Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
aimed at reversing the trend. As Nava puts it, Italy is a country where 'the value of merit
is largely disregarded', where 'it doesn't help to have a good CV, or an international pro-
file: corporative interests and family relations come before anything else'. A recent study
backed by Italy's ministry of labour showed that 61% of Italian companies recruit through
personal introductions and recommendations. In a landscape so riddled with nepotism,
putting in a good word is not simply a thoughtful gesture, it's essential for getting ahead.
As the old Italian adage goes,
Senza angeli non si va in cielo
(Without angels one can't
reach heaven).
At the bottom end of the job chain are Italy's migrant communities. While a growing
number of Chinese, Sri Lankans and Eastern Europeans are opening their own small busi-
nesses - mostly restaurants, grocery shops and cheap clothing outlets - the majority of im-
migrants in Naples work on construction sites and in private homes. Indeed, around 70%
of immigrants in Naples work as housekeepers, babysitters or domestic carers for the eld-
erly. In the 1970s and 1980s, housekeeping was a veritable dream job for the newly ar-
rived. Having a maid was the ultimate status symbol for the city's rich, and as a result
many immigrant workers enjoyed long-term job security and friends in high places. Since
the 1990s, however, increased demand has come from the time-pressed middle classes.
Unlike their upper-class counterparts, many of these more modest clients cannot afford to
offer workers the same economic and legal perks. What was once a secure job is also now
fraught with insecurity.
Even more precarious is the life of the street sellers, many of whom are
clandestini
(il-
legal immigrants) from Senegal. Known as
vù cumprà
- named for their trademark catch-
phrase, 'Do you want to buy?' - they sell counterfeit goods displayed on sheets along the
pavement. When the police cruise by, the vendors swoop up their stock and flee, fearing
arrest and possible deportation.
Outside the city the situation is worse for
clandestini
, who mostly find short-term sea-
sonal work in the agricultural sector. The work is hard and lowly paid, and some employ-
ers are more than happy to exploit their illegal employees' vulnerable position. Many il-
legal African immigrants are smuggled into Italy by Mafia-run operatives. Once on Italian
soil, they are hired out as farmhands, their Mafia handlers demanding a percentage of the
labourers' below-minimum wages. Most workers receive no more than €25 for up to two
weeks' work on southern Italian farms. Resentment caused by this exploitation exploded
in January 2010, when the small Calabrian town of Rosarno became the scene of violent
race riots that sent shock waves through Italy and the world.
