“Seeing like integration”: an exploratory study of Bergamo’s integration model, Italy

ABSTRACT

The “refugee crisis” has drawn attention to the role of cities (local authorities) in asylum seekers and refugees' reception and integration processes, with many developing creative and innovative policies. The article explores the integration outcomes of the asylum seekers who participated in a peculiar local experimental integration model, “l'Accademia per l’Integrazione” [Integration Academy], in a somewhat “progressive” mid-sized city of Bergamo (Italy). Using a “scout/militaristic” approach, the model seeks to lay the foundation for asylum seekers’ successful integration upon arrival through obligatory “socially useful” work, language acquisition and civics, traineeships and possible employment placement. The results indicate questionable integration outcomes. This exploratory study shows that the national migration legal framework stifles the city’s conceptualization of integration of asylum seekers starting from arrival. The findings have implications for migration and local integration policy.

KEYWORDS:

• Asylum seekers
• Bergamo
• cities
• integration
• local authorities
• policy

Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Prof. Francesco Chiodelli, Dr. Audrey Lumley-Sapanski, Dr. Milena Belloni, the anonymous reviewers and the editor for their invaluable comments, criticisms and suggestions on earlier drafts of the paper. All errors and views expressed in this paper remain the responsibility of the author.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 See www.libertaciviliimmigrazione.dlci.interno.gov.it/sites/default/files/allegati/quaderno_statistico_per_gli_anni_1990-2018.pdf.

2 See https://medium.com/@ComunediBergamo/laccademia-per-l-integrazione-dimostra-che-cambiare-la-gestione-dell-immigrazione-in-italia-è-40da4ca80070.

3 See http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DCIS_POPSTRRES1#.

4 See https://www.unhcr.it/risorse/carta-di-roma/fact-checking/rifugiati-4-luoghi-comuni-smentire.

5 The formal task allocation between SPRAR and CAS centres is a recent happening, as documented in the security decrees of the first Conte government in 2019.

6 See http://dati.istat.it/Index.aspx?QueryId=20745&lang=en.

7 See https:/www.comune.bergamo.it/sites/default/files/2019-05/StatisticheDemografiche_2019.pdf.

8 See https://medium.com/@ComunediBergamo/laccademia-per-l-integrazione-dimostra-che-cambiare-la-gestione-dell-immigrazione-in-italia-è-40da4ca80070.

9 This is not always the case in practice, as the academy makes room for some leeway in its evaluation process.

10 It was sometimes taken into account by Territorial Commissions that decide on asylum applications before law 132/2018. This law has, among other things, abolished humanitarian status and replaced it with “special permits”. The passage of law 132/2018 was a significant blow to asylum seekers as over one-third of them often received humanitarian status in the worst-case scenario. This has heavily shaped the experience of the academy. Notably, most of these changes were largely reverted by law 173/2020, with the measures entering into force on 20 December 2020.

11 The uncertain legal status is as a consequence of the law 132/2018 discussed earlier.

12 See https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/italy-controversial-boot-camp-integration-school-refugees-190428212034832.html.

13 See http://www.migrantitorino.it/?p=47505.