Immigration to Europe Between Emergency and Integration: the Case of the "Land of Fires"

A Service of Leibniz-Informationszentrum econstor Wirtschaft Leibniz Information Centre Make Your Publications Visible. zbw for Economics Dandolo, Francesco; Mosca, Michele Article Immigration to Europe between emergency and integration: The case of the "land of Fires" The Journal of European Economic History Provided in Cooperation with: Associazione Bancaria Italiana, Roma Suggested Citation: Dandolo, Francesco; Mosca, Michele (2020) : Immigration to Europe between emergency and integration: The case of the "land of Fires", The Journal of European Economic History, ISSN 2499-8281, Associazione Bancaria Italiana, Roma, Vol. 49, Iss. 1, pp. 175-197 This Version is available at: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/231553 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Terms of use: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Documents in EconStor may be saved and copied for your Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. personal and scholarly purposes. 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The Case of the “Land of Fires”* Francesco Dandolo, Michele Mosca Federico II University of Naples ABSTRACT The territories between Casal di Principe and the Domitian Coast have been at the center of the migratory dynamics that have involved Italy for several decades. The massive use of immigrants for agricultural labor and the murder of Jerry Essan Masslo are elements of a crucial chapter of the history of Italian immigration. Another is the pastoral work of Father Peppe Diana, realizing full fraternity in the encounter with immigrants and inspiring significant and extraor- dinarily interesting experiences of hospitality and integration in a difficult context. Models of social inclusion were developed that promoted new forms of active citizenship, transcending the logic of emergency which immigrants often face in one of the parts of Italy where organized crime is most deeply rooted. The result is an in- novative approach to human relationships, rich in opportunities, which points the way to civil coexistence in an increasingly plural society; an original paradigm of civic ethics that injects much needed calm and objectivity into the debate on these issues. Introduction The article analyzes the phenomenon of immigration in the paradigmatic context of the “Land of Fires,” a vast territory of * The essay is the product of a joint research effort. Francesco Dandolo wrote sections 1 to 5, Michele Mosca sections 6 to 10. The introductory and concluding sections were written by both. 175 06-mosca_173_198.qxp_06-mosca_173_198 27/03/20 15:39 Pagina 176 FRANCESCO DANDOLO, MICHELE MOSCA southern Italy straddling the hinterland and Mediterranean areas of Naples and Caserta provinces. These territories became the epicenter of the new wave of immigration in Italy in the late 1980s. From the time of their arrival there, these territories represent, especially for young African migrants, a temporary base where the newcomers plan how and when to move on to the rich European countries. If in general the “Land of Fires” is a territory of emergencies, including that of migratory flows, and as time goes on it has become the locus of significant models of social and economic integration that derive from the evolution of the territory; experiences arising from the com- mitment of associations that promote economic relations that are al- ternative to those of capitalism. Thus, if profit maximization accentuates global inequalities, responses of extraordinary interest are activated where the negative consequences of the profit drive are felt, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities in a perspective of inclusion and individual well-being. The paradox is that where problems generated by distorted development motives based on the exploitation of immigrant labor multiply, civil society designs and constructs responses that are effective for the governance of immigration. Thus, the experiences presented in the following pages con- stitute an important reference in the more general debate on economic policies to promote human integration in Europe. 1. A crossroads of migratory flows in Italy Recent studies of migration flows in Italy in the last decades show that the countryside of the province of Caserta, in Campania, has been among the areas most deeply involved since the beginning to the new migration to Italy.1 These historical reconstructions pay great attention to the death of Jerry Essan Masslo, a young South 1 M. Colucci, Storia dell’immigrazione straniera in Italia dal 1945 ai nostri giorni, Rome, 2018, pp. 11-15 and pp. 79-85; V. De Cesaris, Il grande sbarco. L’Italia e la scoperta dell’immigrazione, Milan, 2018. 176 THE JOURNAL OF EUROPEAN ECONOMIC HISTORY 06-mosca_173_198.qxp_06-mosca_173_198 27/03/20 15:39 Pagina 177 IMMIGRATION TO EUROPE BETWEEN EMERGENCY AND INTEGRATION. THE CASE OF THE “LAND OF FIRES” African refugee welcomed by the Community of Sant’Egidio. He was struck down on the evening of August 24, 1989 in Villa Literno, a town in Caserta province.2 A gang of local youths attacked him when he was returning to his shack after a day spent harvesting tomatoes for subsistence wages. Everything happened in a few min- utes, in a convulsive atmosphere. The killing smacked of punish- ment for Masslo’s attempt to resist his murderers’ threats, a reaction they considered unacceptable on the part of a black man. His death revealed Italy’s racist strain and debunked the myth of the “italiani brava gente” (good people of Italy).3 The event received prominent coverage in the press and on television. Although it was not the first time that an immigrant has been killed in that countryside, Masslo’s murder stirred deep feelings; Italians were struck by the story of the young man who had fled racist South Africa only to fall victim to a vicious act of racism in Italy. The mobilization of the United Nations, which had granted Masslo refugee status upon his arrival in Italy, conveyed the seriousness of the killing. News about his life and his journey to Europe played a decisive role in opening the eyes of national public opinion to the reality of immigrants in Italy, hitherto a tangible presence but anonymous and silent.4 It shed light on the terrible working and living conditions of young immigrants laborers in an area renowned for the production of tomatoes, the “red gold” of Italian agriculture. 2 A conference titled L’immigrazione straniera nella storia d’Italia. A trent’anni dalla morte di Jerry Essan Masslo was held on 7-8 October 2019 at the University of Roma Tre to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Masslo’s death. On Masslo, see D. Pompei, “Villa Literno, venticinque anni senza Jerry Masslo”, in Corriere del Mezzogiorno, 24 August 2014; G. Di Luzio, A un passo dal sogno. Gli avvenimenti che hanno cambiato la storia del- l’immigrazione in Italia, Nardò, 2016; M. Colucci, A. Mangano, Sulle tracce di Jerry Essan Masslo trent’anni dopo, 29 July 2019, https://www.internazionale.it/reportage/michele- colucci/2019/07/29/jerry-masslo-morte. 3 G. Battaglia, “Quando capimmo di non essere più ‘brava gente’”, in Confronti, no. 25/7-8, 2014, pp. 32-34. 4 F. Dandolo, “L’immigrazione in Campania negli ultimi decenni”, in Meridione. Sud e Nord nel Mondo, no. 17/2-3, 2017, pp. 274-319. JEEH • 1/2020 177 06-mosca_173_198.qxp_06-mosca_173_198 27/03/20 15:39 Pagina 178 FRANCESCO DANDOLO, MICHELE MOSCA 2. Immigrants as day laborers The immigrants who work in the fields in the area are many. The area’s main population centers – Villa Literno, Castel Volturno, Casal di Principe – are among the places in Italy with the highest percent- age of immigrants in relation to the local population. Their presence responds to the needs of the local economy, whose demand for day laborers began to become substantial in the early 1980s. Their con- tribution is essential to the profitability of the many small farms that dot the countryside. Family farms were a business model favored by legislation approved in the first decades of Republican Italy with a view to turning land-hungry peasants into small owners.5 These production units strive to minimize costs in the face of fierce inter- national competition. Consequently, in certain periods of the year unskilled, underpaid labor is essential to boost production at very low costs in an area where fundamental labor laws and rules are not respected. Massive recourse is made to “seasonal workers,” who are increasingly difficult to recruit among young Italians.6 In fact, inter- generational turnover of native-born manpower slowed sharply in the closing decades of the twentieth century. At the same time, the presence of young Africans in the countryside increased, owing to the surge in civil conflicts in their home countries between the 1980s and 1990s, which often led to the dissolution of the state.7 In this way, the Caserta countryside has become one of the most “African” in Italy. There are many young people, hailing not only from the Maghreb but also from such countries as Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Senegal, the Ivory Coast and Benin.

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