Campaign and Life

CAMPAGNA E VITA

Solidarity actions with migrant populations

Alongside its farming activities, Casalina mobilises its volunteers to help migrant populations, particularly those who are seasonal workers in the agricultural sector. To do this, it was essential for us to understand the history of the area, current policies and the realities faced by asylum seekers by meeting them.

UNDERSTANDING CAPORALATO

Rencontre de l’OMB

The OMB (Osservatorio Migranti Basilicata), located about 15 km from Casalina, has been dealing with social issues related to migration and agriculture for over 20 years.

By collecting testimonies and information, OMB seeks to analyze its data to propose solutions such as trade union or legal assistance to migrant workers, to organize social integration activities, and to draw in the attention of relevant public and private bodies.

Through their meeting, Casalina was able to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges migrant workers face on a daily basis and also to network with many social actors/activisits involved in the territory.

Let us tell you more...

Il Caporalato

The agricultural sector is one of the main engines of development in southern Italy, capable of generating employment and thus attracting tens of thousands of seasonal workers. Much of the national production of citrus fruits, oils, cereals, wine, wheat and fruit and vegetables come from the southern regions. From Sicily to Puglia, migrant workers move throughout the year from region to region to help harvest seasonal fruit and vegetables.

To link farmers with the available labor, there is no effective legal body. It is mainly this lack that has given rise to an illegal and criminal system: THE CAPORALATO.

The origin of this phenomenon dates back to the 1960s, when farm workers with a van acquired the status of intermediary between the landowners and the Italian workers. Thus, they obtained an income by taking a share of the wages of the workers placed and transported to a work site.

Gradually, other factors such as the competitiveness of the agricultural market and the reduction of jobs reinforced this dynamic.

Today these intermediaries are called "caporali". They have to quickly form work teams and transport them to the fields, sometimes tens of kilometers away, in exchange for a financial contribution.

The vehicles used to transport the workers were vans, often modified with the addition of benches in the rear compartment, in order to load as many workers as possible. Fatal accidents involving these vans are not uncommon.

Corporals are not limited to the role of intermediary. They control all aspects of the worker's life at disgraceful rates: accommodation, wages, food, water, etc. The worker inevitably finds himself in a relationship of submission and under a strong psychological hold.

This phenomenon is particularly widespread in southern Italy in order to take advantage of the presence of immigrant labor. As Italy is the gateway to the European Union for many people, migrants often find themselves stuck there for several years waiting for a residence or work permit. The Caporalato takes advantage of this situation to exploit these migrant workers and impose inhumane conditions.

Modern slavery

Upon arrival in the European "host" country, uprooted people are forced to accept these undignified working conditions for a minimum of economic emancipation.

Unlike "traditional" slavery, the caporalato does not force workers to perform tasks, but takes advantage of the migrants' precarious and clandestine social situation. Even when workers are contracted, only part of the working time is declared. The conditions of employment therefore do not guarantee minimum wages (sometimes as low as 2 euros per hour) or maximum working hours (up to 14 hours per day). Safety in the workplace is often lacking, especially in the case of the use of plant protection products, and in the event of an accident there is obviously no health insurance system.

In the south of Italy, these conditions are not exclusively reserved for foreigners, however, the phenomena of abuse are particularly present towards people who have no other choice but to accept the conditions imposed by the Caporalato. This form of modern slavery is common in many parts of Europe and unfortunately represents the beginning of the production chain of the food that will end up on our plates.

GHETTOS

The legacy of land reform

For seasonal migrant workers, housing conditions are equally problematic. In the middle of the fields, a large number of abandoned buildings serve as shelters for the workers. These buildings are the result of the agrarian reform of the 1950s and the Casalina house is one of them, but it was used until the 2000s as the country house of an inhabitant of Spinazzola.

After the fall of Mussolini's Fascist regime (1945), new reforms were introduced to revitalize the countryside devastated by the Second World War. The large landowners were expropriated and the land was divided into small plots on each of which a house, a well, a grain store and a stable were built. The land was then redistributed to farm workers under the slogan "the land to those who work it".

However, the various services that the reform provided for, such as transport, access to schooling or health care, never saw the light of day in the vast majority of the countryside. The gradual abandonment of these buildings have created the possibility for the agricultural mafia to house migrant workers.

“ Architecture of Shame”

No windows, no doors, no water, no electricity in these ruined buildings, which provide accommodation for some of the seasonal workers. Others sometimes gather by the thousands in shantytowns like in Borgo Mezzanone or in Rignano near Foggia. The Caporali took advantage of these gatherings to recruit the labor needed by the farmers on a daily basis.

Implications of Casalina

It is in this context that Casalina's volunteers reach out to those living in the ghettos to provide basic necessities such as drinking water, mattresses, blankets and clothes. Among other things, the workers can go to Casalina to get access to electricity (to charge their electronic devices) and use the washing machine. The volunteers also offer them rides to the city to do administrative work, shopping or send money to their families. These activities, which provide for the basic needs of these people, have also helped to create bonds of friendship.

WELCOME REFUGEES

Requesting asylum

In 2019, Casalina volunteers met Damian and Martin from Nigeria. They speak Pidgin English and are in Spinazzola for the tomato harvest. Like most of the seasonal workers we have had the opportunity to meet over the last 3 years, they are between 20 and 40 years old and are in the process of regularisation. After having crossed the hell of Libya and the Mediterranean, they arrived in Italy and decided to stake their future on this country. Others decide to continue towards Northern Europe, well aware that the road may still be perilous but that other reception conditions could guarantee them a faster regulation, access to university or a better paid job.

When a refugee starts the regularisation procedure in Italy, he/she gives his/her fingerprints and remains administratively bound to the peninsula for the duration of his/her stay in Europe (Dublin Regulation). Then, he/she is placed in a hostel, in which he/she commits themself to stay: a communal or private structure converted into an accommodation for asylum seekers whose manager is obliged to ensure the decency of the place and to guarantee them food, pocket money, medical care and integration activities.

In November 2019, Damian and Martin invited us to the hostel where they live when they are not travelling in search for work. It is a former Hotel where about 40 men from mainly West Africa and Pakistan are hosted. Like many hostels, it is isolated several kilometers from a city that does not allow its occupants to integrate into Italian culture, nor to have a job near their official accommodation. Nor do they have the possibility of being autonomous in terms of mobility, administrative procedures and daily activities (social, religious, sports, etc.).

During their stay in these reception centers, migrants are assigned a lawyer who accompanies them through the long and complex regularisation procedure. Unfortunately, due to the large number of applicants assigned to each lawyer, migrants may not be properly followed up and feel abandoned. Many of them, in view of the difficulties and waiting times, decide to leave the official system and continue their journey in clandestinity.

Capralina

In April 2020, our dear Damian and Martin reported back to the ghettos of Spinazzola. The nights in the countryside are still very cold and the pandemic has just begun. A pandemic which, in contrast to the loss of connection that is evident throughout the world, will be the starting point of a wonderful human adventure. After several unsuccessful attempts to find accommodation for them in the town of Spinazzola, Casalina decided to host them for the entire agricultural season with their 8 friends from Nigeria and Gambia. The cohabitation of these two worlds was as enriching as it was beneficial for all: exchange of culture, music and gastronomy, such as the Nigerian specialty of spicy goat accompanied by its banku, a paste of flour and water that accompanies most dishes.

Through this the Casalina volounteers learn about the people’s past as well as present circumstances.. They participate together in the traditional "passeggiata" in the town center (a popular city walk), organise Italian language courses, visit the Murgia regional park, and discover the beach as a recreational area. They communicate their environmental concerns and above all provide them with legal support through an activist lawyer. These exchanges were a landmark event in the life of Casalina.

Sit in at Palazzo San Gervasio

Another important event will take place towards the end of summer 2020 in the municipality of Palazzo San Gervasio next to Casalina. The volunteers were informed by the OMB of a major problem with workers' housing. A legal infrastructure (a former tobacco factory) planned for the lodgers was not yet operational, even though the season was almost over. The OMB explained to the volunteers that the previous year the "Caporale" who was organising the trafficking of workers for the tomato harvest was arrested by the police. However, the dismantling of the criminal system is not accompanied by the establishment of structures capable of accommodating the workers and providing them with transport to their place of work.

Seasonal workers deprived of the previous informal system and abandoned by the state decided to demonstrate in front of the old factory proclaiming "a roof for all, a ghetto for none".

They stayed day and night on site until the center opened, calling on associations and the media. Casalina volunteers supported them by sleeping on site, bringing banners, cooking utensils, hot meals and putting pressure on the competent authorities. After several days of protests, the center finally opened for the few remaining days of the season. In 2021, the centre opened at the beginning of September, again late for the start of the season, but unfortunately there were only 210 places available, whereas the Palazzo San Gervasio campaigns need at least 500 seasonal workers.

This event shows that after several years of denial, the Italian State decided to intervene by arresting the Caporali and dismantling some of the criminal systems. The government's reaction is mainly due to the fact that information about modern slavery is being passed on to product distributors throughout Europe, producing a boycott effect on the part of consumers. Unfortunately, as illustrated in the Palazzo San Gervasio situation, the state's action is not complete and leaves the workers without an alternative to the caporalato.

Casalina's actions are part of the process of informing and raising the awareness of European consumers, and they try to provide on-the-spot support to the workers.

Ils resteront jour et nuit sur place jusqu’à l’ouverture du centre, en faisant appel aux associations et aux médias. Les bénévoles de Casalina iront les soutenir en dormant sur place, en apportant de quoi faire des banderoles, des ustensiles de cuisine, des repas chauds et en mettant la pression sur les autorités compétentes. Après plusieurs jours de protestations, le centre à finalement ouvert pour les quelques jours de saisons restantes. En 2021, le centre à ouvert début septembre, donc de nouveau en retard par rapport au début de la saison, malheureusement les places disponibles n'étaient que 210 alors que les campagnes de Palazzo San Gervasio ont besoin d’au moins 500 travailleurs saisonniers.

Cet évènement montre qu'après plusieurs années de déni, l'État Italien décide d’intervenir en arrêtant les Caporali et en démantelant certains des systèmes criminels. La réaction du gouvernement est principalement du au fait que les informations sur l’esclavage moderne remonte aux distributeur de produits dans toute l’Europe produisant un effet de boycott de la part des consomateurs. Malheureusement, comme illustré dans la situation de Palazzo San Gervasio, l’action de l'État n’est pas complète et laisse les travailleurs sans proposer de solution alternative au caporalato.

Les actions de Casalina s'inscrivent dans le processus d’information et sensibilisation des consommateurs européens et s'efforcent de fournir un soutien sur place aux travailleurs.