Education: Hope for newcomers in Europe
interviews with school personnel as a frequent source of anxiety for resident families when newly arrived migrant children are enrolled in their schools. The immigration “crisis” is also perceived as another demonstration of “Europe” abandoning Italy8 and lacking in solidarity towards a phenomenon that is considered continental, breeding further mistrust of Italian citizens towards European Union (EU) institutions. In November 2016, Amnesty International released a controversial report9 revealing cases of abuse and torture in the newly created “hotpots” (whose mission is to identify, register and fingerprint incoming migrants) and incriminating EU leaders for “driving the Italian authorities to the limits – and beyond – of what is legal” (Matteo de Bellis, Amnesty International’s researcher on Italy)10.
8 See for example Gatti, F. (2014, July 3). Migranti, l’Europa lascia sola l’Italia. L’Espresso. Retrieved from http://espresso.repubblica.it/plus/articoli/2014/07/03/news/migranti-l-europa-lascia-sola-l-italia-mentre-lesodo-e-senzafine-1.172074 (Accessed on 28 April 2017) 9 Amnesty International (2016), Hotspot Italy: how EU’s flagship approach leads to violations of refugee and migrant rights, November 2016. 10 Italy: Beatings and unlawful expulsions amid EU push to get tough on refugees and migrants (2016, November 3). Amnesty International. Retrieved from https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/11/ Italy-Beatings-andunlawful-expulsions-amid-EU-push-to-get-tough-on-refugees-and-migrants/ (Accessed on 28 April 2017)
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