Ricostruzione di appartenenze bangla sui confini veneti: genere, generazioni, associazionismo

This thesis proposes an analysis of anthropological research conducted in the Quartiere del Piave (Pieve di Soligo) in Treviso, between 2008 and 2010. The politicized research is directed at understanding integration of immigrants from Bangladesh in a urban context by the Lega Nord and the rise of forms of potential discrimination and exclusion. In the first chapter, I defined the theoretical and methodological framework within which I approach the study of bangla immigration in Italy, focusing on the anthropological debate around the word "different" in French, Anglophone and Italian literature. I analyze the emergence, from the sixties onwards, of an anthropological interest in questions of ethnicity and commonsense definitions of the ethnic group, ethnic identity and “race”. The aspect that is worth highlighting is the essentialist component that the term race seems to assume in Italy. This approach is, in my opinion, unnecessary and confusing for the purposes of anthropological inquiry and integration practices. The theoretical current that remains valid is, in my opinion, the subjectivist one (which gives weight to what the actors think, say and do) and not the objectivist ones (those that define a group "immigrant" based on certain objective criteria). The constructivist methodology in research implies that the anthropologist assume a position in progress in relation to the field and to the social actors, and to his own processes of representation, perception and categorization of issues and places that are not self-evident or prescribed. In the second chapter, I present a series of historical perspectives on Bangla immigration and diaspora in the world (Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Britain, Canada, Europe) and in Italy emphasizing the historicity of every category, including that of "immigrant" and its ethnonyms (bengalesi, bangali, londoni, probashi, odhibashi bangladeshi) as they merge in the course of migratory movements from Bangladesh. In chapter four, I describe the scenario in Pieve di Soligo, which helps, in my view, to better understand the social, political themes and those concerning and identity that inform and are informed by commonsense notions (Razza Piave, trevigianitas, Padania) and by many prejudices and stereotypes (veil, gender segregation, the Muslim religion, women’s oppression) that prevent a fruitful intercultural dialogue. In the fifth chapter the discussion will center on the role played by municipal institutions as the interface of the micro politics which surround Bangali integration in Quartiere del Piave: the school, workplace, social services. In particular, I observe that the institutional management of associationism contributes to the reproduction and spread of stereotypes which tend to use particular labels which suggest migrants to be homogeneous ethnic groups, in spite of the fact that the two Bangla associations (Bati e Basco) are in fact internally differentiated, by language or religion even among people from the same region of Bangladesh. Here a range of issues comes into play a such as the relationship between the "modern West" and "otherness" represented in the reductive terms of exotic folklore. These themes will be treated also in post-colonial terms to show how Italy has not yet developed a serious analysis of immigration, and public opinion is prey to the new stereotypes which are invented and spread through the media and then reflected in everyday life. I then discuss the diatribe between "us" and "them" and more generally the theme of identity as generated by the construction of social boundaries and between cultures in contact. In the sixth chapter I present ethnography on the immigration of Bangali’ women, focusing on research environments (home, Italian language course and bangla cooking) which illustrate particular difficulties and the resources that women have to acquire in order to be admitted to “pievigina” society. A methodological attention to attention to gender in the field has resulted in different outcomes compared to those hitherto available, and centered on male subjects. Here I show how the different Muslim gender constructs present in the field ( from Morocco, Albania, and Senegal) contribute to the self-concept of Bangali women. Finally in the last chapter, I discuss, from a theoretical point of view, the weak integration of the "second generation" in Italian schools, which , in my opinion, could partly be remedied if their re-enculturation and Italianization were rewarded with citizenship. In this section of the investigation I have considered the web as a locus of relationship (connected with other Italian cities and not only Treviso) and a bridge for a dialogue with younger bangla generations. It is a locus for the construction of different feelings of belonging, which play a role in the assertion of the rights of children of immigrants as members of Italian society. This debate seems to suggest a basic inadequacy of the assimilationist Italian model. Here I take into account common sense uses of the "ethnic" terminology in this area, before coming to a conclusion. Anthropological research on immigration is influenced by selective perceptions of social reality which single out men. Thus, from themen’s point of view and as far as work is concerned the Italian model seems successful. But if the researcher positions herself in suc a way as to take account of gender, the scene changes. Bangali women seem most excluded from Italian society both culturally and socially. Migrants children suffer more discrimination because, though not “foreigners, because they have been brought up in Italy, neither are they recognised as Italians. The sense of term "immigrant" as used by my Italian interòlocutors seems to amount to "ethnic" but, associated with class criteria, defines a disadvantaged and linguistically discriminated condition. By the reciprocal definition by migrants shows that the forging of sense of belonging is not a result of a contraposition of "us" and "them", but is a much more complex and translocal process (Act 2009 on non-mandatory veil in Bangladesh). However, as Italian institutions implement policies intended to further integration, they show in practice that they are still in the grip of ways of thought which interpret the world in terms of primordial and rigid ethnic divisions, rejecting equality and cultural diversity.