An Ethnographic Research on the Integration Processes
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THE CITY AND THE SLUM: AN ACTION RESEARCH ON A MOROCCAN AND A ROMA XORAXANE' COMMUNITY IN ROME. by MONICA ROSSI A Thesis submitted to The University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Sociology School of Social Sciences The University of Birmingham University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This work is an action research that deals with the theme of urban ethnic poverties, with particulare reference to the Italian phenomenon of the Roma encampments. The study is important because through the research on a single case study, the encampment of “Casilino 700”, I had the possibility of investigate and evidentiate the dynamics of social inclusion and exclusion through the analysis of both the encampments population and problematics. The long follow up of this research, which begun in 1992, allowed me to conduct an in- depth study and evaluate the policies enacted on behalf of statutory bodies and NGO’s who are entrusted with the duty of programming support and empowerment interventions toward Roma communities. In the course of this work I have shown how Roma in Italy have been for decades the object of a plan of spatial and social segregation which has had de facto state support and which has crystallised the conditions of social and economic exclusion of this minority. The research ends with a series of practical proposes for immediate integrate interventions that ought to be enacted at different levels in order to overcome the emergency and security-oriented approaches which have instead characterised the last twenty years. DEDICATION This work would have not been possible without the good advices and the fatherly guidance of my friend and former Mentor Prof. Roberto De Angelis, to whom this thesis is dedicated. For any inadequacy or error, the responsibility is entirely my own. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The realisation of this work has been made possible thanks to the generosity and hospitality of the Roma community of the former Casilino 700 encampment. Families and individuals have all helped me in every possible way with this research and also in many other occasions. In particular, my gratitude goes to members of the Adzovic, Ibrahimovic and Sulejmanovic families. My grateful thanks goes to the neverending patience and competence of my supervisor, Dr. David Toke, who supported this project from the beginning. He helped me to realize it guiding me through the labyrinth of the English language, and I am deeply grateful for his wisdom, generous support and encouragement. Thanks also to Prof. John Rex for his invaluable critics, advices and friendship and for his irreplaceable humour. A big, heartily thank you, to the Sadiq family, to my sister Fozia and to the relatives and neighbours in Small Heath, whose warmth, affection and generosity allowed me to stay in Birmingham without feeling neither homesick nor sad. One last but not less important thank you goes to my extended family: to my beloved Cesare, to my brother Stefano Malacrita and to my mother Marina, who have all patiently supported me in my moments of discouragement. Finally, thanks to Graziano Halilovic and Paola Marotti, friends and travelling companions. 2.5.1 The review “Lacio Drom” and the Centro Studi Zingari ........................... 46 2.5.2 New approaches to Romanì studies............................................................ 51 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY: FIELD RESEARCH IN A NO MAN’S LAND ....................... 54 3.1 The research context ................................................................................................. 54 3.2 Discussion and selection of an appropriate methodology: Ethnography .................. 56 3.2.1 Action Research ......................................................................................... 59 3.2.2 Characteristics of Action Research: Involvement ...................................... 63 3.3 Ethical considerations ............................................................................................... 66 3.4 Personal motivations for the study ............................................................................ 68 3.5 Multiple data gathering ............................................................................................. 70 3.5.1 Qualitative data .......................................................................................... 71 3.5.2 Quantitative analysis .................................................................................. 74 3.5.3 Iconographic documentation ...................................................................... 76 3.5.4 Institutional acts ......................................................................................... 78 3.5.5 Press reports and articles ............................................................................ 79 CHAPTER FOUR: THE CITY AND THE SLUM ...................................................................................... 82 4.1 Rome: the making of the informal city ..................................................................... 82 4.1.1 The city and the slum ................................................................................. 87 4.1.2 The newcomers .......................................................................................... 92 4.2 The land of informality: Labour market in Italy ....................................................... 96 4.3 Other peculiarities of the Italian anomaly. The Italian migratory model ................ 110 4.3.1 Dreamers of a successful life: Moroccan migrations to Italy ................... 115 4.3.2 Roma in Italy and in Europe: The quest for citizenship rights ................. 122 CHAPTER FIVE: THE PLACE ................................................................................................................ 140 5.1 The Centocelle neighbourhood: an historical introduction ..................................... 140 5.1.1 Centocelle’s socio-demographic data ....................................................... 143 5.1.2 The former airport and the Roma arrival.................................................. 148 5.2 Casilino 700: spatial organisation of the survival ................................................... 152 5.3 Social and family relationships ............................................................................... 162 5.4 External relations: The Romans and the Roma ....................................................... 171 CHAPTER SIX: THE PEOPLE ............................................................................................................. 180 6.1 From Oran to Centocelle ......................................................................................... 180 6.2 The Moroccan atoll ................................................................................................. 183 6.3 The last Yugoslavs: The Roma of Casilino 700...................................................... 198 6.3.1 Area of origin ........................................................................................... 199 6.3.2 Housing conditions ................................................................................... 201 6.3.3 Administrative and legal situation ............................................................ 202 6.3.4 Economic activities .................................................................................. 204 6.3.5 Migratory trails and evaluations ............................................................... 207 6.3.6 Propensity to resettle ................................................................................ 209 6.3.7 Aspects of integration ............................................................................... 214 6.3.8 E’ Romà Vacharèn ................................................................................... 215 CHAPTER SEVEN: INSTITUTIONAL AND NGO’S INTERVENTIONS ............................................. 217 7.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 217 7.2 The market of solidarity: Notes on the third sector in Italy .................................... 219 7.3 NGO’s interventions for Casilino 700 .................................................................... 221 7.3.1 CIR (Italian Center for Refugees) ........................................................... 221 7.3.2 Opera Nomadi ......................................................................................... 228 7.3.3 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ............................................................ 233 7.4 The schooling of Roma children: from the “Lacio Drom” experience to the present day ..................................................................... 235 7.4.1 Wild child: Romanì vs. Gadjos socialization ........................................... 242 7.4.2 The schooling at the Casilino 700 ............................................................ 246 CHAPTER EIGHT: TOWARD