Giuseppe Sciortino: immigration is unavoidable in any developed country

Before Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavl this year devoted to the topic 'The Modern State in the Age of Social Diversity', one of the Forum’s participants, expert on issues of immigration and national relations, Professor of Sociology at the University of Trento (Italy) Giuseppe Sciortino told in interview to reporter of ‘RIA News’ Natalia Shmakova about the meaning of migration processes and the way of helping migrants to adapt in new environment.

- This year Italy faced the strongest immigration wave caused mainly by events in North Africa countries. In this regard how do you treat situation in Apennines?

- First of all we shall not panic. It’s enough just to recall the recent past when overnight, on September 8, 1991, over 20 thousand people from Albany arrived to South Italian city Bari. This number is a little less than number of refugees arrived to Italy during Tunisian and Libyan crises put together.

Throughout the most half of this decade about 400 thousand immigrants have been arriving to Italy. That is to say consequences of Arab spring are not too critical. However we cannot underestimate importance of these events together with the fact that the situation could be dramatized.

Nevertheless, we shall consider these phenomena in their context and realize epochal significance of the events in Mediterranean world: for the first time Europe can experience the situation when democratic regimes hold power in South Coast Mediterranean. It’s a long and requiring careful approach process, and altogether epochal changes analogous to those taking place in East Europe in the eightieths of the last century.

- How do you think cease-fire in Libya will stop migration wave or this process is irreversible? What shall we do to prevent further aggravation of this state of things?

- Ending of Libyan conflict quite possibly will lead to decreasing and even fading out of this phenomenon in the medium term. New Tunisian government already seems to reassert control over its own borders. And the first assertions of Libyan government show that they intend to act in the same direction.

However simple cease-fire does not mean the end of migration pressure. To prevent this process we have to encourage stabilization in the region using economical growth and strengthening democratic regime in South Mediterranean countries.

- What chances do arrived immigrants have to get assimilated in Italy and other European countries, such as France and Germany?

- Regarding immigrants integration in European countries there are too many myths and unnecessary panic. Their analysis shows the picture quite different from the one often painted by politicians and imagined in society. For instance there are much less cultural differences between Europeans and immigrants than they suppose, and immigrants’ children almost always get assimilated well in the country where they’ve grown up.

Thus, for instance, I’ve been recently in Germany. The Prime Minister of Turkey was speaking there before a great group of people, being the children of those arrived to Germany in the sixtieths. After this event many politicians and citizens have become disturbed with the fact that many young people are still feeling themselves the Turkey natives. But I was fascinated with the fact that all of them were listening to the Prime Minister speech in head-phones with interpretation into German.

That is why I’m more disturbed with the other thing: there are still differences of approaches in education and labor market towards immigrants. We should recognize that the main problem is not in social isolation. It is in cultural differences of one from another.

- Russia is also facing migration flows, first of all from former Soviet republics. As for you what shall the state do to help those people to get adapted?

- I think above all you shall approve the fact that migration is inevitable phenomenon in Russia as well as in any other developed country. There is no any developed society that could exist without immigrants. If governments wish to be effective, first of all they have to understand that they deal with ordinary phenomenon, they don’t have to try to get rid of it or ignore it.

Politicians shall think realistically. Instead of disputes on abstract topics they shall decide on the number of immigrants have to be admitted to the country, their origin and basis for their admitting. Then they shall offer immigrants reasonable ways of possible integration with the rules, temporary limits and distinct responsibility. And finally a state shall provide effective protection of immigrants from discrimination and xenophobia.

- This summer the whole world was shocked with the events in Norway where on the 22^nd day of July the double terrorist act cut off 77 people happened. Anders Breivik called multiculturalism policy ‘a big lie’ and stated that his main aim was not to kill people but to ‘save the world’. What shall the government of other countries do so that this accident can never recur?

- The events happened in Norway show the damage that can be caused by any kind of fanaticism. I hope that Norway tragedy reminded politicians-populists abound in Europe of dangers arising from their using hate speech.

When we face such problems as migration, ethnic background and religious differences, surely we shall implement well-managed and if necessary strict policy. But it is also important to cooperate with these people respecting their identity and retaining a sense of proportion. Using apocalyptic language can just do harm.

It is true that civilized reaction of Norway government and public opinion on these events is admirable. Besides, it made it clear that the best way to overcome fanaticism is to work on development of civil society.

- At Global Policy Forum in Yaroslavl you will participate in the section ‘'Democratic institutions in multiethnic societies'’. What main message do you plan to convey to your international colleagues?

- There are no homogeneous societies. If we want to take advantage of multiethnic societies, we shall agree that they need coexistence with people and groups that treat the world differently.

The main risk for European societies is to go into shell searching for homogeneity that is nevertheless just a myth on historical point of view.

And we shall always bear in mind that immigration is just one of the processes that encourage multicultural development in society.

Author: ‘RIA News’, 31.08.2011 

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