Media Reflection Group 2-Jill Clark

“In the mid-1980s, the number of immigrants living in Italy began to steadily increase. Initially, the flow of immigrants was moderate and consisted mostly of movement from North Africa, several Sub-Saharan countries, and the Philippines(Barban & White, 2011).”  

I must admit that I was unaware of the pattern of migration that exists between Africa and Italy. This video titled  Italy Discouraging Flow of Migrants from North Africa exposes the cruel optimism Afirican migrants face upon arrival in Italy. When migrants and refugees travel from Northern Africa to Southern Italy and make it to Italy, they have few places to stay. Many end up in parking lots or on the streets (Drost, 2017). Others are forced into modern-day slavery, working on tomato farms and living in slums. The living conditions of the farmworkers lack plumbing or electricity and can be described as deplorable. Not to mention the dangerous track they must make across the Mediterranean, where the statistics show that only ninety percent survive(Drost, 2017). 

The video does mention children or schooling, nor does the video mention whether children live in these conditions. However, tens of thousands of unaccompanied migrants have arrived in Italy without their parents or family in recent years. These children and teenagers represent a particularly vulnerable category of immigrants. The Italian State welcomes these migrant children and provides them with food, shelter, clothing, and education. Their living arrangements and education are organized around a system that helps develop a personalized approach, including a legal guardian. Part of the local population also helps these youngsters integrate into Italian society (France 24, 2020).

References 

Barban, N., & White, M. J. (2011). Immigrants’ children’s transition to secondary school in Italy. International Migration Review, 45(3), 702–726. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-7379.2011.00863.x 

 Drost, Naja. (2017, December 9). Italy discouraging flow of migrants from North Africa. PBS. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/italy-discouraging-flow-of-migrants-from-north-africa#:~:text=Italy%20has%20received%20500%2C000%20migrants,to%20discourage%20the%20migrant%20flow. France 24. (2020). The challenges of integration for unaccompanied migrants in Italy. Retrieved March 23, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFCbbsk7P14.