The news of immigrants revolting in Rosarno, in Calabria, raced around the world. In addition to media implications there was also a mini-diplomatic crisis, after the Egyptian government officially protested to the Italian government about the “aggressive campaign” against immigrants and “detention conditions, the violation of economic and social rights as well as the practice of forced deportation.” The statement by the Egyptian Foreign Minister remains an important precedent that should, to say the least, be reported. As far as Italy is concerned, the immigration issue is not exclusively internal but rather international.
The images of the clashes in Rosarno, reported by newspapers and television stations, were filled with images of rage, despair and shame. It was rather like watching a remake of Stanley Kubrick’s “Spartacus” in modern times. There are however significant differences between fiction and reality. The men led by Spartacus were slaves, real slaves. The immigrant labourers in Rosarno instead are instead, at least theoretically, free men. At a practical level, however, things change radically because these men are effectively reduced to slavery.
It is excessive to speak of slavery? Not at all. I believe that it is a correct and effective interpretation for understanding better the dramatic events in Rosarno. In his book “Uomini e caporali. Viaggio tra i nuovi schiavi nelle campagne del Sud” (Mondadori, 2008), Alessandro Leogrande explains extremely well this system involving the illegal hiring of farm labourers for very low wages through an agent, (in Italian known as caporalato), founded on the exploitation of immigrants from Eastern Europe and Africa. The ‘caporale’s’ role goes well beyond the organisation of labour, and mediating between producers and labourers, between supply and demand etc. The illegal hiring of farm labourers for very low wages through an agent has become a very dangerous form of crime, involving blackmail and threats to immigrants who, very often, have no protection because of their illegal status.
The dramatic situation in Rosarno was the result of the failure of agricultural policies in Southern Italy. The globalisation of markets has resulted in new challenges. Italy is the second producer of tomatoes in the world, behind the United States but in front of China. The Italian agricultural model cannot compete with the American one, due to industrialisation and the use of machinery for picking. So there is the Chinese model based on manual picking and the reduction of production costs implemented primarily by saving money on wages. This second system if the one greatly liked by Italian producers. Why? The answer is very simple. Large mechanical pickers are extremely expensive, costing between 100 and 140 thousand Euros. Hence, excessive reductions in production costs have led to a slave economy with foreign labourers working for no wages and constantly supervised and controlled by illegal recruiters, often of the same nationality.
The Italian Minister for the Interior, Roberto Maroni, has spoken of “excessive tolerance” regarding illegal immigrants as the main cause of the clashes in Rosarno. This is a deceptive explanation. Instead of attacking criminal organisations, ruthless producers and delinquent illegal recruiters, there is an attempt to attack the victims, the exploited, the new slaves. Roberto Saviano’s comments on Rosarno move, by way of contrast, in a different direction. “Immigrants do not come to Italy only to take the jobs Italians no longer want, but also to defend the rights Italians no longer wish to defend” (Il Sole 24 ore. January 9th 2010). Clear and very powerful words. I believe that the sad events in Rosarno are only the beginning. Unfortunately, in the near future there will be other revolts here and there, other clashes between Italians and immigrants. A sort of war between poor people. In the meantime, Italian immigration policies are flying blind, not even on a wing and a prayer.
Translated by Francesca Simmons
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