Making it Through: Pioneer Migration Pathways of Moldovans in Italy

2015–2016

ERSTE Foundation Fellowship for Social Research Diasporas, nation states and mainstream societies in Central and Eastern Europe

Making it Through: Pioneer Migration Pathways of Moldovans in Italy Natalia Cojocaru Olga Cojocaru

Natalia Cojocaru, State University of Moldova Olga Cojocaru, Center of Migration Research, Warsaw

Making it Through: Pioneer Migration Pathways of Moldovans in Italy1

Abstract This paper is intended to examine the pioneer Moldovan migration in Italy in the early 2000s and the role of networks in the perpetuation of a self�sustaining migration system.

Through narrative recollections of the incipient stage of the Moldovan migratory experience, this paper follows the transition from aspiring but unauthorized movers to regularized residents of the host country. Pioneer migration trajectories will be documented across three main stages: departure preparations, transborder journey and arrival in the destination country. Further on, the paper looks into the migrant agency and corresponding survival resources, which played a significant role the realisation of migration aims.

Key words: pioneer migrants, irregular migration, survival resources, migrant networks

1This

research project was developed within the ERSTE Foundation Fellowship for Social Research 2015/2016

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1. The early stages of Moldovan migration to Italy “Moldova is like a clepsydra in which the population is pouring down like sand.

Southwards, to Italy”2

Currently in Italy, there are about 150 000 Moldovans, of which 67% are women, and at least half of them are employed in the domestic field. The number of Moldovan migrants in Italy who managed to regularize their status in the course of the last decade (2003‐2013) increased by 20 times (from 7000 to approx. 150.000 ‐ Istat Demo). Moldovan migration to Italy debuted around 20 years ago but started to be more articulate after 2000. The process grew steadily in scale and turned into a sustained pattern, which allows current migration to be perpetuated. However, little is known about the incipient stages of their migration projects Eastern European migration to Italy fits the volume‐based irregular migration career from the typology of irregular migration system presented by Cvajner and Sciortino (2010).

The volume‐based careers originate from areas where migration is perceived as the only way out of a state of difficulties, and where the first wave of migrants may easily trigger a strong copycat effect, precisely what happened with the Moldovan flows to the South of Europe. In a classic push and pull manner, Eastern European migration flows southwards have been driven by structural factors on both sides. The economic crisis of the mid‐ nineties in the entire post‐soviet space pushed out the first wave of migrants, the so‐called pioneers, compelled to look for work opportunities despite mobility restrictions. On the other hand, the Italian migration governance system with its acknowledged deficiencies in the welfare system, ageing population and continuous demand of labour was an environment that absorbed relatively quickly the growing migrant flows.

While presently aspiring movers can access an enlarged range of legal entry options3, 15‐20 years ago migration was not an easy endeavour. Back then, the undertaking

2 Interview quotation

3 visa‐free regime for Moldovans since 2014 in addition to the possibility to acquire Romanian or Italian

citizenship

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to cross the frontier was extremely risky and stressful, not to mention the huge financial costs. Unable to access legal channels of migration, many – desperate to escape poverty and find better life alternatives – resorted to smugglers. Those who ventured into this possibility, embarked in long journeys with dangers lurking along the way.

Portrayed in the literature as ‘innovators’ (Hagerstrand 1957), the pioneers were the first movers to explore migration as a survival avenue and had scarce idea what lied ahead. They were the ones who ventured into unknown, explored, experimented and paved the way for the others. By encouraging and assisting other family members or friends to join them along a similar trajectory, they laid the ground for iterational agency (Bakewell et al. 2012) and progressively established networks, which sustained further migration.

Rumours about the success of the first pioneers painted a fuzzy picture but infused with hope the new aspiring ones. Since early migration often entails high costs and risks (de Haas 2010), pioneers often come from relatively well‐off households, they are risk‐prone and entrepreneurial community members (MacDonald and MacDonald 1964).

Disentangling agency and its resorts in the migration projects of pioneers is crucial. Social psychology conceives of agency as an exercise of will, expression of personal choice, the source of novelty and improvisation in human conduct. Various terms as: self‐agency, effort, self determination, locus of control, mindfulness, resourcefulness, motivation, purposefulness, choice, initiative, independence, are connected to agency, being used in literature synonymously (Emirbayer, Mische 1998; Settersen, Gannon 2009). Within a given set of opportunity structures (aspiration vs. capability to migrate – Carling 2002), individuals build upon their life trajectories by evaluating their options at hand and making decisions (Carmo 2014, Giddens 1991). Hence, the decision to move is often presented as an indication of migrant agency called by Lefebvre a revelation of the totality of possibilities contained in daily existence and a radical recognition of new opportunities (1991).

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2. Migration pathways: Migration begins before it starts

Ambrosini (2011) showed that migrants in Italy follow a pathway more or less

definite: from arrival and inclusion (supported by networks), survival in the shadows to the various attempts at regularizations. Once they have a residence visa, they are able to choose a job that allows them more flexibility and even reunite with their families. Naturally, this sequence of events is not and should not be treated as ideal or fixed but considered in its dynamic nature. But generally, based on interviews, 3 key stages could be regularly identified: decision to migrate, pre‐departure preparations and journey (1), transitional phase, liminal status as clandestine/irregular migrants with increased vulnerable status (2) regularization and improved social and economic status (3) (adapted from Ambrosini 2012, Chavez 1992). Henceforward, fieldwork data has been structured according to main three stages from the migration trajectories: pre‐departure (preparations: resorting to smugglers, obtaining visa), transborder journey and arrival (survival resources and networks of help).

This paper is based on content analysis of about 30 in‐depth interviews with

Moldovan migrants conducted between the summer of 2015 and 2016 in several Italian cities. The accounts that we have collected indicate that there is a category of would‐be movers in the pre‐migration phase often overlooked – the aspiring ones, making plans and intensive preparations in a climate of scarce information and suspicion. The trope of journey and preparation efforts appeared consistently in most of the narratives. Before proceeding to discuss the current migrant status, almost invariably in all interviews, we spent a significant amount of time covering the pre‐migration period and the efforts it took to cross the border, survive illegality and reach this present moment.

From the moment of making the decision to leave until the point when the aspiring mover sets foot in his destination country, there is a long prelude in which they make efforts to accumulate means and information necessary for departure. The process is not always straightforward; decision‐making is rarely spontaneous and very often it took more than one attempt to reach the destination point. Thus crossing the border and reaching the 4

final point of settlement represents the final stage of an intense preparation period to overcome the constraints on mobility.

3. STAGES OF MIGRATION 3.1 Pre‐departure The crisis Since a significant bulk of the Moldovan pioneer migrants left for Italy in the late 90's, in most cases, the decision to migrate was driven by the economic crisis of that period and, in particular, the financial crisis of 1998. Low wages and inability to cover the basic expenses for a decent living pushed them to immigration. As in an exemplary story, leaving abroad for work was meant to be a temporary solution to a moment of crisis and to some extent, an interval of time sacrificed for the sake of returning to normalcy.

Generally, departure was a lengthy process in which the decision to leave was postponed until it reached a critical point. In each migrant story there is a negative culmination of factors that compelled departure. Meager salaries or long delays in payment imposed severe limitations in people’s livelihood. In early 2000s, Elvira, mother of two, was juggling 3 jobs to make ends meet „ And I remember that I went to talchiok/market to buy shoes for my daughters. And all I could buy was one pair! I was having 3 jobs and I could buy only one pair of shoes.” In Taisa’s case, financial fiasco coupled with family situation led to the decision to migrate. She was divorced and in need of a place to stay and, on top of it all, her small enterprise collapsed while still having bank debts: "Back then (in 1998, ed) I was bringing goods from Turkey, Poland, Romania. All by myself. Until one day, when I invested a lot of money and could not recover anything.” Likewise, Viorica and her family lost all the savings meant for a new home “I was like a walking dead, I could not see any light in front of me, totally hopeless”

The scarce information about the success of the first movers instilled a contagious

effect, if not a contextual pressure for leaving. Eugenia was in expectant mode: “Everyone was leaving then and this influences us, my husband had already left, my family kept telling 5

me to leave because we needed money. And I was waiting for a moment because I did not want to leave my daughter just like that without preparing her, making her suffer.” She tearfully recounted that when her 6 year‐old daughter entered her room one morning with a breakfast tray prepared by herself, she knew she is ready to leave.

Alternatively, the decision to leave can be taken spontaneously. Elvira decided on the spur of the moment to leave when she learnt of the opportunity: “I went there last moment and they needed one more person.” In some instances, someone embarks on the crossborder journey out of the impulse to change something, in search of adventures and challenges, but these are rather exceptions. Elvira’s sister came to Italy rather for a change of environment than out of need. She was unmarried and self‐sufficient, at 25 years old she had her own flat “but she wanted to change something”.

Finding a way First one makes the decision to leave, and then find the proper “channel”, as Sandu – who arrived to Italy 12 years ago as a young unmarried 19‐year old man – puts it. He says at that time, in 2004, various deals were available, of different degrees of legality. “It was enough to raise the hand, and offers came to you”. The challenge was to find any arrangement, that would be as safe and legal as possible.

Visa requirements for Moldovans entering EU have been lifted in April 2014. Priorly, visa was a costly enterprise and was obtained most often through intermediaries at a cost ranging from 2500 to 4000 EUR and interest rate of 10‐22%. It was not uncommon to incur bank debts, borrow money or sell goods which significantly raised the stake of their migration project. Oxana even admits that with the same amount she would have been able to renovate their old house, the very aim she embarked on the crossborder journey for.

Costs were significantly lower for Romanian passport holders, who only needed to pay for the transportation tickets.

After securing the deal with visa intermediaries, visa applicants had to employ certain skills and improvise tricks to pass the interview. When Elvira’s sister went to Kiev to arrange the visa formalities, a dozen of other applicants took pictures of themselves in her fancy coat. They had to play out the impression that they are well off and presentable enough to travel to Western countries for business purposes, as they claimed.

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“Psychologically we prepared ourselves that we travel to Germany to purchase furniture materials. And they asked me, ‘what kind of business you plan to do? It’s New Year’s Eve’ ‘So what, I replied nonchalantly, I will first visit the city as a tourist, then I will take care of my planned purchases.’” (Taisa, 50).

Sandu claimed to be a football player going abroad for a competition. Actually, the entire Moldovan national football team was impersonated by an analogous crew of labour migrants‐to‐be with all the corresponding details set: additional visa stamp in passport to prove previous travel experience, 5‐year employment contract, salary specifications, including a proper distribution of roles: coach, masseur, assistants etc. “Not really legal, but well organized”, admitted Sandu. After a successful visa interview, the ambassador himself shook hands with him and congratulated him on his promising career. Yet the preparation period lasted more than half a year, when the travellers‐to‐be met once a week to play football and get to know each other. They all travelled to Italy by bus (whereas the real team flew by plane) and had a smooth journey. The bus was stopped on the way only by a Romanian policeman who laughingly commented: “Europe’s got into trouble with so much incoming labour force now…”

3.2. The JOURNEY When one could not secure a visa until the final destination point, the journey route included portions, which had to be covered on foot or with improvised transportation. The journey represents, above all, a test of resistance and tough determination calling for extraordinary internal resources and skills to cope with the vicissitudes along the way.

As a rule, these trips were managed by transnationally coordinated networks of

agents/smugglers. Human smuggling defined as the mediation of illegal entry to states for profit evolved into a dynamic transnational service industry thanks to modern communication equipment such as mobile phones and internet (Bilger et al. 2005).

Smuggling agents hire or purchase cars for transportation, apartments for the sheltering of irregular migrants, obtain information technology as well as other equipment necessary to produce the best possible counterfeit passports, or spend large sums on bribes (Jandler 2007). The use of false or falsified travel documents of the ten new European Union 7

Member States has been a common practice particularly since the EU‐Enlargement in May 20044. Far from being criminalized, the representation of smugglers figure was akin to a mythical savior leading the way towards a land of opportunity. “The guide knew the route with his eyes closed, because that was his job. Today we call him human trafficker. Back then he was our savior.” (Anton, male, 40)

The odyssey would take days and even months, in unsafe and extremely difficult

conditions, led by guides on less traveled paths through mountains, forests, crossing illegally the borders on foot and walking dozens of kilometers without stopping. For this reason, they would discard almost all of their belongings on the road and leave only very few items.

“Before departure, they told us it would last 2 or 3 days. We would be walking a few km on foot during the night, to cross the border. (…) In reality, it was an entirely different experience. Tough and unforgettable. Now I might even joke about this but back then nothing was funny about it. What was the strategy? Until we reached the border, we traveled by car. Then, when we’d approach the border, we would walk around 30 km.

That is, we walked all night long. From Romania to Hungary, from Hungary to Croatia, Slovenia and after that, we walked to Italy. We crossed all borders of these countries on foot. They were 4‐5 nights” (Anton, male, 40) Many would regret later that they set off on the road in dangerous conditions, when they could get caught by police anytime, or be even attacked by wild animals. Nina who arrived to Italy in 2003 recounts: „I have asked them: how will I get there? I was sure I would travel in normal conditions, as they said. I had visa only until Hungary. The cab stopped in a forest, I don’t know where, and they tucked us beneath the car. We were two men and two women. It was February 23rd. And we have been there, I don’t know for how long…for 10 hours? When we got there, they threw us like some sack of flour and that’s how I got to Italy.”

Oxana’s journey lasted 9 days. She was set to travel by plane “as a princess”, as she put it, with a touristic visa allegedly going to a sanatorium in Lithuania. After a body search at the airport in Chisinau, they found her connection plane ticket but still allowed her to

4 Document forgery is a crime bearing a rather low risk factor, as the detainment of the forger is typically

difficult and lengthy due to the high level of conspiracy involved.

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leave; yet she was caught again and shortly detained in Vilnius. A mistake in the visa arrangements (visa was about to expire before her return ticket) gave her away. Oxana (35 years old) did not give up her aimed destination and even with a deportation stamp in her passport, she took a bus to Prague via Warsaw and then a train to Verona through Austria.

What was meant to be a smooth, problem‐free travel turned into a complicated series of events which urged Oxana to improvise in order to find a way out: left with no money and no phone, she pawned her few jewelries, operated with different currencies along the way and asked for help from strangers. Faced with unexpected challenges along the way, Oxana attributes her success to random encounters with kind‐hearted people.

Not all of them reached their destination and not all those who made it to the final

point of their journey, succeeded from the first try. Pavel (40 years old) managed to reach Italy after 3 problematic attempts, each one costing 3000‐3500 euro. Firstly, he was captured in the border zone of Ukraine, detained for 3 weeks and spent his birthday in prison. Second time he tried to travel with a fake Romanian identity card but has been detained at the Romanian‐Hungarian border, handcuffed, kept for 24 hours and released with the help of an expensive lawyer. He managed to get through from the third attempt, but unfortunately, he was unaware he had got an interdiction in the records and later on when he traveled back to Moldova, both he and his wife experienced another series of legal complications.

Vera (50 years old) had a failed attempt to come to Italy in 2002, detained for 5 months in in Sweden and Estonia, for use of fake documents. The harsh experience of detention did not dissuade from her intention to try again in a few months. The first attempt, even if failed, equipped her with immunity against every obstacle on the way “because I had already gone through those adventures in Sweden and Estonia, it was like I had no fear at all, I did not care, I had to leave”

The journey was carried out in a group, randomly convened most of the time, but

which had to act as a single entity, since the success of the expedition depended on each member. “We were 7 young men from Moldova, we went to Romania, then 3 other young men from Romania joined us and so we went on” (Anton, 40) Focused on the aim to reach their destination, the journey group often functioned as an ad‐hoc help network: “At the border the driver told the Italians that they we are tourists wanting to visit Italy on our way to Germany. They said ‐ OK, but show us how much money you have. There were a few women 9

who had only 10 EUR with them, so we all collected money to buy them tickets so that they can continue the journey” (Tatiana, 50) However, responsibility was to be individually assumed in instances of increased risk. “This is what the guide told us: if something happens, if police catches us, we run as fast as possible. Nobody looks back, no one stops, e.g., to help the one the lagging behind, falling down or getting caught. Everyone takes care of himself or herself. The rest of the group cannot fail because of a single person.” (Oleg, 40)

Anton had a second plan in the event of being denied entry or getting caught and

deported: to go back to the same smuggler and try again. The prospect of going back as an unsuccessful migrant was deemed as failure, not only because of the debts incurred to migrate but also, due to social pressure of the kin community. When migration represents a household decision, a deliberate choice by members of a family to maintain, secure and improve the wellbeing of their family, reduce relative deprivation and overcome the constraints (according to the new economics of labour migration NELM – Stark, 1991; Taylor, 1998), the remaining ones are infused with anticipation and look forward to the outcomes of this investment. In fact, the prospective and actual migrants did tell very little to their families about the hardships they have been. That is why, expectations from the origin communities almost never matched the realities upon arrival in the host country.

Several forms of agency had to be exercised in order to complete the trip. Agency

was reflected as a way of making the most out of every opportunity, of using time wisely.

During their long journeys across borders, even if marked with uncertainty, agency materialized in the capacity to use every opportunity even if under restraining conditions – for instance, to go sightseeing, learn a new language while waiting for a decision. When overpowered by external decision makers (e.g. waiting), a common form of agency is presentification, i.e. orientation to the present, giving a new meaning to immediate time (but at the same time keeping sight of the long term aim).

“Every day while waiting in Sofia, I did not spend my days indoors, but I went out to the city center. I did everything possible within that time. I could not speak Bulgarian, but we managed. We knew that after Bulgaria, we go to Greece so we thought if would be good to learn a bit of Greek language as well, at least a few words” (Greta, 35)

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Agency is also exercised as a form of courage, as a readiness to take risk. “I cannot quantify the extent of courage that I had during the journey. Only after arrival, upon reflecting on all this, I realized how crazy I was.” (Greta, 35) But perhaps, more often individuals become agented when they feel there is no other option, that going ahead is the only choice they can make. “I could go through this and I tell to whomever is interested: You can also do it. I could go through this and I will be able to endure much more because I did not have another chance.

And you can do it also.” (Greta, 35) 3.3 Arrival "I arrived in Naples, got off the train..., where to go, what to do? I knew anyone, I had no address...”

(Miron, male, 60 yo) “It wasn’t that bad…well, at least not as bad as in Siberia5” (Viorica, female, 40 yo)

Upon arrival in the new setting, migrants have to institute new routines and create order out of the unknown. The irregulars are excluded from important resources; therefore they need to develop alternative social connections, in order to access the labour market, find accommodation, in general, to survive in a new environment. By identifying migrants strategies to mitigate risk, discover new opportunities and make plans in conditions of uncertainty or little degree of “time sovereignty” (Elchardus 1994) prompts us to consider migrants not as victims, but as active agents.

Once having trespassed the border, they have to manage their presence within the territory. Sciortino and Bommes (2011) have remarked the creativity of irregular migration infrastructure. Sciortino and Bommes propose to analyze the social structures emerging from international migration as products of innovation in Merton’s sense and interpret them as “foggy social structures” They posit that irregular migrants produce social fog as they evade control and identification from the state (2011: 222) through creative use of resources and arrangements.

The first handicap they experienced upon arrival in the host country was lack of Italian knowledge, then facing a different reality "that was not what was promised" which

5 Allusion

to the Soviet deportations from Bessarabia between 1940 and 1951 to barren land in Siberia, events with strong resonance in recent collective memory.

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amplified stress and helplessness. „I was trying to get closer to some groups, but I was very scared. Everyone minded their own business. So I lingered around, eavesdropped their conversations, observed what they were doing. I saw them preparing sleeping cardboards.”

(Anton, 40).

Maintaining invisibility in relation to authorities and avoid crowded places at peak

hours represented one of the survival techniques employed by migrants to avoid detection.

Miron (60 years old) recounts how they would meet every Sunday morning at 10 to exchange information. “We were afraid because none of us had papers. We’d announce each through word‐of‐mouth. There was a cafeteria, we’d order coffee or cappuccino, when we’d have the guts, we’d conjoin the tables, but otherwise there was a great fear, carabinieri (Italian police) could come anytime.” Other common meeting points were the parking lots where the minibuses and buses between Moldovan and Italy stationed, where “one could send a package or two home, have a beer, exchange news about home” (Adi, 30) They would resort to various strategies of self‐disguise to avoid detection during routine police checks. “It saved me that I was dressed in a suit and I had a tie and I did not look suspicious. All those who had no documents, were unable to escape and got caught. I took a German newspaper and pretended to be reading. Police came, greeted me respectfully and went on.” (Miron, male, 60 years old) Besides, a peculiar sense of complicity emerged with the locals, who knew of unauthorized migrants, but did not report them to police, only in extreme cases like scandals, conflicts, or various infringements. "But even in small towns, the police knew very well, they are not like the Germans. Italians knew who had whom in their houses, there were even carabinieri who had a woman (domestic worker) in the house. They ignored it" (Viorica, 40)

Makeshift homes, camouflaged existence

In the early years, temporary (and most often free) shelter could be found in improvised housing (Romanian: la părăseală6). As a rule, unauthorized migrants would occupy abandoned places such as inactive schools or stores and domesticate the space. “The

6 Meaning ”abandoned place” in Romanian

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makeshift home was in a kindergarten. Mice fell out of the ceiling. But I made the room pretty.

Found some rugs in the dumpsters.” (Lidia, 60) They would gather items dispensed from the Italian households, rehabilitated refrigerators, TV sets and humanize their makeshift homes however they could “It wasn’t that bad. How did people live in Siberia? Even there they would decorate windows with lace, keep their homes nice and clean.” (Viorica, 40) The rule was not to settle for long, therefore one had to change the shelters regularly.

Labour migrants especially, if clandestine, are known to live a rather Spartan life (Massey et al 1994:1499, Anghel 2011) sharing apartments and sleeping in shifts to save money “14 people would live in the same flat. 6 in a room. One did not care that much about living conditions, actually. One needed shelter, that’s it. EUR5 per night.” The irregulars would lead a camouflaged existence, operate outside regular hours in order to stay away from curious eyes. Access to the cheap housing had to be very discreet, after the dark set in and exit the building before dawn. Social invisibility had to be doubled by repression of any personal noise: they would use bathroom furtively, make no sound. During the day, the newly arrived still unemployed and with no papers had to come up with a daily routine and organize their time. Nina says they used to walk down long distances to make time pass.

The routine included stops at charity institutions providing free meals and assistance for migrants or people in need.

Starting anew Leaving previous life behind compels one to start anew and assume a new identity.

Previous qualifications and social capital are deemed of little value in the new environment: “When you travel to another country, you start from scratch. You start another life. You forget that you have some degree or college. Here everything is different and knowledge gathered in your home country is of very little help. (Viorica, 40) “I did not tell them who I was and what I did back home, they were not interested. Here you have to show what you can practically do not brag about your high education” (Miron, 65).

One’s success is contingent on one’s inner skills to adapt and fulfill anticipated roles. Viorica played the civility card: being socially gracious, smiling and making oneself pleasant would work in her advantage. “I immediately understood that one has to smile, right? If you smile, you will be accepted, liked, given a job. Because everyone wants to hire someone they like. In 13

the beginning smiling may seem forceful, artificial but then it becomes natural and then you believe that everything is alright. That mask helps you believe that. (Viorica, 40) In addition, starting anew dictates new habits and imitation of local lifestyle norms. Our interviewees told us how disguising (acting like normal, like a local) was a skill they had to learn and exercise in order not be detected: “I remember someone told me that if you go to Italy don’t dress up too stylish, don’t wear high heels or a lot of makeup. So I was very simply dressed. If you put on jewelry, makeup, fur coats and big bags, they could figure out you are from the Eastern Europe. Tourists do not come that way.” (Taisa, 50) Regularization as a turning point Unauthorized migrants in Italy had a comforting perspective to look forward to: the amnesties regularly granted by the Italian government. Italy is the EU country that has implemented the largest number of regularisations, through six amnesties in 22 years (Ambrosini 2011). Yet despite regularity, it was hard to predict when the next regularization session would occur and prepare the required paperwork. Therefore, putting an end to the liminal interval of living and working in the shadows depended on strategic waiting and timely grabbing the opportunity: “Everyone talked about this law for a year before it came out, it was an awaited event, but no one knew when the decision will be released, not even Italians” (Viorica about the regularization scheme from 2002). This waiting comes at a price though. Being unable to predict when the next regularization comes has repercussions in planning personal trajectory and migration project.

Sandu applied for residence permit for 4 years with no success, adding up 5 years of irregular residence and work in Italy. He prepared the fifth application himself, he says, “with this own forces” paying for a fake employment contract. He believes his employer at the factory was not interested in regularizing his status in order to avoid paying the social contributions. After regularizing his stay and failing to renegotiate his contract, Sandu found a better‐paid job in administrative services. He claims to have had daily encounters with police who eventually would let him go “I did not fear police. I wanted to get my permit for retirement, be able to buy a car, rent a flat, little things, develop. I came here to make a future. For this future, I needed papers” 14

Acquisition of a regular status allows access to a package of resources such as rental possibilities, bank services, healthcare, better working conditions, power to negotiate the employment contract etc. Once in possession of residence permit, life seemingly speeds up and they are able to start thinking of the future. “Immediately after we got the soggiorno, I brought my children. It is like my life started in 2004, everything afterwards happened very quickly” (Viorica, 40)

Cvajner and Sciortino (2010) explain that the development of volume‐based irregular

systems requires a loophole in immigration controls lasting long enough to empower a first generation of migrants with enough resources to sustain further migratory movements from the sending area. Moldovan migration could be further sustained after new channels of regularization or legal entry opened up (acquisition of Romanian/Italian citizenship, liberalization of visa regime for Moldovan citizens in April 2012, occasional amnesties) laying ground for family reunification and diversification of migratory careers (Martiniello and Rea 2014).

Survival resources

Ambrosini (2011) has identified eight types of resources that allow unauthorized

immigrants to survive in the shadows and eventually improve their status/reach their migration goals. The most reliable resource7 seems to lie in the social capital and networks of help (relatives and compatriots) which prove to be extremely instrumental in providing aid to newcomers in terms of accommodation, finding and negotiating a job (Vianello 2009), but also moral and emotional support. The role of ethnic networks is paramount in

7 Other “survival resources” listed by Ambrosini are work (participation in the labour market is the main, and

often the only, source of legitimation for the newcomers), access to some public services (emergency medical treatment and education for children), support from solidarity institutions (religious organisations, trade unions and various associations), modest effectiveness of the repressive apparatus (interception, detention and deportation system). Lastly, the author included the marriage as a fast vehicle for integration and accession of certain rights and the emotional comfort sometimes the domestic workers derive from the diffuse relationship they have with their employer, being often treated as part of the family. In addition, the employer might represent an important source of help in integration, give information and guidance in utilizing resources, help with language problems, legalize and help with finding work outside the domestic and care sector (Catarino et al., 2013).

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coping with life in migration: obtaining moral support and sociability, getting a new job, exiting the live‐in situation and finding alternative jobs and housing. Some joined or initiate collective actions, social campaigns, and fundraising operations, organize voluntarily a series of events. Religious involvement provides comfort and appeases the tormented ones while assuming civic responsibilities, and feeling that one brings a significant contribution to their country, is a form of upgrade in the social status and a means to alleviate downward mobility and devaluation.

Social capital embedded within networks of relatives, friends was known to reduce the costs and risks of migration (Massey et al., 1993) and facilitate access to housing and employment. Pioneers’ help in assisting relatives and acquaintances saved the latter from the harshness of clandestinity, “I was lucky to have Ala (sister‐in‐law). I did not get to find out what it means to sleep in parks, be homeless and so on” (Oxana, 30) Ala who arrived in 2002 intervenes to point out she did not have anyone to rely on and experienced 3 months of “paraseala”/homelessness. Similar is the case of three sisters who followed one another to Italy in a kin‐based chain (one sister in March, the second in September and the other in February), the first sister to arrive being the pioneer assisting the other ones to come.

Massey (1989) argued that once the number of network connections in an origin area reaches a critical threshold, migration becomes self‐perpetuating, because it creates the social structure to sustain the process (Castles and Miller 2009; Massey 1990; Massey et al.

1998). Networks sustain and facilitate migration in the beginning, and then reliance on social ties tends to decrease.

4. Final remarks On the whole, it is yet once again notable how migration process pre‐selects the very resourceful ones. Migration throughout its stages prompts migrants to be active, flexible and reimagine their trajectory from one day to another. In order to cope with challenges and react with creativity to various unexpected turns of situations, from procuring a visa or embarking on a tenebrous and risky transborder journey, looking for informal avenues to resist and make a living, Moldovan migrants in Italy had to employ a great deal of internal 16

resources and diversified forms of capital, not only financial but also social. Surviving in the shadows, finding employment and tactful incorporation in the new environment called for certain identity disguising techniques. Many of them succeeded by holding to the imaginaries of a good life even in confining structures and impermanent conditions.

As in any migration phenomenon, several Moldovan waves are notable. The pioneers to arrive in the first wave of migration were women employed as carers. They were followed by men who found employment in construction sites. The second wave is represented by relatives, friends and acquintances of the first migrants, who could join them thanks to the help provided by pioneers. Children and members of the extended family, who previously benefitted from the financial remittances sent by pioneers, constitute the third migration wave. The first migrants to arrive in Italy created almost spontaneously a few informal networks of mutual aid and support. As they had an illegal status and could not allow being exposed, these networks represented the sole source of transmission of information about jobs, housing, etc. They used to convene in parks, train stations, parking lots where minibuses carrying packages to and from Moldova stationed.

Subsequently these informal networks, yet unstructured and poorly organized, gradually developed towards more formal associative arrangements that proved particularly helpful for the second wave of migrants. The third wave of migrants, including the current ones, are more mobile and rather circular, travelling regularly back and forth the two countries.

Those who seem to have long‐term plans for settlement in the receiving country are those from the first wave due to longer experience of migration and rarefication of ties with the home country.

Regularizing one’s status modifies initial aspirations and plans. What at first appeared to be a temporary project for a predetermined period of up to 3 years (turns into a prolonged stay with indefinite horizons. Regularisation opened up opportunities they could not initially imagine: increased negotiation power in obtaining a better‐paid, more flexible jobs, access to a bank loan, bringing children to Italy, setting up a small business in legal terms etc. which allowed long‐term projects viable in the host country. Plans were revised also due to inevitable changes in personal, cultural and identity terms, which reduced the social distance between them and locals.

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