Fare casa nella città interstiziale, tra dinamiche attrattive e forze espulsive. Condizioni abitative e strategie della vita quotidiana di richiedenti asilo e rifugiati senza dimora a Trento

Abstract

Il presente contributo, frutto di una ricerca etnografica condotta nella Provincia Autonoma di Trento, indaga le condizioni di vita di rifugiati e richiedenti asilo al di fuori del sistema di accoglienza. In particolare, approfondisce gli effetti prodotti dagli insediamenti informali in cui essi dimorano e dalle condizioni materiali che li caratterizzano sulla vita quotidiana di questi immigrati, nonché le forme di riappropriazione di tali spazi che gli stessi immigrati esercitano.

Contested Appropriations: Informal Migrant Settlements as Ambiguous Spaces Beyond Temporal Borders

“…In Rome and other cities, informal migrant housing takes place in squats and tent aggregations (Belloni, 2016;Korac, 2003;Puggioni, 2005). Informal border camps can be found in Sicily, on the borders with France in Ventimiglia and Val Susa, with Switzerland in Como, with Austria in Brenner, and with Slovenia in Trieste and Gorizia (Altin & Minca, 2016;Aru, 2021;Benedikt, 2019;Menghi, 2018;MSF, 2018;Storato et al, 2021).…”

“…As "temporalities of uncertainty" (Ramsay, 2020, p. 388) become the norm in the global capitalist era, I follow Georgina Ramsay's call to not limit research to the precariousness, insecurity, and temporality associated with displacement of migrants, lest we contribute to the othering we are writing against. In that spirit, I explore informal settlements not primarily as sites of hardship and marginalization (which of course they also are), but as spatio-temporal appropriations where migrants struggle to "regain control over their own lives and subjectivities" (Della Puppa & Sanò, 2021a, p. 519;Storato et al, 2021).…”

Stuck and exploited: refugees and asylum seekers in Italy between exclusion, discrimination, and struggles Stuck and exploited: refugees and asylum seekers in Italy between exclusion, discrimination, and struggles , edited by Francesco Della Puppa, and Giuliana Sano, Venezia Edizioni Ca’ Foscari Digital Publishing2021(Open Access), 362pp, ISBN 978-88-6969-533-9(PRINT)

“…To complete the picture of the conditions of refugees and asylum seekers in Italy, within the frame of the pandemic, it is useful to recall the arbitrary application of the Civil Protection's ruling (658/2020) regarding urgent food solidarity measures that provided for the population to be helped in case of difficulties in the food supply, for economical issues, for social vulnerability or other reasons. This ruling has been interpreted very inconsistently by the different municipalities: the municipality of Perugia, for example, asked for the requirement of possessing the European residence permit for long-term residents, thus excluding the vast group of people without such papers, including many homeless individuals, and countless refugees and asylum seekers (Sanò et al 2021;Storato et al 2021).…”

“…It is important to point out that such conditions affect not only migrants lacking regular residence permits but frequently extend even to those who have regular documents (Sanò et al 2021;Schuster 2005;Sigona 2012;Storato et al 2021;Wyss 2019). Administrative legitimacy hardly ever coincides with social, working, and housing inclusion for the refugees.…”

The Pandemic in the Trentino Asylum Reception System: Subjectivities Lost Within the “Health of the Facility”

“…In particular, the cuts in services of Decree 113/2018 (Della Puppa et al, 2020;Firouzi Tabar, 2020;Filippi & Giliberti, 2021) had significant consequences on the paths toward independence (Boccagni et al, 2020), our interviewees included. Furthermore, these cuts have resulted in a growing relevance of the system of shelters for homeless people managed by the Municipality of Trento (Storato et al, 2021). These shelters, along with a network of informal reception facilities, have become a de facto part of the asylum reception system making crystal clear the marginalization of asylum seekers and beneficiaries of international protection in the city.…”