Reflections

Obviously, we are not like those old emigrants. But indeed, deep in our heart, we carry with us something of that experience. I am from Rome and, living in France since many years, I can say that life in a foreign country is certainly a “tough” experience.

The elements for reflection are quite a lot. For example how much do we remain attached to our own roots and how much instead we succeed in living the life of the place in which we are? I have seen, for example, that we all bring from home not only spaghetti and other groceries, with the excuse that here they are not “so good.” But I have seen someone bringing from Italy even soap for dishes because it “creates an home atmosphere”. Is this attitude correct?

Another point: we are always ” very informed” on Italian politics, we read the newspapers of our country, we watch television with satellite dish. But if someone, for example when we are travelling in Italy, asks us something about French politics, or if someone puts forward the typical question” what do people think in France about…? “, we remain silent, unable to react. Why? Because quite often we have very little contacts with local reality . Here again: is this attitude correct?

The so-called “new emigration” – I mean those who came to make their life abroad, in particular in Europe , in the last ten/twenty years – is radically different from the generation of emigrants that has preceded them until the fifties of last century. (Certainly there are sociological studies on this matter, but I don’t know anything about). Most of the “new emigrants” didn’t come abroad pushed by urgent economic needs and have in general a middle- high cultural level. They essentially are bank employees, civil servants in European or International organisations, representatives of Italian institutions in foreign countries, physicians, researchers etc. etc.
The previous workers’ generations in foreign countries were in general well integrated in the local reality, even if they preserved strong feelings of their roots. And their children often have only a vague memory of Italy and speak a poor Italian or they don’t speak it at all.
The “new emigrants”, temporary or definitive, are quite different. Someone has even a disdainful and snob attitude towards the local culture, other ones try to understand, to participate, but they never succeed to be completely integrated. How to judge these attitudes? Let’s say it openly: many of us live a sort of “schizophrenic” life, we live between two countries. Friendships here and there, business here and there. This is certainly something positive, because it allows from time to time”to disconnect the plug” from the place in which we live and to enjoy the benefits of two different social and cultural environments. But, at the same time, it prevents us to live both realities fully. And then again in the foreign country where we live, we have the tendency to live “among Italians”, to create a little village, in some way provincial, where everybody knows everybody. What do you think of all this?