The Italian chapter of the health development NGO Amref has presented the survey ‘Africa and Health: The opinion of Italians’, conducted by the Ipsos market research body, revealing that seven out of ten Italians believe Africans are victims of racism and discrimination in Italy.
According to the third edition of the survey ‘Africa and Health: The opinion of Italians’, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Amref-Italia, seven in ten Italians believe that people of African origin in Italy are frequently (22% of the sample polled) or quite often (48%) victims of racism and discrimination.
The poll, carried out in October 2023 on a sample of 800 people, was presented by Amref Italia on Wednesday, March 20, on the eve of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which is observed annually on March 21 to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa in 1960, when police opened fire on a peaceful demonstration against apartheid, resulting in 69 deaths and 180 injuries.
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Number of Africans in Italy and reasons behind failed integration
In the chapter of the survey ‘Africa in Italy’, the study revealed that only one out of 10 Italians polled (11%) had the correct perception of how many Africans reside in Italy today (approximately 1.2 million). A reported 71% of the sample underestimated their presence and the remaining 18% overestimated it.
Furthermore, when asked how many out of 100 foreign citizens hailed from Africa, 34% overestimated their presence, with only 7% providing the correct answer (between 20 and 25).
Some 53% of those polled said too many African citizens were residing in Italy and they were not always living in harmony with Italians.
Another 53% said there was no or little integration in the country. When asked what hindered integration, the first cause listed by respondents (41%) was the fact that “Italian companies only see African immigrants as low-cost manpower.”
In second place was the “scarce inclination to accept Italian customs and traditions by Africans (31%)”, followed by the fact that “Italy doesn’t have adequate integration programs” (30%), the study said.
A reported 16% of respondents also said an obstacle to integration was the fact that “Italians are racists.”
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Amref calls for new citizenship law improving social justice
Roberta Rughetti, deputy director of Amref-Italia, commented the study saying that “we recognize that often, against our will, language and even perception consolidate systemic racism steeped in our country.”
“We have to remove together the obstacles driving discriminated people and those of African descent towards marginalization, affecting both the private and social spheres,” she added.
According to Amref, a new citizenship law would help improve social justice.
Some 64% of the sample polled said they liked the current legislation to grant Italian citizenship to foreigners. The law grants citizenship to those who are born to non-Italian citizens only after they turn 18 and after 10 years of uninterrupted residence in the country or through marriage and in the absence of criminal proceedings.
Meanwhile a larger percentage of those polled (75%) preferred the option of granting Italian citizenship to the children of foreign immigrants who were born in Italy or had arrived in the country before they were 12 and who had regularly gone to school in Italy for at least five years, the survey found.