Black Labour: African Migrant Networks and Informal Work in Southern Italy

这项研究提案是对无证劳工从非洲向欧洲移徙的文化和社会经济影响的分析。该研究课题的目的是调查和分析移民非法入境和居留对欧洲当地经济和劳工标准产生的政治和经济问题。案例研究考虑到从撒哈拉以南非洲国家向欧洲的劳动力移徙，意大利是向北欧国家移徙项目的第一步。更确切地说，研究主题集中在意大利南部农业部门的撒哈拉以南非洲季节性移徙劳工。研究项目分析了“Caporalato”，即基于族裔和亲属关系的移徙劳工承包制度。卡波拉拉托劳务承包制度起源于20世纪50年代，在意大利南部的当地工人中蔓延开来，直到被工会成员抵制并慢慢消失。然而，自20世纪70年代以来，从撒哈拉以南非洲到意大利的移民潮有所增加，意大利在移民模式中的角色从单纯的离开国转变为目的地国。意大利低技能非洲移民劳动力的增加恰逢“卡波拉拉托”现象再次出现，这种现象自1980年代以来重新浮出水面，以无证移民为主要劳动力目标，使意大利南部的农业部门完全依赖移民劳务承包制度。卡波拉拉托的功能是在很短的时间内提供大量的临时季节性工人，有时甚至只是一夜之间。事实上，大多数移徙工人是按日签约的，每天凌晨在“卡利夫地”(合同工地)提供劳动，我将在普利亚地区Borgo Mezzanone郊区的“Ghetto di Rignano”棚户区的福吉亚省进行人种学实地研究，那里的农业部门承包的移徙劳动力密度很高。“犹太人区电台”是一家总部设在里格纳诺犹太人区的电台，其主要目标之一是创造一种参与的交流体验，让普利亚农地上的无证工人发声。“犹太人区电台”志愿者已同意允许我进入实地，并将充当实地研究调查领域的“守门人”。我被授予的访问权限是2016年夏天进行的初步实地调研的结果。在进行实地调研的同时，我将调查允许移民在意大利非法入境并居留的法律和经济制度，以及他们离开意大利的原因和意愿，以及他们离开意大利的剥削条件和继续向北前进，以改善他们的生活。我将调查意大利系统性结构性无证移民剥削的行动模式，以及南北内部欧洲移民流动轨迹背后的原因。事实上，在整个民族志参与者观察和采访过程中，我将讨论移民乌托邦和目的地国家的修辞构建，例如英格兰，特别是伦敦地区。我认为，理解这种结构性非法性体系的动态和限制是改变移民进入欧洲的方式的第一步，移民随后被“允许”留在欧洲，并在此过程中被迫与无数的限制和障碍作斗争。这种类型的研究对整个欧洲的移民管理是基本的。

The research proposal is an analysis of the cultural and socio-economic impacts of undocumented labour migration from Africa to Europe. The aim of the research topic is to investigate and analyze the political and economic issues that theillegal entry and stay of migrants produces on European local economies and labour standards. The case study takes into consideration the labour migration flows from Sub Saharan African countries to Europe with Italy as the first step in the migration project towards Northern European countries. The research topic focuses, more precisely, on seasonal Sub-Saharan African migrant labour in the agricultural sector in the South of Italy.The research project analyzes the "caporalato", the migrant labour contracting system based on ethnic and kinship ties. The "caporalato" labour contracting system originated in the 1950s and spread throughout the Southern part of Italy among local Italian workers until it was fought back by trade unionist and slowly disappeared.Since the 1970s however there has been an increase in migrant flows from Sub-Saharan Africa toward Italy, changing Italy's role in the migration patterns from solely a departure country to a destination country. The increase in Italy of low-skilled African migrant labour has coincided with the re-emergence of the phenomenon of the "caporalato", which has taken resurfaced since the 1980s, with undocumented migrants as its main target labour force, and rendering the agricultural sector in the South of Italy completely reliant on the migrant labour contracting system. The function of the "caporalato" is to offer high numbers of temporary seasonal workers in a very short time, sometimes even just overnight. In fact, most of the migrant workers are contracted on a daily basis and will offer their labour in the early hours of the day in the "kaliffo ground" (the contract worker's ground).I will be conducting ethnographic field research in the province of Foggia in the "Ghetto di Rignano" shantytown in the outskirts of Borgo Mezzanone, in the Puglia Region, where there is a high density of migrant work force contracted in the agricultural sector. "Radio Ghetto" is a radio station based in the "Ghetto di Rignano" that has as one of its principal objectives to create a participated communication experience that gives voice to the undocumented workers in the agricultural lands in Puglia.The "Radio Ghetto" volunteers have agreed to enable my access to the field and will act as "gate-keepers" to the area of field research investigation. The access I have been granted is the result of preliminary field research conducted in Summer 2016.While undergoing field research I will be investigating the legal and economic system that allows for the exploitation of the migrants' "illegal entry and stay" status in Italy and their reasons and willingness to leave Italy and its exploitative conditions and proceed "North" in order to better their lives. I will investigate the modes of action of systemic structural undocumented migrant exploitation in Italy and the reasons behind a South-North internal European migrant flow trajectory. In fact, throughout ethnographic participant observation and interviewing processes, I will address the rhetorical construction of migrant utopias and destination countries, such as England and in particular the London area.I believe that understanding the dynamics and limits of this system of structural illegality represents the first step in bringing about a change in the ways in which migrants enter Europe, are subsequently "allowed" to remain, and are forced to contend with myriads of constraints and impediments along the way. This type of research is fundamental for the management of migration throughout Europe.