Burning cars, smashed windows, thrown rocks, and police dressed in riot gear were all features of the riots in Rosarno, Calabria, Italy this past January. The violence broke out after African immigrant workers took to the streets to protest the pellet-gun shooting of an African worker by Italian youths while the worker was laboring in a nearby orchard. It was one of the most extreme immigrant riots ever seen in Italy, and over 70 immigrants and policemen were reported injured in the two days of mayhem. The protests were an unfortunate manifestation of the racial tensions between immigrant workers and native Italians that have long been present all over Italy, but this time there was also evidence that the Calabrian crime families were involved. The recent immigrant riots in Rosarno are less an outgrowth of racism and tension between the immigrant and local populations than a result of the government’s failure to keep the power of organized crime in Southern Italy in check. Indeed, the Italian government has turned a blind eye to the operations of organized crime in the region, which seems contradictory given how interrelated the issues of immigration and organized crime are there. If Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is serious about cracking down on illegal immigration, it is not stronger immigration laws he needs to focus on, but rather a fight against the ‘Ndrangheta, the Calabrian mafia, and the corruption that makes organized crime so difficult to stamp out.
The events in Rosarno were not the first time that organized crime has been tied to immigrant unrest in Italy. In September of 2008, the execution of six African immigrants by the Neapolitan mafia in Castel Volturno spurred such intense riots that the Italian government was forced to call in the Italian National Guard to restore order. In February 2009, immigrants awaiting deportation set fire to the detention center on the Island of Lampedusa on which they were being held. The immigrant unrest situation is not new, and the Italian government’s failure to address it constitutes gross negligence.
While immigrants perform vital roles for the Italian economy, they exist in an underclass entirely distinct from mainstream society. There are an estimated 4 million legal immigrants in Italy out of a total population of 60 million, along with an unknown number of illegal immigrants. Corruption or skewed data often obscure the status of these workers. The Italian government has only just started to seriously acknowledge the problems of ignoring such a large immigrant population. In addition, organized crime syndicates often shield illegal immigrants from Italian authorities, so their actual numbers and locations are not known. As many aspects of the Italian economy are based on the exploitation of low-cost immigrant labor, the wellbeing of the country depends on the availability of this labor. The International Organization for Immigration estimates that immigrant labor accounts for 9 percent of Italy’s GDP. Despite this, immigrants are not integrated into Italian society, live in squalid conditions in makeshift houses outside cities, and often lack basic rights such as access to amenities, health care, or job contracts.
In Rosarno, for example, official statistics state that there are about 1,600 agricultural workers, among whom only 36 are non-Italian. This is nowhere near the truth; in fact, about 1,200 African immigrants perform the majority of the agricultural work in the area. The immigrants have no job contracts, so they must endure anything from beatings, to crime bosses’ demands for kickbacks, to downright refusal to pay wages. Going to the police is not an option, especially for those who are in Italy illegally.
The underlying discontent that caused the immigrant population to react so strongly to an attack on one of their own is likely a result of the strong control the ‘Ndrangheta has over their jobs and their lives. Mass riots are the only way for the African immigrants to express their discontent because if an individual stands up to the ‘Ndrangheta alone, he is immediately killed (such as in Castel Volturno two years earlier). Because they have no legal status or job contracts, illegal immigrants also cannot petition the police about their ill treatment and exploitation. The Italian government needs to acknowledge the discontent and the desperation of the immigrant population, and move to stop their exploitation rather than leaving them to fend for themselves against groups such as the ‘Ndrangheta.
Italian organized crime networks maintain a strong presence in Southern Italy, which includes Calabria, to this day. Unlike the most common mafia structure, the ‘Ndrangheta derives its strength from a horizontal network of blood ties, making it very difficult for the Italian authorities to infiltrate the organization. The head of Italy’s National Anti-Mafia Commission has stated that the ‘Ndrangheta maintains “extraordinary control” over Calabria. The ‘Ndrangheta controls the agriculture market in Calabria, and much of the rest of the economy as well. Often an African immigrant’s ticket to Italy and the potential for a new and better life is a deal with the ‘Ndrangheta, a ticket to Calabria, permission to live on abandoned land outside town, and work as a day laborer—paid in cash—all with no welfare benefits, or the protection of safety and labor laws. African immigrants in Calabria come to depend on the ‘Ndrangheta for their livelihood, and are ultimately at their mercy. Facilitated by organized crime from one end to the other, this system completely bypasses the immigration and labor laws of Italy. Therefore, any attempt by the Italian authorities to strengthen immigrant regulations will most likely be useless without also targeting the fundamental problem. Italian policy should focus on identifying and dismantling the organized crime system.
This pattern of interaction between the ‘Ndrangheta and African immigrants has led to a large, underpaid, heavily segregated African immigrant population in Rosarno. The impoverishment of Calabria exacerbates the tensions. Whereas in other regions of Italy local Italians scorn the low-paying jobs claimed by immigrants, in Calabria the $30/day that African immigrants make in the orchards is not much different than the income of many locals. The recent economic downturn has been painful for Italy as a whole, but for Calabria and the other relatively poor southern regions of Italy the effect is magnified and devastating. It creates competition between the locals and the immigrants for income, a further potential source of discord between the two groups. Since the ‘Ndrangheta continues to bring in more and more immigrant labor, it is in fact creating competition with the local laborers and indirectly contributing to increased tension.
How, then, did the situation reach this intractable point? Blame rests with the government’s policies on immigration and organized crime, both of which are ineffective and prone to high levels of corruption. Although Berlusconi announced a new 10-point plan to fight organized crime following the Rosarno riots, his words have come to naught. Furthermore, government officials have misrepresented the problem with organized crime in Calabria, and in Southern Italy more broadly, as a problem with illegal immigrant populations. Berlusconi has been known to make strongly anti-immigrant statements, and recently praised Italy’s crackdown on illegal immigration, reasoning that fewer foreigners in Italy means fewer people to fill the ranks of organized crime syndicates. Such a view is a fundamental misconception of the immigrant-organized crime relationship; since the ‘Ndrangheta has a strong family structure, immigrants are not filling the ranks, but are instead a source of cheap labor to be exploited. They are victims, not accomplices. Harsh immigration policies will only drive immigrants into further reliance on the organized crime networks such as the system in Rosarno.
Until the Italian government recognizes the need for serious legislation to provide immigrants with other options than turning to organized crime syndicates for their livelihood, further mistreatment and violence are inevitable. Strong anti-immigration laws will not solve organized crime problems. A strong government push against the power of organized crime will cut off both the illegal activities of mafia families and the avenue for illegal immigration at the same time: Prendere due piccioni con una fava. That is, kill two birds with one stone.
