Tra Sri Lanka e Italia. Vite, percorsi, mondi migranti e ambivalenze delle migrazioni

The thesis is concerned with migration between Sri Lanka and Italy. Many authors (see Näre, 2008) assume that migration began over thirty years ago, supported by connections between Italian and Sri Lankan institutions of Catholic religion. The Sri Lankan migration to Italy, which is mostly Singhalese, has constantly increased during the years. According to Istat data (2008) the number of Sri Lankan citizens currently resident in Italy is around 70.000. This migration is characterized by the connections between the cities of the western coast of Sri Lanka which send large numbers of emigrants to Italy and some Italian cities. The aim of the research was to describe and analyse holistically the experience of migration by means of multi-situated ethnography. The immersion in migrants’ worlds made it possible to obtain detailed knowledge of migrants’ lives by sharing daily life with migrants, living with migrants, interviewing them, taking part in their official and informal events. The field research took place in Verona and Wennapuwa. Verona is the Italian city with the second largest population of Sri Lankan migrants in Italy. Moreover in this city Sri Lankan migrants are well-organized: there are Sri Lankan shops, associations and services. Wennapuwa is a city of the western coast of Sri Lanka where the great majority of population is Singhalese and catholic. In this city emigration to Italy has become so important that its nickname is Punchi Italia (Little Italy). The empirical research was theoretically informed (Willis and Trondman, 2000) and oriented by the Theory of the Practice (Bourdieu, 1972, 1980, 1994). This approach rejects the classic dichotomy between subject and structure and considers social practices to be the result of their two way relation. The migration process, in its different phases, is considered to be the result of the constant tension between, on the one hand, the principles of perception and evaluation of the social world and patterns which generate practices (habitus), and on the other, the social conditions of existence within which the strategies, practices and social relations of the social agents are constructed and constrained. In the contemporary world, the analyses of local processes have to take into consideration also the processes of globalization and their effect on local ones. The global order is characterized by huge socio-economic inequalities and relations of power which reproduce inequalities between countries and citizens. In so-called Third World countries, such as Sri Lanka, migration has become a solution to bridge the gap between global desires and local impossibilities. Global desires, fed by global flows of goods, money, imaginaries and people, are desires for a standard of living oriented by consumption and defined by Wennapuwa people as modern life or western life. This kind of way of life is not possible for the great majority of people who live in a social habitat, constrained by the local economy which has a weak and marginal role within the global economy and has been depressed by the civil war (1983-2009). In this social space those migrants, who have become rich working in Italy, have become persons to envy and imitate; Italy has become a dream land where people think that it will be possible to earn a huge amount of money and migration has become one of the best strategies in the search of “modern life”. By considering the specific history of this migration and the connections between the context of emigration and immigration it is suggested that migration strategies of migrants have promoted the creation of a specific social space of migration, where migrants and non-migrants, in the areas of origin and destination, act and establish social relations, following specific logics of practice. However, the specific social space of migration and the logics of practice which move actors within this social space should be considered in relation to international and national contexts because the social space of migration takes its specific shape inside these contexts. The social space of migration has been also defined transnational social space because of the multiplex connections between the context of emigration and that of immigration. The analysis of the experience of migration suggests that migrants’ worlds are strongly characterized by ambivalence. The international and national management of migration issues, especially where the country of destination is concerned, compels migrants to resort to the help of their fellow countrymen (migration networks), rather than official institutions which would help them deal with the problems of migration. In some cases, as in that of irregular migration, migrants cannot resort to institutions. On the other hand, in many situations institutions show their inability to give migrants the opportunities of a positive social integration. So migrants, who vary in their socio-economic positions, often depend on the support of their fellow countrymen during their experience of migration. Solidarity between people with ties of kinship, friendship or common origin is extremely important during migration and helps migrants to face their difficulties. On the other hand, giving solidarity is extremely difficult for people who live in a society, such as Italy, characterized by a form of capitalism in which jobs are scarce, the informal economy pervasive, wages are low and welfare protection minimal (Nobil, 2009). Migrants have limited rights and occupy low socio-economic positions. On the one hand, there are migrants who need help from the others, on the other hand there are migrants who cannot help or do not want to help their fellow countrymen because of their own difficulties and because of the fact that helping is the contrary of the aim of migration which is earning money. Moreover, in precarious socio-economic conditions it is often difficult to return the help received. This situation often causes conflicts among migrants. Goods and services may circulate within the transnational social space of migration according to the logic of profit. So, people often have to pay their fellow countrymen in order to receive help in migrating or facing difficulties later. Migration is basically pursuing socio-economic success in a foreign country. The obstacles encountered frustrate migrants’ realization of their desires and high expectations. This situation, in which there is a gap between desires and real possibilities, constantly creates dissatisfaction, anxiety and frustration. In this situation the logic of profit can penetrate inside the social space of migration and cause potential conflicts, contradictions and competition inside migrant networks. The social environment of Sri Lankan migrants to Italy appears to be highly ambivalent. It is a context in which it is easy to make contact with fellow countrymen, but also to break ties. It is a social space in which practices based on solidarity coexist with practices based on the logic of profit. Fellow countrymen supply migrants with support and affective ties, but widespread mistrust, feelings of competition and accusations of selfishness and envy can spread throughout social space of migration because of the unequal success of migrants and the penetration of the logic of profit within relationships. Ambivalent feelings and behaviour can spread throughout a social environment in which personal relations work tend to/have to replace the functions of state institutions.