What about immigration???

I can't start talking about immigration without telling you something about my personal situation.
To use Sarah's words, I must say I'm not an extracomunitaria, anymore. How it all happens?
I was born in Istria, a region of Croatia which was under the Italian influence after World War I. Our history is too complicated to be explain in few words , but you need the piece of information I just gave you to know that my grandparents were Italian, as they were born in Istria when the region was Italian: their language was obviously Italian together with their costums and habits.

After World War II the region was occupied by the SFR Jugoslavia but my grandparents together with many other people were still there and they passed on their language and their habits to my parents. They did so not by chance but the truth was that they could not speak jugoslavene, it was a new language for them, too. The results was that my parents mother tongue was Italian, then they start, at school for example, to learn the jugoslavene. Differently from my grandparents, my parents did not own Italian documents, as when they born it was all under Jugoslavian control. But when I was born, only after 6 years, Yugoslavia broke up and Istria became under the control of a new nation, Croatia. This meant not only a new nation but obviously a new language, new customs and habits. Maybe I was not so clear in this brief description because many things would be there to say, but now it’s time to speak about the Italian autochthonous minority which is still very active in my native place. It embraces all the people who, like me, attend Italian schools, speak Italian as mother tongue language, etc.

This is why the Italian government decided, last year, to recognize us as Italian people (invaded by other populations) and gave off a law which states that we have the right to have an Italian passport thus, to have an Italian citizenship, although we are born and we live outside Italy. It was not so simple to obtain the citizenship because, as I mentioned before, my parents and me could only rely on my grandparents Italian documents to demonstrate our origins and justify our apply. But, you know, after three wars and three different nations, documents can easily disappear or get lost!!!!

So, this is my story!!! What about my opinions on immigration in Italy??? I read a number of articles and books on the matter and learn that over the years Italy has always faced the same kind of problems regarding immigration!!!!

I just feel free to say that the possibility to vote must be given to an immigrant who lives on the Italian territory for many years and at the same time the second generation of immigrants must own an Italian citizenship, without waiting for being 18.

That’s all for the moment! I hope to exchange some information about the topic with my American peers!!!!

Bye