The many systems of asylum seekers reception in Italy.

Transcription

1 The many systems of asylum seekers reception in Italy. Challenges, opportunities and constraints for cities Tiziana Caponio Department of Cultures, Politics and Society (University of Turin) and Collegio Carlo Alberto

2 The reception system on paper (Legislative Decree n. 142/2015) First reception Hotposts Regional Hubs CIE SPRAR CAS

3 The reception system in fact First reception Hotposts Regional Hubs??? CIE SPRAR CAS

4 The reception system in fact (Source: Ministry of the Interior) December 2016 December 2017 % variation Hotspots 1, ,5 First reception 14,802 10,669-27,9 CAS 137, ,239 10,22 SPRAR 23,158 23,473 6,1 TOTAL 176, ,833 6,0

5 The reception system. Impact on the local level The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

6 The Good: only opportunities? Opportunities Building of a network with local NGOs and seeking the involvement of the community Benefits for the demographic balance and local economy (especially for deprived and marginal areas) Challenges Sustainability in the long run and perspectives for migrants integration (especially in deprived areas) Constraints Bureaucracy, temporariness of the projects

7 The Bad: At the will of the Prefect Constraints Lack of time to engage the community Scarce transparency in the selection of providers Challenges Opposition from the population and protest Political de-legittimation of the Mayors Opportunities Local economy or local market of migrants reception? More constraints and challenges than opportunities

8 The Ugly: shantytowns and squatting Constraints Migrants unmet needs Challenges Local vocal opposition and risk of violence against migrants Criminality, migrants exploitation, social marginality Opportunities? The local criminal market of migrants exploitation and informal reception Only constraints and challenges

9 The Ugly Data MSF (2016) 35 informal settlement in Italy in 2016 Outdoor, in parks or forests Shanty towns made of barracks and tends Squatting in abandoned rural houses or decaying buildings Hosting roughly 7,000 people Primarily men, but also women, unaccompanied minors and whole families All over the country Turin, Trento, Brescia, Udine, Gorizia, Trieste, Padua and Reggio Emilia in the North Rome in the Centre (around 2,880 people) Caserta, Naples, Foggia, Bari, Cosenza, Crotone, Catanzaro, Catania and Palermo in the South

10 Multiple challenges. The Turin area (July 2017) CIE: 80 people ca. CAS: 4,006 available places (present migrants 5,059) SPRAR: 14 projects, for a total of 903 places (526 in the city of Turin) Informal settlements Squatting in the area of the ex-moi (Media Olympic Centre), between 1,330-1,680 migrants involved (MSF 2016)

11 Ways out? National initiatives Privileging the Good over the Bad Simplification of administrative procedures for SPRAR projects (Decree of the Ministry of the Interiors of 10 August, 2016) Transformation of CAS structures in SPRAR projects and the close no CAS if there is a SPRAR (Circular of the Ministry of the Interior of August 2017) Incentives for SPRAR municipalities (500 euros per migrant) More equal distribution over the territory to avoid multiple challenges Distribution Plan among the 7,981 Italian municipalities (Dec. 2016) And the Ugly? Integration Plan of the Ministry of the Interior to be funded by EU and national funds, September 2017 Among the priorities: Italian language, vocational training and access to housing

12 and contradictory outcomes at a local level A still unbalanced territorial distribution November 2017, same source: 2,959 municipalities hosting migrants over a total of 7,981 Different regional ratios: 82.6% municipalities in Tuscany and 78.7% in Emilia Romagna involved in asylum seekers reception; only 16.2% in Aosta Valley, 16.7% in Sardinia, 16.9% in Calabria and 19% in Sicily Declining enthusiasm for SPRAR projects? According to the Parliamentary Commission on Asylum Seekers reception, in November 2017 funding could cover 31,270 SPRAR places, yet the 775 projects actually funded ensured only 24,972 places, 6,302 less than those covered by the available funds Experimental projects refugees-in-families, e.g. Refugees Welcome Italy An innovative answer?

13 The Ugly flourishing among migrants and residents protests The case of the (ex) military base of Cona (VE). A shantytown within a reception centre

14 Thank you for your attention