Ordinary People,but Not-So-Ordinary Stories:Migrants from Emilia-Romagna Speak on the Australian Experience

摘要

Italians migrated from Italy to all corners of the world,in large numbers throughout the last century.The economic differences between the relatively poor southern Italy,and the relatively affluent northern Italy were reflected in the type of migrants that left Italy.Southern Italy provided unskilled migrants,mainly labourers,whilst Northern Italy provided skilled migrants,mainly in the trades.Although the majority of Italians migrated to the Americas (North and South) and other parts of Europe,a number of them adventured to more distant lands such as Australia,where they made a significant contribution to post World War II developments in that country.According to the 2006 Census,Italians arc one of the largest ethnic groups in Australia,with 199,124 persons born in Italy.Furthermore,852,417 persons in the Census identified themselves as having Italian ancestry (either alone or in combination with another ancestry).This is about 4.2% of the Australian population,making Italian the fifth most identified ancestry in Australia,surpassed only by 'Australian','English','Irish' and 'Scottish'.The Italian language is reported as the second most used language at home,with 316,900 speakers (approximately 1.6% of the Australian population).Italians predominantly arrived in Australia during the 1950's,1960's and 1970's.The paper reports on a number of interviews held in Victoria,New South Wales and South Australia,with migrants from Emilia Romagna - one of the most affluent regions in Italy,that provided one of the lowest migrant populations to Australia,and explores the following issues: the reasons behind their decision to migrate, the expectations of these migrants prior to their arrival in Australia, their experiences on arrival,and their settlement and beginning of a new life in a strange country.The paper provides an historical perspective of the challenges and successes that these individuals experienced during their time in Australia,and also explores where these migrants feel they belong.Among the nostalgic memories of the country they left in pursuit of a better life,how do they feel now:always Italians in Australia and yet too Australian for Italy?The paper concludes that for this group of people,the struggles have generally yielded positive results,but at the same time,the link and sense of patriotism about the Italian motherland remains as fixed as ever,even if it is only metaphoric,as almost none arecontemplating leaving Australia to resettle in Italy.Furthermore,the experiences of these migrants may be useful in the development of future government policies.