The COVID-19 virus chases foreigners from Piedmont, a region in northern Italy. Sergio Durando, director of the Pastoral Office of the Diocese of Migrants in Turin, is sounding the alarm on the occasion of the presentation of the 30th Caritas and Migrantes Immigration Report, which talks about “very strong bleeding”. “In our region there is a high unemployment rate, created by COVID-19, so many have returned to their home countries or tried to go to other countries,” Durando was quoted as saying by Torino Oggi.
Regarding the figures in Piedmont, the presence of the foreign population is 9%: half, about 211,000 are in the province of Turin, and the second half is in Cuneo, which has a presence of about 60,000 immigrants, followed by Alessandria with 45,000 and Novara with about 37,000.
“The impact of the pandemic has been very strong: at national level it is estimated that at least 100,000-150,000 foreign workers with legal contracts have lost their jobs, in addition to occasional and seasonal employment contracts, so very fragile,” Durando explained. . And the loss of jobs, for many, has led to the last step down the social ladder. “Today it is estimated that in Italy and Piedmont more than 1 in 4 are in absolute poverty: about 26% nationally, compared to 6% of Italian families,” said the director of the Pastoral Office.
Post-Covid unemployment mainly affected foreigners: only 45% of the latter have a job, compared to 56% of Italians. And the number of premiums has increased, which appeals to Caritas counters. “In our region, immigrants who come to our counters are on average 40 years old, compared to 50 years for compatriots,” Durando explained.
And so some choose to return to their country of origin. This is the case of the Romanians, who are the first ethnic group in the city of Turin and in the province of Turin. The reasons in the latter case, as Dovis explains, are multiple: “More and more companies are moving to the East, creating jobs. After working for several years, they saved money, often building a house and in Romania. Citizens of other backgrounds try other countries in Europe “. “From today we will have to stop worrying about the invasion, but rather create conditions for Italy not to be just a transit country,” Durando concluded.
Calls received by the City Hall, represented today by the President of the Local Council, Maria Grazia Grippo. “Torino has ceased to be the city of opportunities for years, even for those who started from afar. The city is in a crisis of vocation, intensified by the pandemic: the latter is on the agenda of the mayor and the Local Council.” “This condition of the city may prove to be a reason for choice: many young immigrants imagine a future elsewhere. Therefore, the urgency to act on our part is very clear, but in order to do it correctly we need to know method: the Migrantes report is essential from this point of view “, concluded Grippo.
