1. Raising barriers: a new age of walls
Only a few years ago, we were all talking about the “global village”: a world that was becoming more and more open thanks to trade and technology. Those divisions that seemed so close to being erased are now being marked again, forcefully; everywhere, borders are closed, barriers are raised.
It is the new age of walls. Read about it in the Washington Post’s extraordinary in-depth, interactive feature.
2. Why is the world so afraid of refugees?
All around the world, borders are closed and walls are being raised.
Why are we so afraid of refugees? Al Jazeera asked the great sociologist Zygmunt Bauman, and then animated his words in this magnificent short film.
3. A foreigner in my own country: second-generation immigrants in Italy
It seems absurd: how can you be born in Italy and be dubbed a foreigner? It is the strange fate of the so-called “non-immigrant foreign nationals”: children and youngsters who were born and raised in Italy to immigrant parents, and who are legally considered foreigners as a result. Annalisa Camilli writes in Internazionale about second-generation immigrants in Italy and the need for a reform of citizenship laws (which is still being debated in the Parliament).
4. Italy needs foreign workers, statistics say
The latest report published by the Fondazione Leone Moressa describes the impact of foreign workforce on the Italian economy, demonstrating how much the country needs it and why we should learn to give it more value. Read Claudia Torrisi’s article in Fanpage, as well as our own in-depth analysis.
5. Towns and villages given new life by migrants and refugees
The most recent case was that of Riace, the village in Calabria that was “revived” by refugees. Actually, SPRAR projects for refugees and asylum seekers are having a positive effect across the whole country. Reviving nearly deserted towns and old trades, promoting local products and businesses: here is an interactive map made by Valeria Valeriano for Sky TG24 that shows how good immigration has been for Italy.
At the same time, the mayor of Altena, a small town in northern Rhineland, Germany, is hoping to give his community new life (and new economic impetus) thanks to the arrival and the integration of refugees. Read the article in Quartz.
6. Urban architecture in the time of the refugee crisis
The arrival of millions of refugees and the need for affordable housing and integration is changing the face of European cities. Read the article in the New Republic.
7. Europe’s broken promises and the Greek trap
Thousands of refugees are stranded in Greece, forced to live in extremely precarious conditions in camps that are cold, dirty and mosquito-infested, due to the European countries’ failure to live up to its pledge to relocate them. Read the article in the Independent and the analysis by Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso.
8. The odyssey of a Syrian refugee, in pictures
Photographer Matteo Bastianelli documented three years in the life of a young Syrian refugee in Europe: Mohamed, an engineering student, left his country fleeing war and death, and travelled Europe until he found asylum in Germany. There he is trying to build a new life, but with an eye back home, where he still hopes to return, “like in the Odyssey”. Read the story in the New York Times.
9. Refugees and the need to redefine vulnerability
The highly anticipated UN Summit on Refugees and Migrants ended with a vague political statement, a list of commitments and the promise to reconvene in two years’ time. A lot of talk and no concrete plans of action.
A radical change in our approach is necessary in the lead-up to the 2018 Refugee Compact. We need to start by redefining the concept of vulnerability to close the current protection gap. Behzad Yaghmaian’s op-ed in Refugees Deeply explains why adopting new definition is essential for future effective policies.
10. Nobel prizes against anti-immigration rhetoric
When this year’s Nobel Prize winners were announced early this month, it must have been an awkward moment for all the politicians spouting anti-immigrant rhetoric around the world: all six of America’s 2016 winners are immigrants, the Independent writes. Immigrants are truly flooding America… with Nobel prizes (as Forbes noted)!
Translation by Francesco Graziosi.
