Assignment #4

Cuando eres un inmigrante, muchas puertas están cerradas. Pues, si, algunas, algunas, están abiertas—pero están escondidas. Sin ayuda, no puedo encontrarlas. 

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

   

Consider what doors are open and closed here in Italy for immigrants and for youth in general in terms of education?  How do you compare these to the doors in the United States?  What are you basing your opinions and perspectives on?

As the saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens.  For immigrants and youth in Italy there are few and far between doors in terms of education and like Edgar believes, “…they are hidden.  Without help.  I can’t find them”.  Unfortunately the country of Italy does not treat its immigrants and youth the way many Western countries do.  This is because a recurring prejudice that was established in the 1970’s when Italy shifted from an “immigrant-sending country to an immigrant-receiving country” (Italy’s Racial Cauldron).  Like many immigrants in this country, the Italian youth is also rejected by older generations.  As Amara Lakhous mentioned in his lecture, it is shameful to be young in Italy.  Many of these doors continue to stay hidden strictly because of the prejudice the Italian people have against immigrants and their youth. 

While immigrants fight for an education, they find themselves outside of doors that say “no entry”.  In Italy there are programs for immigrant children that need additional help outside the classroom, however they meet only once a week, which does not effect the overall improvement sought by the parents of the children and by their teachers.  Tuition is expensive. Many of the immigrant parents’ incomes would be adequate in their home countries, however in Italy, they are insufficient.  With immigrant parents unable to apply for jobs in the public sector, it is almost impossible to find a job that can provide enough for the tuition of Italian education. Meanwhile education in the United States, besides private schooling, is virtually free until college.  What many students in America take for granted, is an education that is free, a possible future that includes a career, but also assimilates immigrant children into the culture.  This right to education can be seen as the first step in which to encourage integration. 

Italy does not approve of assimilating immigrants for fear of them not being “pure blood” Italian.  However, some Italian people are aware of immigrants’ struggle to conform. The Martelli law established a system that created welcome centers for new immigrants in every Italian city however as Asale, Angel- Ajani states in Italy’s Racial Cauldron, “Even this modest gesture created tremendous uproar among conservative policy makers, who argued that Italy was already too soft on immigrants”.   Where does this resentment come from? There is no correct answer for this question, however after reading the articles one can see a common theme of hatred towards anyone not Italian-enough, “Italy does not have ethnic minorities, but rather immigrants”(Current Research into Education and Schooling in Italy).  I found this concept disturbing.  But how does a country’s opinion that has been set for over 20 to 40 years change of the people inhabiting it?  There are many prejudices against immigrants in the United States, for example the current situation with Hispanic immigrants coming from Mexico. It seems there are ways in which these people can adapt and integrate into American society.  Why is it that American citizens seem to accept immigrants more than Italians? While the United States is a country born of immigrants, Italy too has been affected by immigration for hundreds of years.  However, instead of helping the people that have the power and magnitude to someday over-populate Italy, they treat immigrants and immigrant youth with little compassion.

            One would think Italy would provide doors of opportunity for their youth in terms of education.  These assumptions could be constructed by the common misconception that, like the United States, countries provide the essentials for their youth considering their future involvement in that society when they become adults.  In the states, success is key for youth, and typically when a young person does not succeed, the older generation is at fault as well.  However, in Italy as Amara Lakhous mentioned in his visit, this is not a country for youth, especially immigrant youth. 

            As many know, Italy is struggling with the constant decline of birthrates, therefore the immigrant population in Italy is increasing, and will only double as the years go on.  As the authors of Children Crossing Borders mentions that “approximately 25% of children in a typical municipal preschool are likely to come from im/migrant families that speak a language other than Italian at home”. As the percentage of immigrant children is growing, there seems to be a stronger hold on keeping them out of schools and at smaller numbers. The Minster of Education, Gelmini, has received public attention from the immigrant population and Italian citizens after announcing the rule of having no more than 30% of immigrants in classrooms.  In addition to keeping the percentage of immigrant students as low as possible, many new students are placed within classes of their same age groups, only to receive little to no assistance with catching up.  This causes many immigrant students to fall behind and eventually be placed in classes with younger students (Current Research into Education and Schooling in Italy). The Italian education system is flawed, for immigrants and youth and unfortunately it does look to be improving any time soon.  

            In Italy there is a revolving door in terms of education for immigrants and youth.  At face value, it seems that there are endless possibilities available with such a door, visible through the glass is a diploma, a college degree, a career, and a future.   However, as immigrants and youth attempt to go through this door, it spins too fast.  In the end, only the fastest and smartest ones can get through the cracks and succeed.

One quote in particular has brought many questions to my attention throughout the readings.

“One 1996 elementary school text, assigns, as an issue for discussion:

ISSUE. The poor emigrate. Often to reach a richer country they must contract with organisations that demand a lot of money. When they arrive, many cannot find work or are underpaid for difficult work. Often they find themselves in a world where food is thrown into the garbage while their children, in their home country, die of hunger. AND YOU? Does this seem right? Do you know an immigrant who lives in terrible conditions? Do you ever waste food? Discuss this with the teacher and your classmates.

ISSUE. Europe has become a destination highly sought after by immigrants. The European peoples have to deal with different races and cultures. AND YOU? How do you behave towards children of other races that you know? How can you deal with each other and affect each other reciprocally and pacifically?

Aside from the terminology, one wonders how the “children of other races” answer this question.” (Current Research Into Education and Schooling in Italy). 

How does an author (of textbooks for elementary schools) avoid questioning him or herself the same thing?

How is the extent of inappropriateness not obvious in these questions?  

Assignment #3

Describe the people you talked to. Who are they, where did you meet them, why did you choose them. What about the process. Did you hear more than you thought you would? Write all the stories you heard and also consider: how did it feel to ask Italians about immigration? How do you think they felt being asked this question by an American student (think about your points of reference)? Would they have answered differently if asked by a fellow Italian? How did you feel about this assignment in general? What was your comfort level and what borders/boundaries did you experience while engaged in this assignment. What walls did you cross? 

Walking through Piazzo Vittorio was eye opening.  There was an abundance of ethnic diversities and people from all origins.  Kelsey and I were a little hesitant at first, but we went up to a fruit stand and began speaking to a young man, “Buongiorno, we are students from the University of Washington and we are studying in Rome. Can we ask you a few questions?”  As soon as we finished speaking he motioned over another young man from the stand next to his.  The first man’s lack of interest or lack of english was apparent so we asked the other man where he was from, how old he was, etc.  He spoke exceptional English for first being born in the Philippines and then immigrating here to Rome.  He was 24 years old and had immigrated to Rome 14 years before.  Everyone in his family currently lives in the Philipines, except for his sister who was born here in Italy and goes to school here.  He came to Rome to work.  The Esquilino market was the pnly place he could find a job. He enjoys working there.  He said it is almost impossible to find a job after 30 years old.  He also believes its imperative to speak Italian if one wishes to find a job.  When we asked him about immigration he said, “I have no problem with immigration, I have no comment”.  After this question his body language changed and I sensed his interest leaving.  He said he did not want to speak anymore so we thanked him and went on our way. 

While walking through the market place we were stopped by a butcher who started to talk to Kelsey to try and get her to buy something.  Excited for another opportunity to speak to an immigrant, we asked if we could ask him a few questions.  He was from Egypt and had been in Rome for a year and half.  He came to Rome for work but if he had a choice he would return to Egypt.  He believes immigration is a good thing here in Italy and he thought it was fair.  He had never been to university and was not planning on going.  He said he would stay and work in Rome until he could afford to go home to Egypt.

After talking to two immigrants we decided to look for our Italian interviewee.  We asked an Italian woman working at a bakery what she thought of immigration and did not understand what we were saying.   We then tried our luck with two young Italian girls as they were walking out of the market.  When asked about immigration, their faces were confused and did not have much to say about the subject.  They seemed annoyed by the question.  Inevitably, they were in a hurry and could not answer all of our questions.  

It was a strange experience asking Italians about immigration.  It seemed they acting exactly as they felt, annoyed.  As an American, unfortunately I do have a disadvantage.  I do believe they might have been less apprehensive with asking the questions if I was Italian.  I enjoyed the assignment, I felt as if it was a great way to prepare the class for out research projects because we will be conducting interviews with Italians, refugees, and immigrants.  It’s a surreal experience when you come from a place where most of your friends have lived in the same home their entire life, have never had to deal with the hardships of money, and then you come here and learn of people younger than you or I immigrating to multiple places, living on the streets, and doing what they can to survive.  

Assignment #2

Topic: Write about what you think makes Roman and Italian identity.  What are the myths around this identity?  What are the social, cultural, and physical forces that shape this identity?  Who belongs and who doesn’t belong, and why?

When answering what makes Roman and Italian identity, there are many ways one can approach this question.  It is almost impossible to generalize such a diverse people. Yet through media there are many stereotypical myths surrounding the Italian people.  Before coming to Italy, I could only assume the Italian culture from watching Under the Tuscan Sun, which romanticizes the Italian men and women and depicts the true beauty of Tuscany and Italy however did not show its imperfections as well.  2011 is the year marking Italy’s 150th birthday of becoming a country.  Since the beginning of ancient Rome there have been multiple empires in power and many different people have occupied this land.  Because of the mixture of immigrants coming from all over the world to Italy, the divide of north and south, and obvious differences in opinions, there is no clear answer for what makes Roman and Italian identity.  However, from my observations of Rome the overarching theme of Roman and Italian identity ultimately is pride.

When asking to describe the social and cultural forces that shape the Roman and Italian identity they are difficult to distinguish from each other.  The Italian pride for being “true” blood Italian is both social and cultural.  Therefore although this country is becoming more and more diverse from immigration, culturally and socially there have always been immigrants in Italy.  With the difficulty of becoming an Italian citizen almost impossible, there are many undocumented immigrants, who were born here, speak fluent Italian and their parents where born in Italy, but do not have citizenship.  Unfortunately one can only be considered an Italian citizen if their parents are Italian.  As the speakers from the G2 organization stated, if you are born in Italy (and have non-Italian parents) once you turn 18 you are considered an immigrant that has just arrived to Italy yesterday.  Once you reach this age there are steps you must take to obtain residence cards, which are similar to visas.  Some of the requirements include demonstrating a fixed income, applications to universities, having your date of birth, and where you were born.  There is a surprising amount of 6 million Italy-born immigrants out of 60 million that do not have citizenship.  Because of this rejection of non-citizen Italian born people in society, they have become outcasts in the only community they have ever known.  The cultural factors are the stereotypes that “Pure” Italians label non- Italians and do not perceive these “others” well.   Which is turn makes it more difficult to accepted socially in the community.  Foreigners are not allowed to have public jobs or work in schools.  The affects of these stereotypes unfortunately answer the question of who belongs in the Italian identity.  The apparent Italian views support what the government has set, if you are “pure” Italian, than you are Italian. Culturally there have been certain images placed on how an Italian must look and act, they must have dark hair, light skin; they must have an Italian accent.  However, unless you have the paperwork and walk the walk and talk the talk, you are not considered an Italian.   

             The physical force that affects the Italian identity is their pride for their history.  From our Forum tour with Margaret Brucia, we learned how the forum displays Rome’s timeline from the beginning of all Roman history, starting with Levi, who was the first known historian in Italy’s history.  As Margaret led us through the forum, she not only told the class what a structure’s name was, but how it looked in its prime. She described how time, illness, and pride could not only change buildings and people but also a culture.  These conditions are what have shaped the Roman and Italian identity today.  These effects can be seen throughout Rome and are exemplified through one of the multiple arches in the forum.

            This arch was purely decorative and was constructed when a general was triumphant in battle.  Most of the arches have stories or great emperors’ or generals’ names etched into the stone. On this particular arch there is a compelling story about the man mentioned in the sketch.  It was about a general who had a brother whom he did not want to compete with and wanted to destroy. Inevitably killed him, however, he did not want to be remembered as a man who killed his brother so he decided to erase his entire existence.  One way in which he was successful in keeping his pride was to take his brothers name from the arch and rewrite it.  When reading the sketch, Margaret pointed out the holes that did not match up with the letters on the stone.  With time, the true reading of the arch was legible and it is apparent that the brother attempted to erase his brother’s existence. 

            Unlike many cultures the Roman pride for their history is of the utmost importance.  As a culture that is continuously modernizing economically and socially, importance still weighs heavily on historic pride and preservation.  I recall a conversation with Stephanie and Anthony about the metro in Rome. She mentioned that the city has been working on expanding the metro for over 15 years, however, every time they find anything that resembles ruins, the construction is delayed for three years.  

Consequently there are many ways in which you could answer the question what makes Roman and Italian identity, however from the brief time I have been able to observe the Italian people and Rome, pride seems to be the resounding echo when asked what makes these people who they are.  This sense of pride is stemmed from the social, cultural, and physical forces that include the government and the difficulty of becoming an Italian citizen, the rejection of non-Italian citizens, and their historical pride for their ruins.   

Ciao! I have had quite the adventure here in Rome.  After getting off the plane I was to find Kelsey and Minji in order to catch a taxi to stay in a hostel for the night.  Unfortunately they both missed their flight but luckily I was spotted by Laura, Jenny, and Brittany.  So we headed to their hotel for the night, after dropping off our bags we wandered around Trastevere and found a quaint restaurant near our hotel and each ordered a delicious pasta and shared a bottle of wine.  

The next day we made our way to the UW Rome center to find our apartments and move in. Once dropping off all of their bags the girls followed me to my apartment (back in Trastevere).  After this we wandered around the area, found a bite to eat and explored the Campo di Fiori market for dinner.  

                                       The University of Washington Rome Center

Assignment 1- Italian Youth Impressions

1. What are your general impressions of youth in Rome and Italy? How would you compare this to youth in Seattle and the United States?

Italian youth in Rome differs greatly from American youth in Seattle.  The younger generations seem to wander the streets of Rome only past 8 or 9 pm.  However, in Seattle you can see young people out and about all hours of the day.  The contrast between cultures shows how the Italian youth can seem to be more disciplined.  From walking around late at night, I've noticed how alive people become once its dark.  The streets are filled with young people drinking and socializing.  The Campo on a Saturday night is like an American High School after a game (everyone is there, socializing, planning where to go next, excited).  As they are introduced to these privileges at a younger age, such as drinking, being allowed to go out, etc,  they tend to be more relaxed and composed.    However, unlike the majority of American teenagers and young adults, Italian youth keeps composed while drinking.  The youth in both cultures differ greatly.

Laura, Brittany, Gina, Jenny, and I at the Trevi Fountain