US embassy cable - 05MILAN519

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MILAN 000519 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: SMIG, SOCI, ELAB, PGOV, ASEC, IT, EUN 
SUBJECT:  Subject: Multiethnic Milan -- Caritas 
Ambrosiana's Immigration Report 
 
Ref:  04 Milan 357 
 
1. (U) Summary: Caritas Ambrosiana recently held a 
conference to present Caritas' annual report on 
immigration. While the report included national 
statistics, the focus of the presentation in Milan was on 
the Lombardy Region in general and Milan specifically. 
Almost a quarter of Italy's immigrants live in Lombardy, 
with the number growing dramatically.  The report 
included data through December 2004 and covered such 
issues as the changing demographics of immigration, 
immigrant education levels and occupational trends.  A 
key speaker noted the menial jobs many immigrants take 
despite higher than average education levels and called 
on local industry to proactively integrate immigrants 
into the labor pool.  End summary. 
 
Numbers Growing Quickly 
----------------------- 
 
2. (U) According to Caritas' recently launched annual 
report on immigration, the number of documented 
immigrants in Italy grew from approximately 2,200,000 at 
the beginning of 2004 to 2,786,340 by the end of the year 
-- an increase of approximately 500,000.  Almost a 
quarter of Italy's total documented immigrant population 
lives in Lombardy (652,563 or 23.4 percent).  As in past 
years, almost half the immigrants in Lombardy live in 
Milan and surrounding communities (308,640 or 47.3 
percent).  Over ten percent of the student population in 
Milan is non-Italian, the highest rate in Italy.  City of 
Milan census data reported 143,125 registered foreigners 
living in Milan, an increase of 34,859 (32.2 percent) 
over the prior year.  Caritas credited the dramatic 
increase in part to a verification of census data in 2003 
that led to a decrease in number of registered foreign 
residents and in part to the implementation of the Bossi- 
Fini law of 2002. 
 
National and Religious Breakdowns 
--------------------------------- 
 
3. (U) The report broke Milan's immigrant population down 
into the following groups: 35 percent Asian, 23.1 percent 
African, 22.4 percent from the Americas, 7.1 percent EU 
and 11.5 percent European non-EU.  Countries with 
dramatic increases since last year's report included: 
Ukraine (268 percent), Moldova (235 percent), Gabon (200 
percent), Bolivia (168 percent) and Ecuador (152 
percent).  Over 44 percent of the immigrants (in?) the 
province of Lombardy are Christians (half of whom are 
Catholic); 37.7 percent are Muslims, and 18.1 percent are 
affiliated with other religious groups including Judaism, 
Hinduism and Buddhism. 
 
Higher Education -- Lower Jobs 
------------------------------ 
 
4. (U) Contrary to popular perception, immigrants in 
Italy have achieved higher levels of education on average 
than native Italians.  Whereas only 7.5 percent of 
Italians graduate from university, the report claims 12.1 
percent of foreign immigrants hold a university degree. 
According to Caritas, immigrants currently make up around 
9 percent of the total Italian work force, concentrated 
in menial labor and manual work such as construction, 
hotels, agriculture, industrial labor and domestic work. 
Caritas maintains that immigrants are "unfairly 
stereotyped" into these positions due to "lack of 
integration into society and general societal 
prejudices'." 
 
Here to Stay 
------------ 
 
5. (U) However, since 2000, the number of immigrants 
owning their own businesses has steadily increased.  A 
recent article in the International Herald Tribune, 
reported that at the end of last year there were 10,000 
companies in Milan owned by non-EU citizens -- a twenty 
percent increase over the previous year.  Egyptians are 
at the front of the pack in this respect, owning more 
than 2,000 companies (followed by the Chinese, Moroccans, 
Peruvians, and Bangladeshis).  The same article reported 
that 13 percent of all real estate transactions in Milan 
involve non-Europeans.  (Note:  A police contact recently 
told Econoff that Egyptians own over 80 percent of the 
pizzerias in Milan.  While it may not be a confirmed 
statistic, this anecdotal example indicates that these 
immigrants see themselves as long-term residents and are 
starting to weave themselves into Milan's social fabric.) 
 
Call for Further Integration 
---------------------------- 
 
6. (U) A major theme of the conference was the need for 
better integration of immigrants through fair labor 
practices. Given the statistically higher level of 
education, Caritas recommends that local businesses 
implement strategies to actively recruit immigrant 
workers, "putting an end to harmful stereotypes of 
immigrants as day laborers and maids."  Early in the 
presentation Caritas Director Don Roberto Davanzo chided 
businesses for "ignoring their social responsibilities" 
and not hiring more immigrants, arguing, "the 
responsibility of Italian business is not only to turn a 
fiscal profit, but also to help advance society." 
Davanzo further argued that fair labor practices were the 
best way to integrate immigrants into society.  He 
concluded by saying that the greatest threat to security 
is not diversity but rather social exclusion. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7. (SBU) On average, the new immigrants are younger than 
the rest of the population.  Almost half the Italian 
population is over 50, while amongst new immigrants this 
percentage drops to less than ten.  One out of every five 
babies born in Milan is born to a foreign mother. 
Integrating these young immigrants into the local work 
force is critical.  Reftel remarked on the challenges 
politicians face in integrating the growing flows of new 
immigrants, particularly in Northern Italy where the need 
to integrate even greater numbers of newcomers must 
compete with the somewhat xenophobic view of the 
separatist Northern League.  While Davanzo's call for 
quasi affirmative action policies with regard to 
immigrant hiring policies will be a hard sell, the need 
to effectively address the question of how to integrate 
the growing number of foreign youth is all the more 
urgent, particularly as local politicians, law 
enforcement and the general public watch with great 
interest the violence unfolding in nearby France. 
 
Graze#