Hi everybody!
After having spent the last weeks talking about politics and elections, this time we focused on another crucial issue: immigration.
As I wrote on the previous post, Sharon and I had already discussed briefly about it, but on Tuesday we went deeper into the matter and learnt more about this phenomenon in the two countries.
After having spent the last weeks talking about politics and elections, this time we focused on another crucial issue: immigration.
As I wrote on the previous post, Sharon and I had already discussed briefly about it, but on Tuesday we went deeper into the matter and learnt more about this phenomenon in the two countries.
I must say it was quite an interesting conversation as the word 'immigration' has a very different meaning in Italy and USA. In the States basically everybody comes from somewhere else: let’s look for example at our peers at Dickinson. Most of them have foreign origins and their grandparents were often immigrants. America was born thanks to immigrants: they left their own countries, they settled in the ‘New Continent’, started a new life there and contributed to its economic growth. Therefore, it is pretty obvious that Americans and Italians usually have a different attitude towards immigration.
As Sarah said, Italy has known this issue only for the past 10-15 years. Traditionally, Italy was a ‘country of emigrants’ and only at the beginning of the 90’s it really turned into a ‘country of immigrants’. Sometimes I have the impression we still have to get used to different cultures living in the same place…And probably our politicians are not yet used to that, either, since they often have not been able to deal properly with immigration over these years.
On the contrary, America is well-known as a big melting pot where people from about 50 different nationalities live and work together. As I wrote before, many of them were born in the States, but there are also a lot of foreigners who move to the US to find a job and start a better life.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy for all of them to integrate in the American society. Sharon told me at the time they are having serious problems especially with Mexicans. They often cross the border without visa and documents, they do not speak English so all they can do to survive is selling drugs or robbing. This leads some Americans to have strong prejudices against them and sometimes to take advantage of them, too. In fact, above all in California Mexicans are usually discriminated and are forced to do the worst jobs for very low wages.
I told Sharon we are also having big problems especially with gypsies since they are very difficult to integrate (and maybe they did not want to, either). I am sure not all of them are criminals, nor I think they should all be sent away; but undoubtedly, their culture is so different from ours that it is hard to see a solution for this problem. I would not ask them to give up their traditions, it would be enough if they sent their children to school instead of let them begging and robbing on the streets.
When there are integration problems, there is less tolerance and racism is more likely to spread. Unfortunately, every now and then in both countries we still hear stories of natives who beat or insult immigrants; in the US, this happens more often in Southern States, where Mexicans and black people are sometimes discriminated.
After our long conversation, we came up with the conclusion that legal immigration is a precious source of work and cultural richness for our countries. The real problem is illegal immigration.
It is a problem for both the ‘host-country’ and the immigrants themselves, who often have to decide between breaking the law and starving. At the moment this is a crucial point in Italy as well as in America, so that is why we decided to concentrate on this issue in our final project.
I hope it all goes well and that you will find it interesting ;-)
See you!
As Sarah said, Italy has known this issue only for the past 10-15 years. Traditionally, Italy was a ‘country of emigrants’ and only at the beginning of the 90’s it really turned into a ‘country of immigrants’. Sometimes I have the impression we still have to get used to different cultures living in the same place…And probably our politicians are not yet used to that, either, since they often have not been able to deal properly with immigration over these years.
On the contrary, America is well-known as a big melting pot where people from about 50 different nationalities live and work together. As I wrote before, many of them were born in the States, but there are also a lot of foreigners who move to the US to find a job and start a better life.
Unfortunately, it is not always easy for all of them to integrate in the American society. Sharon told me at the time they are having serious problems especially with Mexicans. They often cross the border without visa and documents, they do not speak English so all they can do to survive is selling drugs or robbing. This leads some Americans to have strong prejudices against them and sometimes to take advantage of them, too. In fact, above all in California Mexicans are usually discriminated and are forced to do the worst jobs for very low wages.
I told Sharon we are also having big problems especially with gypsies since they are very difficult to integrate (and maybe they did not want to, either). I am sure not all of them are criminals, nor I think they should all be sent away; but undoubtedly, their culture is so different from ours that it is hard to see a solution for this problem. I would not ask them to give up their traditions, it would be enough if they sent their children to school instead of let them begging and robbing on the streets.
When there are integration problems, there is less tolerance and racism is more likely to spread. Unfortunately, every now and then in both countries we still hear stories of natives who beat or insult immigrants; in the US, this happens more often in Southern States, where Mexicans and black people are sometimes discriminated.
After our long conversation, we came up with the conclusion that legal immigration is a precious source of work and cultural richness for our countries. The real problem is illegal immigration.
It is a problem for both the ‘host-country’ and the immigrants themselves, who often have to decide between breaking the law and starving. At the moment this is a crucial point in Italy as well as in America, so that is why we decided to concentrate on this issue in our final project.
I hope it all goes well and that you will find it interesting ;-)
See you!
