a waffle smothered in Nutella, we headed to conquer the climb to the top of the Florence Cathedral/ Duomo. First, we headed to the interior of the Duomo to admire the marble-laden floors. After taking a few photos of the inside of the Duomo, we headed outside to admire the Lorenzo Ghiberti's golden doors deemed 'The Last Paradise' by Michelangelo that depicted Florence's escape from the Black Death plague. Finally, we headed to the side of the Duomo to start our hike to the top of the Dome. On our way up, we were able to admire the fresco of The Last Judgement adorning the dome of the Duomo. I must say, this was some of the most amazing art work I have ever seen. It was such a treat to see the artwork I have studied in art history classes in person. After admiring the frescoes, we continued our hike up to the top of the dome! Climbing through cramped hallways, we finally made it to the top. The climb to the top of the Duomo was definitely the coolest thing I have done during my time in Italy thus far... The expansive view of the city at the top was extremely rewarding. We could have spent our entire day gazing over the city of Florence from the dome but we knew there was more we wanted to see. So, after soaking in the sun for a few minutes, we headed to the Ponte Vecchio bridge. This is the only bridge in Florence that Hitler did not destroy during World War II. Spending some time at the bridge, we then headed over to the Palazzo della Signorio where Michelangelo's David was originally placed. There is now a replica of the David in its place sitting amongst an array of other sculptures in the Palazzo Vecchio. While we were enjoying admiring the sculpture garden we were determined to make it to the Palazzo Michelangelo to watch the sunset over Florence. 

We began our hike up to the Palazzo Michelangelo where we curved through a hill to make it to the top. Once at the top of the palazzo, we admired the view of Florence from above. After admiring the view from the top of the Duomo as well as from atop the Palazzo Michelangelo, there was no question that Florence had  beautiful views. While watching the sunset, we were able to admire the churches and other monuments we had seen throughout the day from afar. 

Once we had watched the sunset, we headed back to our hostel before we set out to see what kind of food Florence had to offer us. While we had our hearts set on heading to a restaurant where we could sample a brie ravioli, we wandered into a pizzeria instead. Our stomachs empty after walking around Florence all day, we each ordered a whole pizza to ourselves! 

We thoroughly enjoyed our first day in Florence and were excited to head to the Accademia Gallery in the morning to view Michelangelo's original sculpture of David. There is no doubt that Florence is much different from Rome. Florence is certainly a less congested city that does not seem to be filled with as many tourists as Rome does. It was refreshing to be able to walk down a street without having to continually move out of the way for a macchina (car).  

Assignment 1: What are your general impressions of youth in Rome and Italy? How would you compare them to the youth in the United States?

While I have only been in Rome, Italy for a short time now and have not had too much experience dealing directly with the youth in Italy, I did have the pleasure of sitting next to a youth on my flight from Washington D.C. to Rome who lended me much insight to the youth here. Marco was a 20 year old student studying at the Universita de Roma who was returning home to Rome from his first trip to USA. Upon engaging in conversation with him, it became clear to me that he had been disgusted with the culture in America and could not be happier to be traveling back to Italy. He explained to me that his girlfriend (from Italy) decided to attend a four year university in Maine. As I asked him where he went to school he continually rhetorically asked why so many individuals perceived the education in the United States to be better than that in Rome. He elaborated about his professors and conceded that he thinks that his professors at Universita de Roma are the best that the world has to offer. He was very prideful of his country and honored that he could attend university. As I began to ask him questions about their education system, I began to see some significant differences between the youth in Rome and the youth in the United States.

When I asked Marco how many students attend his university he stated that while in his freshman class there were a large amount of students enrolled, around 75 percent of them do not continue onto their second year. He said that he still lived at home with his parents and he hoped that  he would not be one of the 75 percent that are forced to drop out of university and immediately enter the work place. Studying political science, I asked him if he has further ambitions to pursue a law degree. He expressed to me that he did not wish to pursue law but that he wished to teach. I also asked Marco what the social scene is like at his university. He stated that universities in Rome and the majority of Europe do not have places where students can live on campus- he expressed that the majority of the students attending the university live at home with their parents and commute to their classes.

When I asked Marco about his other impressions of the United States, he expressed that he could not understand why he could not purchase a beer anywhere in the entirety of Washington D.C. He was confused why the age to drive in the USA is 16 while the age to drink alcohol is 21. Furthermore, he was also unsatisfied with the fact that PDA is not a cultural norm in the United States. He was upset that his girlfriend refused to kiss him in public because it is often not acceptable to do so in the United States. I found this interesting because I was shocked at the amount of PDA that is expressed on the streets of Rome!

Speaking with Marco and comparing our experiences in college was very enlightening and funny to me. I was very impressed at his ability to speak English so well. Since being in Italy, I have noticed that it seems as if while many older people are able to speak English, the younger Italians do not know it as well. When going into restaurants and bars here, I have noticed that many of the time the youth will bring an older man or woman over to translate what I am saying for them.

When I asked Marco what he would do post-graduation, he really did not have an answer for me. He said that in order to make extra money now he will sometimes deliver pizza on his Vespa. When I mentioned the 28 percent unemployment rate for youth throughout Italy, he seemed to not be aware that the unemployment rate was so low for college graduates. I was extremely surprised that he did not seem concerned with job security after graduation.

As we delve into our internships in Italy and begin to more frequently with the youth here, I am confident that we will discover many differences compared to the youth in the United States. I am excited to gain more of an understanding of the youth in Italy and more specifically Rome.

First days settling into my new home: ROMA!

After finally arriving in Rome early in the morning on January 4th, I am finally settling into my new city! During my layover at the Washington DC airport I met up with another girl in the program- Gina- who was on my flight to Rome, making my first international flight much more manageable. However, we were within minutes of missing our flight because we were sitting at the wrong gate but ran through the airport to board in the nick of time (I felt like I was on the Amazing Race)!

After touching down in Rome, we quickly went through customs, grabbed our luggage, found a cab and were on our way to Campo de Fiori. A 45 minute cab ride later, we arrived at our destination- The University of Washington Rome Center. Once arriving at the center, we all were given keys to our apartments and off to explore our new city! However, there was one small obstacle we had to get through before we could go out and explore: dragging our luggage through the cobble-stone streets. While the streets are beautiful, they are not the most conducive to American-sized luggage!

After dropping our luggage off in our apartments we headed out into the heart of Rome. Our stomachs growling, our first stop was to get our first authentic slice of Italian pizza. Walking and eating we took in the beauty of the city. All of the markets filled with fresh fruit, meat, flowers, spices, and pasta are truly amazing. At the market we all purchased items to cook a group dinner together. Laura, Jenny, and I each purchased a 5 euro bag of pasta but quickly realized we had been haggled when we turned around and saw a bag for 1 euro! That evening we all shared our first homemade Italian meal together.

On our second day, we all met at the Rome Center bright and early for a tour around Rome. The streets were bustling because it was the day before The Epiphany (when the 3 wise men brought the gifts to Baby Jesus). I was confused why in all of the "supermarkets" (The largest is the size of a local gas station in the US) I had been seeing Christmas stockings and ornaments for sale but the presence of this holiday explained it. Later that evening we all went on an evening historical walking tour to the 3 fountains in the Piazza Novano, then onto the Pantheon, the Trevi Fountain, and ended at the Spanish Steps. My favorite part about this walk was the carnival that was going on at the Piazza Novano. There were people everywhere and children carrying balloons and playing games in preparation for The Epiphany- It felt like my second Christmas! It was also quite the experience to throw pennies into the ornate Trevi Fountain. On our walk to the Spanish Steps, we also saw many of the Embassies.

On day three we took a walk to the Vatican City. While we did not go into the Vatican itself (we are saving that for another day), simply being in the St. Peter's Square was extremely surreal. This was the day of the Epiphany so there were many Romans in the square admiring the Nativity scene as well as the Christmas tree in the center of the square. We walked through the great doric columns and admired the statues of 140 saints adorning the top of the virtually every column in the square. While admiring the square I chatted with the swiss guard who were guarding the entrance to the Vatican City. It was quite hard for me to take them seriously since they were dressed up like Jokers! After leaving the Vatican we walked along the Tiber River and admired the Castel Sant'Angelo (mentioned in Angels & Demons) where Hadrian and many other emperors of Rome were buried before their tombs were destroyed when the Castel was converted into a Fortress and finally into a castle by popes in the 14th Century. On our walk back to Campo de Fiori we saw countless artists painting beautiful watercolors of the view from the River. Finally, our last stop of the day was to a wonderful gelateria. At this gelateria there were University of Illinois stickers (the owners have a longstanding relationship with an architecture professor there) posted in all of their refrigerators- a little taste of home!

Yesterday, we continued our explorations and set out discover the Roma Termini and purchase train tickets to Florence for next weekend. The Termini was fairly far away but we enjoyed the walk. On the way back we stopped to view the Spanish Steps during the day and went into the Trinita dei Monti (the chapel at the top of the steps) and admired the frescoes of many artists studying under the Raphael School. One of my favorite fountains I have seen thus far is the one at the bottom of the Spanish Steps: Fontana della Barcaccia sculpted by Pietro Bernini. While this fountain is quite small in comparison to the other fountains throughout Rome, it was very charming! From the top of the steps there is a beautiful view of the city and the hills of Rome. After exploring a little longer and walking down the Via dei Condotti admiring the many of the shops, we headed home.