Sicilian Culture: The News & Views: Poor Italians Exiting Argentina

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Poor Italians Exiting Argentina
By Kevin Hall
The Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires says it gave more than 12,000 passports to Italian-origin Argentines in Buenos Aires alone last year. That was up 15 percent over 1999 figures, and this year the embassy expects a 30 percent gain in passports given out in the capital. Those figures do not include passports granted at six Italian consulates in Argentina, a country of 36 million.
In Argentina, between 1882 and 1927 an estimated one million - a third of all documented immigrants - came from Italy. The 1991 census found that more than six million people - about a fifth of the population - were of Italian descent.
In 1905, 40 percent of the Buenos Aires population was of Italian origin. Today, Italian-language television is almost as prevalent as Spanish TV in some regions.
Italian passports are so sought after because recipients can take advantage of the European Union's flexible labor laws and get a job, if not in Italy, then somewhere else in Europe.
The flow of emigrants from Argentina is not unique in the region. Looking to escape dismal economies, Peruvians, Bolivians, Colombians, and Ecuadorans are swarming to get visas for the United States, Spain or anywhere with a growing economy.

POOR ITALIANS EXITING ARGENTINA
By Kevin G. Hall, KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
Monday, July 9, 2001 - - BUENOS AIRES, Argentina - More than a century ago, poor Italian immigrants crossed the Atlantic to build railroads and theaters and turn Argentina into one of the world's richest nations.
Now their descendants line up outside the Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires, hoping their Italian lineage will entitle them to passports and a new start in the Old World.
They are trying to escape a nearly three-year recession, an unemployment rate around 15 percent, and a sick economy that shows few signs of rebounding. The Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires says it gave more than 12,000 passports to Italian-origin Argentines in Buenos Aires alone last year. That was up 15 percent over 1999 figures, and this year the embassy expects a 30 percent gain in passports given out in the capital. Those figures do not include passports granted at six Italian consulates in Argentina, a country of 36 million.
This month, Pablo Parmo stood outside the Italian Embassy in Buenos Aires, checking on the status of his paperwork. At 21, Parmo has given up on chances of playing professional soccer or even finding a part-time job; he hopes to leave for Italy by March. His sister Nadia, 19, is studying accounting and has started her paperwork now so she will have an Italian passport when she graduates from college in two years.
Both expect to give up their Argentine citizenship, say goodbye to their parents, and cross the Atlantic in the opposite direction from their great-grandparents, who left Cattanzaro Savelli in southern Italy.
"It's hard for them, as it would be for anyone's parents. But, sadly, this is a country where there is no work, and they understand it's best for us," Pablo Parmo said.
Several weeks earlier, Lucia Manjia Fave, 55, an unemployed child psychologist, lined up outside the Italian Embassy with 500 other people. They awaited a lottery drawing, hoping for a ticket that would allow them into the embassy the next week to try to prove their parents were Italian immigrants. Given her age, Manjia does not anticipate seeking a new life in Italy. But she wants Italian citizenship so her children, ages 27 and 25, can have the option.
"It's not because I want them to go. But right now, there is nothing they can do here," she said.
Adrian Moreno, a professional in his 20s, wants an Italian passport so he can take advantage of the European Union's flexible labor laws and get a job, if not in Italy, then somewhere else in Europe.
"I am an industrial designer, and here there are few options," Moreno said. "All roads here seem impossible."
The consul general at the Italian Embassy, Vincenzo Palladino, politely takes questions on the street from Argentines who want to know why their paperwork has not been processed promptly, or to ask whether a newspaper article on the immigration rules was correct. Palladino said there were no efforts to curb Argentine emigration to Italy because "we have a strong need for labor."
The flow of emigrants from Argentina is not unique in the region. Looking to escape dismal economies, Peruvians, Bolivians, Colombians, and Ecuadorans are swarming to get visas for the United States, Spain or anywhere with a growing economy.
But emigrating from Argentina is different because of the vast promise it once held - similar to that of the United States - for European immigrants. South America's second-largest country at just over one million square miles - about the size of Mexico and Texas combined - it depended heavily for development on Europeans, who account for at least 85 percent of its population.
Colonized by the Spanish, Argentina declared its independence in 1816 and by the end of the century was one of the richest countries in the world. British money paid for the construction of national ports and railroads, and immigrants from Italy and Spain provided the labor. Livestock and mining brought wealth. The lavish Colon Theatre in Buenos Aires, one of the world's great opera houses, opened in 1908 with Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi's Aida.
After an 1880s wave of newcomers to the United States led to anti-immigrant feelings there, many Italians moved instead to Argentina between 1900 and 1930, and Buenos Aires took on a decidedly Italian flavor. In 1905, 40 percent of the city's population was of Italian origin. Today, Italian-language television is almost as prevalent as Spanish TV in some regions.
"Immigration totally changed us and formed a new culture. These European roots made us very different than the rest of Latin America," said Mario Santillio, director of the Center for Latin American Migration Studies in Buenos Aires.
Santillio said three million immigrants entered Argentina between 1882 and 1927 by official estimates, but ship records and other data suggest the number was closer to five million. An estimated one million - a third of all documented immigrants - came from Italy. The 1991 census found that more than six million people - about a fifth of the population - were of Italian descent. Now many of these Argentines are forced to make the same tough choice their ancestors once did.
"I took out my passport for my children. I am 33 and I don't have any, but you want to have options," said Mariano Abaca, who works for Reygraz, a cargo-consolidation company in Buenos Aires. "Even if you don't want to leave, you have to do this. You are fenced in here."
Kevin Hall's e-mail address is khall@krwashington.com

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