WORKSHOP 8 Famiglie e pratiche transnazionali in Italia Coordinatrici Ludovica Banfi e Lena Näre

1. WORKSHOP 8 Famiglie e pratiche transnazionali in Italia Coordinatrici Ludovica Banfi e Lena Näre Andreea Raluca Torre Romanian transnational families in the EU

2. Romanian transnational families in the EU Negotiating opportunities and constraints Andreea Raluca Torre CeSPI, Rome

3. Transnational Families in the EU Methodology • qualitative methods • narrative interviews and participant observation (public and social events, gatherings, celebrations) • sample: 16 families “new migrants” • London, Rome, Romania • some of the interviews were conducted ex-ante and ex-post January 2007 This interviewing strategy, without privileging individual meanings over structural forces in understanding migration, enables the researcher to acknowledge both structure and agency in answers given by interviewees, and to find pieces of information and detect links that are inaccessible on a superficial level

4. Transnational Families in the EURomanian migrants in London and Rome Socio-demographic composition Italy (end of 2006) • 556,000 Romanians (15.1% of the total f.p.) (end of 2006) The first group of immigrants by number in the country Lazio: highest concentration of Romanians (24.8%), Rome (20.6%) • Rome: 31,000 official Romanian residents; 75,000 in Rome and Province (48.2% women) (end of 2005). Here one out of 4 migrants is Romanian UK • 7,500 Romanians (census 2001) • 19,096 Romanian residents (LFS, April-June 2007) • London is the main destination: 3,000 Romanians (census 2001) (40%) • 11,411 (LFS, April-June 2007)

5. Transnational Families in the EURomanian migrants in London and Rome Living and working in London and Rome Italy one of the most attractive destinations: • -geographical and cultural proximity • -gaps in the national immigration policy • -informal economy (labour market) • -female informal labour market (feminisation of migration) • -2002 regularisation and opening of Schengen: a turning point for labour opportunities and transnational networks changing • -January 2007: family reunion • UK considered as “the place to be!” • -far and difficult to reach • -possibility of being undocumented • -paradox of the immigration policy and labour market • -January 2007: family reunion/returning home

6. Transnational Families in the EURomanian migrants in London and Rome Living and working in London and Rome • In January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria (A2 accession countries) became the two new states to join the European Union. Citizens of the two countries are now free to travel anywhere in the EU, but limitations in the form of access to the labour market, have been put in place by other EU member states with the exception of Finland and Sweden. Italy: restricted but free access to some sectors UK: restricted with work authorisation document In both cases: post January 2007 regulation is busting the informal labour market

7. Transnational Families in the EU Living and working in London and Rome “When Romania entered in Europe … well, what to say, nothing changed too much. Yes, now I can walk on the street, I’m not illegal now, but here, where I work I’m illegal in the same way I was before. The first day I came to work in January, my boss told me, in case you want to be employed regularly from now on – he knew I had that right since January (laughing) – in case you want to be employed regularly from now on, well I can’t do this for you, you know this, don’t you? … so, what could I do, I didn’t want to lose my job”.

8. Transnational Families in the EU Relevance of family as “community” and transnational informal network (London) • The few existing studies on Romanian and Eastern European migration to London describe this process as based on individual strategies and ‘weak’ ties, rather than ‘strong’ family or social networks. In contrast, the interviewees of this study described family ties – close family, extended family, or very close friends perceived as family relations – as essential. “My husband decided to come because his brother is here. He’s been living in London with his family for four years … His brother called him, saying that there was work for him and that it was better paid than in Italy. So he came and after few months, when the kid finished school, we came too. […] They would help us with the house, we all live together now and our two kids go together to school. We are going to stay here for a while. I’ll look for a job. But who knows. For the moment, we are keeping the house we were renting in Rome.

9. Transnational Families in the EU Almost all interviewees in Rome, especially women, at the time of their first departure could rely on efficient contacts. “self managed rotation system” (finding jobs) Relevance of family as “community” and transnational informal network (Rome) “Tommorrow morning you’ll meet my in law. She arrived last week and she is taking my place with the P.family for the time i’ll be in Romania this summer. You’ll like her. She is ok, you’ll see!”

10. Transnational Families in the EU For Gabi, for instance, “my family” means at first to be her nuclear family, that is to say her husband and their just born daughter. However, later on during the interview it emerged clearly that she, and her husband, are also particularly close also to their families of origin. She has a strong relationship with her mother who lives in Romania and whose photo stands on the TV in their bedroom, and her sister and brother in low who arrived in London in May 2006. Now they share the same house and her sister is replacing her, for the period of the pregnancy, in her job. Who is family?

11. Transnational Families in the EU Transnational families: living your life here and there…and there • Geta, a 29 years old woman who arrived in London three years ago, before this experience, lived in Italy for about an year. She migrated to Italy where her mother was working in the care sector. In the beginning she was planning to stay there at least for few years, but shortly her plans changed. “I met my husband, you see….[she smiles happily] He was living in London…we felt in love and what I could do? I decided to come to the UK. I think it was a good idea, now we are married, we both work and we are buying this house. It was difficult in the beginning, I didn’t have documents and you know how difficult is to enter the UK. But still, we thought that this was the best thing to do”.

12. Transnational Families in the EU Transnational families: living your life here and there…and there It was a small but carefully prepared party in their new house. Amongst the guests were Romanian friends, as well as the bride’s mother and the groom’s brother who were the only people able to come from Romania. However, as the guests gathered in the living room, the bride gave a glass to everyone and asked, “Is everybody ready for a toast with my family?” At that point, guests could see a computer with an attached camera overlooking the room. The screen displayed a group of people, all close to each other, smiling to the guests in Andreea’s and Marin’s house and raising their glasses. As we moved closer to the camera, with the bride and the groom at the front, family in Romania and us, on this other side of the screen and in a different country as well, toasted to the bride and groom, together as if in the same room.

13. Transnational Families in the EU Transnational families: living your life here and there…and there Both me and my husband are always present. We both take care of our daughter; we both help her with homework. When she does something we consider wrong, we both explain to her why, and how we think things should be done. Even if my husband is far away, our daughter feels he is close to us and part of our every day life. Every day, when he comes from work, Skype is on in both houses, here, and in my in-laws house where my husband is staying. Our daughter sees her father every day and when she needs to ask him something she knows that he will be there …. I know, this is not perfectly the same as having your father in the same house with you, but still … for now we have to live separated so I think this is a good way of keeping the family together.

14. Transnational Families in the EURomanian migrants in London and Rome January 2007: Should I stay or should I go…. Some conclusions “Catalin does not want to go to school anymore. You know, he only arrived in July, and despite our preoccupations he started school brilliantly! He integrated in his class and even the language seems to come easily to him. But now…oh my God what happened to us!!! Yesterday he called his grandma in Romania saying that she has to come to take him home. He does not want to stay here anymore, he does not want to go to school!! You know, he watches the TV, he heard his Italian classmates talking…and …well, it is again so difficult! What can I do, tell me what can I do? “