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MIGRATION

Migration is a constant in human history. From the very beginning on, humans, driven by their will or their natural spirit of inquiry and discovery, or forced by economic, ideological persecution or natural disasters, have never ceased to migrate. The journey, going away, the pain of those who have to leave their country to face the unknown, the difficulties and the pain that often accompanies the wanderer and the migrant, are a source of inspiration for thousands of years of literature in all its forms.

The “illegal Migration” actually in Europe:

" Refugees, victims of persecution, illegal, without status, they are hundreds of thousands living in the countries of the European Union. And to escape the constant threat of expulsion, they are forced to hide, work being underpaid and have no access to medical care." (Ms. Dita Vogel, who leads the research group on “irregular migration” in the Weltwirtschaftsinstitut Hamburg HWWI)  http://www.goethe.de/ins/sn/dak/ges/fr6481536.htm 

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Chiara Barison, "Le invisibili" - Video :

http://www.myspace.com/video/sexybinbin/le-invisibili-di-chiara-barison/63387538

 " We often speak of migrants, who left, but forgetting the world that is behind them. What is and how is life like for those who remain in the country? What does mean 'suffer' migration?"                     - ​Chia­ra Ba­ri­son  -

(I.S.I.G.-​i­STI­TU­TO DI SO­CIO­LO­GIA IN­TER­NA­ZIO­NA­LE DI GO­RI­ZIA)-​ (mail: win­d­chia­ra@li­bero.it)"

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In Italy 

We (Carla Zickfeld and Stefan Karkow) live and work since many years in Italy and here we are becoming witnesses, especially in the last 10 years, of the great migration from Africa to Europe, an escape from the lands of inequality towards a promising Europe.

The testimonies of illegal immigration summarize at the end the drama and the contradictions of our time: from global to criminal economy, from migration to mafia.  

The challenge for us
Since we are researching in Senegal, there is developing in us the decision to link the reality of the Project "Mare Nostrum - Space for Dialogue and Diversity" (started in Senegal in 2010) to our situation in Italy with Senegalese immigrants. 

During our research months in Senegal in 2010 and 2011 was reported already to us the stories of suffering at the crossings to the Canary Islands with the own boats - and mothers complained about the bleeding of their families and expressed to us their preoccupation that their culture in 10 – 15 years would disappear, if the emigration of their sons should not stop.

Our interest here is not the illegal immigration in general, but the cultural aspect, whether or how far the own cultural identity undergoes volatilization in the new reality.

In the following we present the exemplary beginning of our research on the situation of emigrants in Italy - by a first interview-portrait with the young Senegalese and Lebou, Khalifa Ababacar NDIONE from Toubab-Dialaw, a small village near Rufisque.

Video - interview in french