In August of this
year another wave of African immigrants washed up at the Portopalo di capo
Passero in Sicily, Italy. The summer has become known as ‘boating season’ in
Italy. Migrants made the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean via shoddy
life rafts from Tripoli, Libya, hoping to escape the ravages of war and
poverty. This year saw a disturbingly high number of migrants die at sea after their rafts capsized or were wrecked. Over the years,
those migrants who survived and made it to Italy either used the country as a
temporary thoroughfare while they funneled through to other countries, or
stayed illegally; many found themselves in small, rural regions, such as
Basilicata, Calabria and Puglia working as field workers. They migrated from
east to west, north to south for several months throughout the year following
the seasons and their various harvests. But what of their day-to-day existence?
According to the National Institute of Agricultural Economics (INEA)
there are 102,000 people employed as workers in the agricultural sector, not
including those who are illegal.
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| An African migrant field worker works in Puglia, Italy during the tomato harvest. Alessandro Penso/OnOff Picture |
