Post-Colonial JourneysHistorical Roots of

Immigration and Integration

DYLAN RILEY AND REBECCA JEAN EMIGH

ABSTRACT

The effect of Italian colonialism on migration to Italydiffered according to the pre-colonial social structure a factorpreviously neglected by immigration theories In Eritrea pre-colonial Christianity sharp class distinctions and a strongstate promoted interaction between colonizers and colonizedEritrean nationalism emerged against Ethiopia thus no sharpbreak between Eritreans and Italians emerged Two outgrowthsof colonialism the Eritrean national movement and religiousties facilitate immigration and integration In contrast inSomalia there was no strong state few class differences thedominant religion was Islam and nationalists opposed Italianrule Consequently Somali developed few institutional ties tocolonial authorities and few institutions provided resources toimmigrants Thus Somali immigrants are few and are not wellintegrated into Italian society

Direct all correspondence to Rebecca Jean Emigh Department of Sociology 264Haines Hall Box 951551 Los Angeles CA 90095-1551 e-mail emighbigstarsscnetuclaedu We would like to thank Caroline Brettell Roger Waldinger and Roy Patemanfor their helpful comments Chase Langford made the map A version of this paper waspresented at the Tenth International Conference of Europeanists March 1996 Grants fromthe Center for German and European Studies at the University of California Berkeley andthe UCLA Faculty Senate supported this research

Comparative Sociology Volume 1 issue 2Oacute 2002 Koninklijke Brill NV Leiden

170 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Introduction

Italy was a country of emigration now it is one of immigration (King 1985Melotti 1985a 1988) Italians generally classify immigrants as those fromoutside the European Union (EU) (extra-communitari) and those from within(europei) The term extra-communitari however is not neutral conveying theidea of an ldquoundesirablerdquo person from Eastern Europe or Africa (Cole 1997Ginsborg 1998121 Postiglione 1999) We go beyond these stereotypesto consider differences among non-European immigrants We argue thatEritreans are more integrated than Somali despite a variety of similarhistorical and contemporary conditions (including a hostile social climate)Eritrean communities are visible in Italian cities especially in Milan aroundCorso Buenos Aries and Porta Venezia The same is not true of Somaliwho are barely recognized as an immigrant group To illustrate our pointwe use a comparative methodology

Theoretical ContextTheories explaining immigration focus on a wide variety of micro andmacro-level processes including geographical differences in the supplyand demand for labor wage differentials the international division oflabor the rise of global capitalism or economic conditions of advancedcapitalist societies (Massey et al 1993) Other theories draw on networktheories the concept of migration chains or institutionalist theories todemonstrate how immigration persists beyond initial conditions (Heisler1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt 1992)Other work uses a historical or world-systems perspective that includesthe impact of colonialism (Chan 199048 Heisler 1992630 Massey et al1993444-448 Mesthrie 199325-27)

We broaden this theoretical literature to consider the effects of pre-colonial social structure on subsequent immigration and integrationAlthough previous work shows how human capital partially depends oncolonialism ndash knowledge of the language or familiarity with a culture ndashthe effects of colonialism are more fundamental Individuals are rarelypassive actors in social events even when they are exploited or dominated(Scott 1985) As Comaroff and Comaroff (1991) show colonialism was aninteractional process that altered the very consciousness of both colonizersand colonized We employ this perspective to consider the possible effectsof the interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonialism onimmigration and integration

Case Selection and MethodologyWe employ a loose version of Millrsquos method of difference with twocases Eritrea and Somalia that have different outcomes and share allbut one antecedent pre-colonial social structure We consider the effect

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 171

of the antecedent on the outcome immigration and integration in Italy(Emigh 1997651 Skocpol and Sommers 1980) Because our two cases hada common Italian colonial past and a common destination we diminish theeffects of differences in colonial administration as well as other economicdifferences like labor supply and demand on immigration We considerEritrean migrants because they comprise a relatively large component ofthe migrant population in Italy (Aimi 1985 Brambilla and Favaro 1984King 1985 Melotti 1988) We use Somali (as opposed to Libyans) becauseof the comparability of the Eritrean and Somali historical trajectoryFurthermore as we show below Somali and Eritrean immigration toItaly had similar origins We make no strong claims that this methodestablishes causality Our methodology and case selection simply ldquoholdsconstantrdquo ndash at least temporarily in the analytic sense ndash all other relevantfactors that explain immigration to establish whether pre-colonial structurea previously neglected factor has an identi able effect on immigration andintegration

In Eritrea three dimensions of pre-colonial social structure wereparticularly important the interaction between the pre-colonial state andthe colonial administration the interaction between pre-colonial religionand metropolitan religion and the interaction between the pre-colonialclass structure and the colonial economy Historical outgrowths of theseinstitutional connections affected decisions to emigrate and providedimmigrants to Italy with access to resources In contrast these interactionsdid not exist in Somalia Consequently there are fewer Somali immigrantsin Italy and their experiences are different

We explain two dimensions of the outcome immigration rst itsmagnitude and second the degree of immigrantsrsquo incorporation Theavailable population and immigration statistics suggest that the overallmagnitude of Eritrean immigration relative to the sending populationsize is larger than Somali immigration While the absolute magnitude ofEritrean and Somali immigration varied from year to year in response towar and famine the absolute magnitude of Somali immigration equaledEritrean immigration only in the 1990s at the height of the Somali civilwar Even then given the much larger size of the Somali ethnic groupin East Africa relative to the Eritrean one the relative size of Eritreanimmigration was much larger In comparison to Somali Eritreans arewell integrated into Italian society Eritreans are more likely to marryItalians than Somali and they are more likely to come to Italy to join theirfamilies or practice their religion Furthermore Eritreans unlike Somalihave an organized presence in Italian society and have ties to politicalmovements Before providing the details of these outcomes we lay out ourhistorical analysis

172 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pre-Colonial Somalia and Eritrea

The pre-colonial social structures of Eritrea and Somalia were fundamen-tally different First in Eritrea a relatively well-developed quasi-feudal classstructure cross cut ethnic distinctions The Italians exploited these multipledivisions making numerous alliances In contrast Somalia was a relativelyegalitarian pastoral society organized into clans The Italians made onlya few limited alliances with individual clan heads Second in Eritrea theItalians faced the threat of the strong Ethiopian state across the borderThus they were forced to make sweeping alliances to avoid Ethiopianinvasion Third in Eritrea there existed an indigenous Christianity Fi-nally Eritrean nationalism opposed the Ethiopian not the Italian stateIn contrast in Somalia nationalism grew up against Italian and Britishcolonialism Consequently there was never a sharp post-colonial politicalfracture between the colony and the metropole in Eritrea as there was inSomalia Because of these four differences the Eritreans entered into moreintensive relations ndash of both cooperation and resistance ndash with Italian colo-nialists than did the Somali We do not deny that Italian colonialism wasexploitative racist and violent We do however suggest that the relation-ship between the indigenous society and the Italian colonizers was moreinstitutionally dense in Eritrea than in Somalia because of the nature ofpre-colonial Eritrea

Political Geography of the Horn of AfricaEritrea Ethiopia and Somalia (Figure 1) were not always constituted assovereign states The name Abyssinia was used to designate geographicalethnic and social units in the Horn of Africa Within this region therewas an important distinction between the lowlands and the highlandplateau Because of the numerous rivers on the highland plateau settledagriculture was possible (Markakis 19878 McCann 1990400-401) WithinAbyssinia and the nearby by lowland regions in contemporary Eritreathere were multiple ethnic cultural and linguistic divisions In modernday Eritrea Tigrinya is the most common linguistic and ethnic groupand they live primarily on the high plateau (Erlich 19831-14 Longrigg194516-17 Markakis 19875-15 Pateman 19904-6) Most Tigrinya areCoptic Christians members of the Abyssinian or Ethiopian or morerecently Eritrean Orthodox Church (Pateman 19904-5) 1 What is nowSomalia was divided along geographical lines In the north Samaal-speaking pastoralists predominated (Rinehart 19829) In the south there

1 For details including spellings and de nitions of the multiple ethnic and religiousgroups see Erlich 19832-3 Longrigg 194516-17 Pateman 19904-6 Nadel 1944 Negash198724 Prouty and Rosenfeld 1981167-169

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 173

Figure 1 Map of the Horn of Africa

were two rivers and thus some settled agriculturists as well as pastoralists(Cassanelli 198214 Laitin and Samatar 198727-29 Lewis 19617) Thesettled agriculturists were primarily Bantu and the southern pastoralistswere Sab (Cassanelli 198214 Lewis 196113-14 Markakis 198717Rinehart 19829)

Class RelationsIn pre-colonial highland Abyssinia class strati cation was much morepronounced than in Somalia On the highland plateau there were severaldistinct sets of hierarchical surplus extraction relations in the pre-colonialperiod Some were quasi-feudal rights and obligations to land incometribute as well as military legal and administrative services (Gilkes19751-7 101-124 Hiwet 197528-29 Markakis 198714 Markakis andAyele 197821-29 McCann 1990402-403 Negash 198622-35 19874-6

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

170 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Introduction

Italy was a country of emigration now it is one of immigration (King 1985Melotti 1985a 1988) Italians generally classify immigrants as those fromoutside the European Union (EU) (extra-communitari) and those from within(europei) The term extra-communitari however is not neutral conveying theidea of an ldquoundesirablerdquo person from Eastern Europe or Africa (Cole 1997Ginsborg 1998121 Postiglione 1999) We go beyond these stereotypesto consider differences among non-European immigrants We argue thatEritreans are more integrated than Somali despite a variety of similarhistorical and contemporary conditions (including a hostile social climate)Eritrean communities are visible in Italian cities especially in Milan aroundCorso Buenos Aries and Porta Venezia The same is not true of Somaliwho are barely recognized as an immigrant group To illustrate our pointwe use a comparative methodology

Theoretical ContextTheories explaining immigration focus on a wide variety of micro andmacro-level processes including geographical differences in the supplyand demand for labor wage differentials the international division oflabor the rise of global capitalism or economic conditions of advancedcapitalist societies (Massey et al 1993) Other theories draw on networktheories the concept of migration chains or institutionalist theories todemonstrate how immigration persists beyond initial conditions (Heisler1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt 1992)Other work uses a historical or world-systems perspective that includesthe impact of colonialism (Chan 199048 Heisler 1992630 Massey et al1993444-448 Mesthrie 199325-27)

We broaden this theoretical literature to consider the effects of pre-colonial social structure on subsequent immigration and integrationAlthough previous work shows how human capital partially depends oncolonialism ndash knowledge of the language or familiarity with a culture ndashthe effects of colonialism are more fundamental Individuals are rarelypassive actors in social events even when they are exploited or dominated(Scott 1985) As Comaroff and Comaroff (1991) show colonialism was aninteractional process that altered the very consciousness of both colonizersand colonized We employ this perspective to consider the possible effectsof the interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonialism onimmigration and integration

Case Selection and MethodologyWe employ a loose version of Millrsquos method of difference with twocases Eritrea and Somalia that have different outcomes and share allbut one antecedent pre-colonial social structure We consider the effect

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 171

of the antecedent on the outcome immigration and integration in Italy(Emigh 1997651 Skocpol and Sommers 1980) Because our two cases hada common Italian colonial past and a common destination we diminish theeffects of differences in colonial administration as well as other economicdifferences like labor supply and demand on immigration We considerEritrean migrants because they comprise a relatively large component ofthe migrant population in Italy (Aimi 1985 Brambilla and Favaro 1984King 1985 Melotti 1988) We use Somali (as opposed to Libyans) becauseof the comparability of the Eritrean and Somali historical trajectoryFurthermore as we show below Somali and Eritrean immigration toItaly had similar origins We make no strong claims that this methodestablishes causality Our methodology and case selection simply ldquoholdsconstantrdquo ndash at least temporarily in the analytic sense ndash all other relevantfactors that explain immigration to establish whether pre-colonial structurea previously neglected factor has an identi able effect on immigration andintegration

In Eritrea three dimensions of pre-colonial social structure wereparticularly important the interaction between the pre-colonial state andthe colonial administration the interaction between pre-colonial religionand metropolitan religion and the interaction between the pre-colonialclass structure and the colonial economy Historical outgrowths of theseinstitutional connections affected decisions to emigrate and providedimmigrants to Italy with access to resources In contrast these interactionsdid not exist in Somalia Consequently there are fewer Somali immigrantsin Italy and their experiences are different

We explain two dimensions of the outcome immigration rst itsmagnitude and second the degree of immigrantsrsquo incorporation Theavailable population and immigration statistics suggest that the overallmagnitude of Eritrean immigration relative to the sending populationsize is larger than Somali immigration While the absolute magnitude ofEritrean and Somali immigration varied from year to year in response towar and famine the absolute magnitude of Somali immigration equaledEritrean immigration only in the 1990s at the height of the Somali civilwar Even then given the much larger size of the Somali ethnic groupin East Africa relative to the Eritrean one the relative size of Eritreanimmigration was much larger In comparison to Somali Eritreans arewell integrated into Italian society Eritreans are more likely to marryItalians than Somali and they are more likely to come to Italy to join theirfamilies or practice their religion Furthermore Eritreans unlike Somalihave an organized presence in Italian society and have ties to politicalmovements Before providing the details of these outcomes we lay out ourhistorical analysis

172 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pre-Colonial Somalia and Eritrea

The pre-colonial social structures of Eritrea and Somalia were fundamen-tally different First in Eritrea a relatively well-developed quasi-feudal classstructure cross cut ethnic distinctions The Italians exploited these multipledivisions making numerous alliances In contrast Somalia was a relativelyegalitarian pastoral society organized into clans The Italians made onlya few limited alliances with individual clan heads Second in Eritrea theItalians faced the threat of the strong Ethiopian state across the borderThus they were forced to make sweeping alliances to avoid Ethiopianinvasion Third in Eritrea there existed an indigenous Christianity Fi-nally Eritrean nationalism opposed the Ethiopian not the Italian stateIn contrast in Somalia nationalism grew up against Italian and Britishcolonialism Consequently there was never a sharp post-colonial politicalfracture between the colony and the metropole in Eritrea as there was inSomalia Because of these four differences the Eritreans entered into moreintensive relations ndash of both cooperation and resistance ndash with Italian colo-nialists than did the Somali We do not deny that Italian colonialism wasexploitative racist and violent We do however suggest that the relation-ship between the indigenous society and the Italian colonizers was moreinstitutionally dense in Eritrea than in Somalia because of the nature ofpre-colonial Eritrea

Political Geography of the Horn of AfricaEritrea Ethiopia and Somalia (Figure 1) were not always constituted assovereign states The name Abyssinia was used to designate geographicalethnic and social units in the Horn of Africa Within this region therewas an important distinction between the lowlands and the highlandplateau Because of the numerous rivers on the highland plateau settledagriculture was possible (Markakis 19878 McCann 1990400-401) WithinAbyssinia and the nearby by lowland regions in contemporary Eritreathere were multiple ethnic cultural and linguistic divisions In modernday Eritrea Tigrinya is the most common linguistic and ethnic groupand they live primarily on the high plateau (Erlich 19831-14 Longrigg194516-17 Markakis 19875-15 Pateman 19904-6) Most Tigrinya areCoptic Christians members of the Abyssinian or Ethiopian or morerecently Eritrean Orthodox Church (Pateman 19904-5) 1 What is nowSomalia was divided along geographical lines In the north Samaal-speaking pastoralists predominated (Rinehart 19829) In the south there

1 For details including spellings and de nitions of the multiple ethnic and religiousgroups see Erlich 19832-3 Longrigg 194516-17 Pateman 19904-6 Nadel 1944 Negash198724 Prouty and Rosenfeld 1981167-169

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 173

Figure 1 Map of the Horn of Africa

were two rivers and thus some settled agriculturists as well as pastoralists(Cassanelli 198214 Laitin and Samatar 198727-29 Lewis 19617) Thesettled agriculturists were primarily Bantu and the southern pastoralistswere Sab (Cassanelli 198214 Lewis 196113-14 Markakis 198717Rinehart 19829)

Class RelationsIn pre-colonial highland Abyssinia class strati cation was much morepronounced than in Somalia On the highland plateau there were severaldistinct sets of hierarchical surplus extraction relations in the pre-colonialperiod Some were quasi-feudal rights and obligations to land incometribute as well as military legal and administrative services (Gilkes19751-7 101-124 Hiwet 197528-29 Markakis 198714 Markakis andAyele 197821-29 McCann 1990402-403 Negash 198622-35 19874-6

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 171

of the antecedent on the outcome immigration and integration in Italy(Emigh 1997651 Skocpol and Sommers 1980) Because our two cases hada common Italian colonial past and a common destination we diminish theeffects of differences in colonial administration as well as other economicdifferences like labor supply and demand on immigration We considerEritrean migrants because they comprise a relatively large component ofthe migrant population in Italy (Aimi 1985 Brambilla and Favaro 1984King 1985 Melotti 1988) We use Somali (as opposed to Libyans) becauseof the comparability of the Eritrean and Somali historical trajectoryFurthermore as we show below Somali and Eritrean immigration toItaly had similar origins We make no strong claims that this methodestablishes causality Our methodology and case selection simply ldquoholdsconstantrdquo ndash at least temporarily in the analytic sense ndash all other relevantfactors that explain immigration to establish whether pre-colonial structurea previously neglected factor has an identi able effect on immigration andintegration

In Eritrea three dimensions of pre-colonial social structure wereparticularly important the interaction between the pre-colonial state andthe colonial administration the interaction between pre-colonial religionand metropolitan religion and the interaction between the pre-colonialclass structure and the colonial economy Historical outgrowths of theseinstitutional connections affected decisions to emigrate and providedimmigrants to Italy with access to resources In contrast these interactionsdid not exist in Somalia Consequently there are fewer Somali immigrantsin Italy and their experiences are different

We explain two dimensions of the outcome immigration rst itsmagnitude and second the degree of immigrantsrsquo incorporation Theavailable population and immigration statistics suggest that the overallmagnitude of Eritrean immigration relative to the sending populationsize is larger than Somali immigration While the absolute magnitude ofEritrean and Somali immigration varied from year to year in response towar and famine the absolute magnitude of Somali immigration equaledEritrean immigration only in the 1990s at the height of the Somali civilwar Even then given the much larger size of the Somali ethnic groupin East Africa relative to the Eritrean one the relative size of Eritreanimmigration was much larger In comparison to Somali Eritreans arewell integrated into Italian society Eritreans are more likely to marryItalians than Somali and they are more likely to come to Italy to join theirfamilies or practice their religion Furthermore Eritreans unlike Somalihave an organized presence in Italian society and have ties to politicalmovements Before providing the details of these outcomes we lay out ourhistorical analysis

172 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pre-Colonial Somalia and Eritrea

The pre-colonial social structures of Eritrea and Somalia were fundamen-tally different First in Eritrea a relatively well-developed quasi-feudal classstructure cross cut ethnic distinctions The Italians exploited these multipledivisions making numerous alliances In contrast Somalia was a relativelyegalitarian pastoral society organized into clans The Italians made onlya few limited alliances with individual clan heads Second in Eritrea theItalians faced the threat of the strong Ethiopian state across the borderThus they were forced to make sweeping alliances to avoid Ethiopianinvasion Third in Eritrea there existed an indigenous Christianity Fi-nally Eritrean nationalism opposed the Ethiopian not the Italian stateIn contrast in Somalia nationalism grew up against Italian and Britishcolonialism Consequently there was never a sharp post-colonial politicalfracture between the colony and the metropole in Eritrea as there was inSomalia Because of these four differences the Eritreans entered into moreintensive relations ndash of both cooperation and resistance ndash with Italian colo-nialists than did the Somali We do not deny that Italian colonialism wasexploitative racist and violent We do however suggest that the relation-ship between the indigenous society and the Italian colonizers was moreinstitutionally dense in Eritrea than in Somalia because of the nature ofpre-colonial Eritrea

Political Geography of the Horn of AfricaEritrea Ethiopia and Somalia (Figure 1) were not always constituted assovereign states The name Abyssinia was used to designate geographicalethnic and social units in the Horn of Africa Within this region therewas an important distinction between the lowlands and the highlandplateau Because of the numerous rivers on the highland plateau settledagriculture was possible (Markakis 19878 McCann 1990400-401) WithinAbyssinia and the nearby by lowland regions in contemporary Eritreathere were multiple ethnic cultural and linguistic divisions In modernday Eritrea Tigrinya is the most common linguistic and ethnic groupand they live primarily on the high plateau (Erlich 19831-14 Longrigg194516-17 Markakis 19875-15 Pateman 19904-6) Most Tigrinya areCoptic Christians members of the Abyssinian or Ethiopian or morerecently Eritrean Orthodox Church (Pateman 19904-5) 1 What is nowSomalia was divided along geographical lines In the north Samaal-speaking pastoralists predominated (Rinehart 19829) In the south there

1 For details including spellings and de nitions of the multiple ethnic and religiousgroups see Erlich 19832-3 Longrigg 194516-17 Pateman 19904-6 Nadel 1944 Negash198724 Prouty and Rosenfeld 1981167-169

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 173

Figure 1 Map of the Horn of Africa

were two rivers and thus some settled agriculturists as well as pastoralists(Cassanelli 198214 Laitin and Samatar 198727-29 Lewis 19617) Thesettled agriculturists were primarily Bantu and the southern pastoralistswere Sab (Cassanelli 198214 Lewis 196113-14 Markakis 198717Rinehart 19829)

Class RelationsIn pre-colonial highland Abyssinia class strati cation was much morepronounced than in Somalia On the highland plateau there were severaldistinct sets of hierarchical surplus extraction relations in the pre-colonialperiod Some were quasi-feudal rights and obligations to land incometribute as well as military legal and administrative services (Gilkes19751-7 101-124 Hiwet 197528-29 Markakis 198714 Markakis andAyele 197821-29 McCann 1990402-403 Negash 198622-35 19874-6

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

172 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pre-Colonial Somalia and Eritrea

The pre-colonial social structures of Eritrea and Somalia were fundamen-tally different First in Eritrea a relatively well-developed quasi-feudal classstructure cross cut ethnic distinctions The Italians exploited these multipledivisions making numerous alliances In contrast Somalia was a relativelyegalitarian pastoral society organized into clans The Italians made onlya few limited alliances with individual clan heads Second in Eritrea theItalians faced the threat of the strong Ethiopian state across the borderThus they were forced to make sweeping alliances to avoid Ethiopianinvasion Third in Eritrea there existed an indigenous Christianity Fi-nally Eritrean nationalism opposed the Ethiopian not the Italian stateIn contrast in Somalia nationalism grew up against Italian and Britishcolonialism Consequently there was never a sharp post-colonial politicalfracture between the colony and the metropole in Eritrea as there was inSomalia Because of these four differences the Eritreans entered into moreintensive relations ndash of both cooperation and resistance ndash with Italian colo-nialists than did the Somali We do not deny that Italian colonialism wasexploitative racist and violent We do however suggest that the relation-ship between the indigenous society and the Italian colonizers was moreinstitutionally dense in Eritrea than in Somalia because of the nature ofpre-colonial Eritrea

Political Geography of the Horn of AfricaEritrea Ethiopia and Somalia (Figure 1) were not always constituted assovereign states The name Abyssinia was used to designate geographicalethnic and social units in the Horn of Africa Within this region therewas an important distinction between the lowlands and the highlandplateau Because of the numerous rivers on the highland plateau settledagriculture was possible (Markakis 19878 McCann 1990400-401) WithinAbyssinia and the nearby by lowland regions in contemporary Eritreathere were multiple ethnic cultural and linguistic divisions In modernday Eritrea Tigrinya is the most common linguistic and ethnic groupand they live primarily on the high plateau (Erlich 19831-14 Longrigg194516-17 Markakis 19875-15 Pateman 19904-6) Most Tigrinya areCoptic Christians members of the Abyssinian or Ethiopian or morerecently Eritrean Orthodox Church (Pateman 19904-5) 1 What is nowSomalia was divided along geographical lines In the north Samaal-speaking pastoralists predominated (Rinehart 19829) In the south there

1 For details including spellings and de nitions of the multiple ethnic and religiousgroups see Erlich 19832-3 Longrigg 194516-17 Pateman 19904-6 Nadel 1944 Negash198724 Prouty and Rosenfeld 1981167-169

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 173

Figure 1 Map of the Horn of Africa

were two rivers and thus some settled agriculturists as well as pastoralists(Cassanelli 198214 Laitin and Samatar 198727-29 Lewis 19617) Thesettled agriculturists were primarily Bantu and the southern pastoralistswere Sab (Cassanelli 198214 Lewis 196113-14 Markakis 198717Rinehart 19829)

Class RelationsIn pre-colonial highland Abyssinia class strati cation was much morepronounced than in Somalia On the highland plateau there were severaldistinct sets of hierarchical surplus extraction relations in the pre-colonialperiod Some were quasi-feudal rights and obligations to land incometribute as well as military legal and administrative services (Gilkes19751-7 101-124 Hiwet 197528-29 Markakis 198714 Markakis andAyele 197821-29 McCann 1990402-403 Negash 198622-35 19874-6

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 173

Figure 1 Map of the Horn of Africa

were two rivers and thus some settled agriculturists as well as pastoralists(Cassanelli 198214 Laitin and Samatar 198727-29 Lewis 19617) Thesettled agriculturists were primarily Bantu and the southern pastoralistswere Sab (Cassanelli 198214 Lewis 196113-14 Markakis 198717Rinehart 19829)

Class RelationsIn pre-colonial highland Abyssinia class strati cation was much morepronounced than in Somalia On the highland plateau there were severaldistinct sets of hierarchical surplus extraction relations in the pre-colonialperiod Some were quasi-feudal rights and obligations to land incometribute as well as military legal and administrative services (Gilkes19751-7 101-124 Hiwet 197528-29 Markakis 198714 Markakis andAyele 197821-29 McCann 1990402-403 Negash 198622-35 19874-6

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

174 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Pankhurst 1967 Pateman 1990157-158) The Abyssinian Church and theTigrinya aristocracy held feudal rights (Gilkes 19751-7 101-124 Negash198629-34) There also forms of private ownership of land rental andlabor contracts (Negash 198626-27)

The Italians capitalized on the divisions created by this class structureThey drew support and labor power from peasants seeking to escape thesubsistence economy and their feudal overlords The Italians developedan industrial infrastructure in Eritrea that included railways roadshousing agricultural projects and urban amenities (Longrigg 1945123134-141 Tseggai 1986 1987) The Fascists (1932-1941) intensi ed Italianinvestment because they planned to establish a colony comprising EritreaEthiopia and Somalia (Negash 19874 51-53 Tseggai 1987) The Italiansused Eritrean troops to invade Ethiopia

Italian colonial policies increased the number of Tigrinya with respectto the other ethnic groups (Negash 1987150) This increase may havestemmed from the Tigrinya peasantryrsquos ability to escape the demographicconstraints of the subsistence economy through salaried employmentprimarily in the Italian army (Negash 198747 150 153) By 1941when Italy lost control over Ethiopia and Eritrea Italian colonialismhad changed the demographic and political balance of power in EritreaItalian rule created a uniquely Eritrean experience for both lowlandpastoralists and highland peasants The Tigrinya peasantry was nowlargely incorporated into a market economy as wage-laborers throughmilitary service or salaried employment in industry or manufacturing (Pool1983178 Sherman 198052)

In contrast the pastoral economy in Somalia had relatively few classdifferences and was organized instead around clans To the extent towhich these pastoralists engaged in exchange relations (generally only whendroughts forced them to sell their herds) it was primarily with Arab tradersin coastal towns or with wood and spice traders of the interior not withtheir own clan members (Cassanelli 198248 Rinehart 198212)

Though the Italians attempted to implement the same colonial policiesin Somalia as in Eritrea they were unsuccessful As in Eritrea the Italianswere primarily interested in the regions of settled agriculture and hadthe most impact in those locations (Cassanelli 1982201) In Somaliahowever the possibilities for settled agriculture were limited Unlike inEritrea the Italians did not implement a homesteading policy in Somaliato attract poor Italian peasants (Lewis 198092) Instead the governmentexpropriated land and offered large concessions with tax exemptions tofound plantations (Hess 1966112) In sharp contrast to land expropriationin Eritrea however this action had relatively little effect on the Somalipastoralists The Italians found it very dif cult to recruit labor for their new

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 175

plantations and were successful only when they incorporated the clan eliteinto their colonial plans (Cassanelli 1982202 Hess 1966111-115) TheItalian Fascists increased colonial investment in Somalia by building roadswells and schools (Lewis 198096-97) but the extent of this infrastructurewas much smaller than in Eritrea As in Eritrea Somali attempted toform political alliances with Italians to pursue their own political interestswhile the Italians tried to implement a divide and rule strategy to controlSomali territory (Cassanelli 1982183-253) In Somalia however Italiancolonialism had a much weaker impact than in Eritrea and Italians formedfewer ties with Somali than with Eritreans

Political RelationsIn Eritrea the Italians faced a well-developed Abyssinian state that wascapable of militarily defeating them ndash and which did so decisivelyin 1896 Thus Italian colonial policy was constrained by the necessityof avoiding an alliance between the Tigrinya elites in Eritrea the Tigrinyapeasantry and the Abyssinian state (Levine 197470-86 Markakis 198712-15 Markakis and Ayele 197830 Negash 198644-45 198735-37 151Oliver and Atmore 199440-43 Woolf 1919139) Between 1882 and 1896the Italians tried to resettle Italians as freeholders (Tseggai 1986) Theyexpropriated 400000 acres of land from the Tigrinya peasants on thehighland plateau (Negash 198734) This provoked an alliance betweenthe Tigrinya peasantry and aristocracy resulting in the Bahta uprising of1894 which was defeated only because of a strategic error on the partof its leader (Negash 198644 198734-35) This uprising led the Italiansto abandon the settlement policy and they abolished the of ce of colonialsettlement in 1895 (Negash 198645) In an attempt to quell the threatof pan-Tigrinya uni cation inherent in the Bahta uprising the Italiansattempted to expand their colonial power by invading Tigray (currentlya province of Ethiopia) in 1896 The Ethiopians however defeated theItalian army at Adowa (Negash 198644)

After this defeat the boundaries of the Italian colony were xed toa narrow strip of the coast which came to be known as Eritrea (Woolf1919172) Thus resistance to colonialism emerged when the Italiansthreatened the material interests of the peasantry creating an alliancebetween the Abyssinian elite and peasantry Subsequently the Italiansattempted to pacify and incorporate the Tigrinya peasantry living in Eritreainto colonial policies and were forced to use Eritrean political elites to ruleon behalf of the Italian state (Negash 198740 98)

Pre-colonial Somalia in contrast was not uni ed by any overarchingpolitical organization similar to the Abyssinian state (Samatar 1992632)Kinship groups from the nuclear family to the clan formed the basis ofthe pre-colonial Somali political order (Lewis 19612 197816 Samatar

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

176 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1992) Reer were the basic political unit of pre-colonial Somali society andwere composed of two or more nuclear families and their herds whichmigrated together in search of pastures and water (Cassanelli 198242-43)At the level of the clan which was an aggregate of reer lineage groups therewas a gerontocratic organization called the shir an egalitarian council thatmade military or migratory decisions (Lewis 1961162-167 197830-31198011 Markakis 198717) The shir also was the basis of a democraticsocial contract used to resolve disputes in the absence of a centralizedstate (Samatar 1992630-631) Thus in pre-colonial Somalia there existedfew class differences for the Italians to exploit moreover they had fewerincentives to exploit them because the shir posed no viable military threat

These political practices affected the interaction between Italians andthe colonized The Italians in Eritrea incorporated large sections of theTigrinya peasantry into the state through service in the army and in thebureaucracy (Markakis 198758 McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198747)Beginning in 1907 the Italians recruited vast numbers of Eritreans intoits colonial army for military campaigns in Libya Somalia and Ethiopia(McCann 1986405-406 Negash 198648-51 53-54) Between 1907 and1932 money was introduced into the Eritrean peasant economy in theform of soldiersrsquo wages By the early 1930s 60000 Eritreans were underarms (Negash 198749) In 1935 there were 150000 economically activemales out of a total Eritrean population of 600000 Thus over fortypercent of the adult male work force or ten percent of the populationserved in the military in 1935 (Negash 198751)

This process of incorporation of the population into the colonialadministration did not occur in Somalia The Somali Colonial TroopCorps in 1910 was only ten percent Somali and was comprised partlyof Eritrean troops (Hess 1966110) even though the population of Somaliawas larger than that of Eritrea (Negash 198749 53 149-150) Between1923 and 1941 the Fascists used some Somali troops but they reliedprimarily on Eritrean ones (Lewis 198099) Somali participation in theItalian colonial army may have been largely elite-based in contrast to thepeasant-based Eritrean colonial army

ReligionReligion was the third crucial difference between Eritrea and SomaliaIn Eritrea the Italians confronted a Christian church established in the fth century (Maher 199174) This Abyssinian Orthodox Church wasan important social actor and a powerful political player Rather thana clash between Catholicism and a non-Christian religion there waspartial co-optation and resistance The Abyssinian church threatenedItalian colonialism because it encouraged the development of territorialand political unity based on Tigrinya culture spanning the Eritrean and

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 177

Ethiopian border It did not however guarantee unity Northern Abyssiniahad been the site of numerous heresies (Crummey 197222) In ruralregions priests gained their means of subsistence directly from their owncommunities (Crummey 197216 27 35) As a result the organizationof the Abyssinian church followed the fragmented lines of the Ethiopianpolity The Fascists nancially supported the church after their invasionof Ethiopia in 1932 (Negash 198663 Shenk 1972128) and partially co-opted it The Italian authorities tried to use the Church as a source ofideological support in Ethiopia by supporting its religious holidays andby encouraging Abyssinian priests to recognize Italian political holidays(Buonaiuti 198211 27 Negash 198663 1987127-131 Shenk 1972129)As with other Eritrean actors the Italians tried to capitalize upon theChurchrsquos shifting and cross-cutting alliances

Religious institutions also facilitated relations between Eritreans andItalians Although the Italians failed to convert many Eritreans to Catholi-cism (Negash 1987127-130 Pateman 199015) Capuchin missionarieshad a lasting impact The Capuchins rst established themselves inEthiopia among the northwestern pastoralists in 1846 (Crummey 197260)predating of cial Italian colonial rule They established schools andtried to develop an indigenous clergy (Crummey 1972148) and theirleader Giuglielmo Massaja permitted some Abyssinian rites (Crummey197281-82) The common Christian identity of Italian colonizers and Er-itrean facilitated mixed-race sexual unions which were more common inEritrea than in Somalia (Barrera 199610)

Four great Muslim confraternities in contrast dominated Somali re-ligion (Fazel 1994) Italian colonial policy supported the pre-existing reli-gion in the interest of political stability not altering it signi cantly (Cerulli1957148) The formula pronounced by Kadi justices in Italian Somalilandis indicative ldquoIn the name of God the merciful the compassionate I judgeaccording to the law of Islam by appointment of the great King King ofItalyrdquo (Cerulli 1957151)

NationalismFinally the timing and character of Somali and Eritrean nationalistmovements differed In Eritrea nationalism took off in the mid-1950s andwas primarily oriented against Ethiopia and secondarily against Britainnot Italy In Somalia nationalism emerged in the mid-1940s against Italyand Britain thus creating a sharper break with Italians than in Eritrea

The defeat of the Italians during World War II abruptly ended theircolonial rule in Eritrea leaving a political vacuum (Haile 19862) TheBritish temporarily ruled Eritrea from 1941 to 1952 (Erlich 19834-6Pool 19831980) During this period of time various political options forEritrea were debated including independence union with Ethiopia and

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

178 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

the restoration of Italian rule (Markakis 198757-69 Pool 1983180-183)Eventually a United Nations resolution federated Eritrea to Ethiopia Theresolution allowed Eritrea to maintain its own political institutions andEthiopian to conduct foreign policy (Haile 1986 Markakis 198768-69Pool 1983183) This federation lasted from 1952 to 1962 when Ethiopiaannexed Eritrea (Haile 19869) Eritrea was an Ethiopian province untilindependence in 1991

When Italian colonialism ended in 1941 the target of Eritreannationalism was rst Britain and then Ethiopia not Italy (Markakis198757-69) Although Italian rule had been resisted no formal nationalistmovements opposed it Italians and Italian institutions continued to bein uential under British rule Italians held administrative posts and leasedland from the British (Markakis 198758 61-62) When the Ethiopiangovernment ruled Eritrea the Amhara (another Abyssinian linguisticgroup) not the Tigrinya controlled the government and Amharic wasthe of cial language creating discontent among Tigrinya in Ethiopia andEritrea (Haile 198615) Eritrean nationalism coalesced around resistanceto Ethiopian not Italian rule In fact during the 1940s Italian colonialdesigns uneasily allied with Eritrean nationalism (Markakis 198765)These conditions preserved links between Italians and Eritreans sincenationalism was never directed principally towards Italian institutions Inthe 1970s various Eritrean nationalist movements split and recombinedinto different groups and engaged each other in civil war (Erlich 198313-33 85-96 Markakis 1987131-145 1994229 Pateman 1990117-148 Pool1983183-193 Sherman 198040-94 Tegegn 199467-76) The eventualrise however of the Eritrean Peoplersquos Liberation Front (EPLF) increasedthe in uence of Christians and Tigrinya who had the most contact withthe Italians

Somali nationalism however developed between 1935 and 1960 indirect opposition to Italian and British colonialism (Hess 1966 Laitinand Samatar 198748-68 Lewis 1961266-295 1978 1980 Markakis1987 Oliver and Atmore 1994 Samatar 1992) As in Eritrea there wererival and ever changing nationalist movements In Somalia these groupswere in general explicitly anti-Italian (Lewis 1980114 121-123 Markakis198753) In the late 1940s Italian expansionist plans in Somalia andagitation by the local Italian community triggered sharp and violent Somalireactions (Lewis 1980126) Nationalist movements were often comprisedof young educated of cials the Gendarmarie merchants and traders(Lewis 1980122 Markakis 198753) Unlike the Eritrean colonial peasantarmy the Somali Gendarmarie was comprised of the highly educated(Lewis 1980122) In Somalia the lower level of militarization and popularparticipation concentrated nationalist sentiments among the elite State

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 179

employees and merchants demanded independence not the peasantry asin Eritrea (Samatar 1992633) In contrast to Eritrean nationalism Somalinationalism was socially restricted and explicitly hostile to Italians

In sum in Eritrea a strati ed society a well-developed state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense interaction between the colonizingItalian state and the indigenous population These ties were left largelyintact during nationalist struggles because they were never directedprimarily against the Italian state In Somalia a relatively undifferentiatedsocial hierarchy based on pastoral agriculture and Islam combinedwith a decentralized polity Few Somali were incorporated into theItalian colonial administration the church or the colonial economyFurthermore Somali nationalism developed against Italian colonialismleading to a sharper political break between former colony and metropoleand few permanent institutional ties As we argue below these differencesaffected immigration and incorporation in Italy

Immigration to Italy

Italy is not a hospitable destination for immigrants either socially oreconomically (Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198556-63 Veugelers 1994) TheItalian unemployment rate is relatively high (Ginsborg 1998588 Melotti1985a28 19886) In addition the Italian government rarely recognizespolitical refugees (Hornziel 198675 Sironi 198851) Reaction to the 1990ldquoMartelli lawrdquo that tried to normalize the status of foreigners alreadyin Italy shifted the immigration debate from the center-left to the rightwhere it has remained (Campani 1993522 Cole 199710-11) Immigrationgenerally occurs from less developed countries (King 1985173 Melotti1985a28-29 198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850)Many of the migrants work in the tertiary or informal sector doing manuallabor in service agricultural or industrial settings (King 1985173 Venturi199142-43) Not surprisingly much of the work is unpleasant dif cultand dangerous and the conditions of employment are uncertain (Melotti1985a15 1985b37 43 Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198553-54 Sironi198849-50)

Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia do not comprise the largest nu-merical group of foreigners in Italy (King 1985173 Melotti 1985a28-29198814-22 Melotti and Valtorta 1985 Sironi 198850) Furthermore werecognize that many social political and economic factors in uence mi-gration (Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992Salt 1992) We choose the Eritrean and Somali cases not because of theabsolute size of the migration ow but because all of these other factorsare as similar as possible thus drawing attention to the impact of pre-

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

180 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

colonial social structure on colonial ties and later patterns of migrationand integration

We present two kinds of evidence on Somali and Eritrean immigrantsto Italy First we argue that evidence shows that EritreanEthiopians inItaly clearly outnumbered Somali immigrants in absolute magnitude upuntil the 1990s After the 1990s during the height of the civil war inSomalia the groups were about equal but given the overall larger sizeof the Somali sending population the proportional size of the Eritreanimmigrant population was still much larger We then present evidence onimmigrant incorporation and community life showing that Eritreans aremuch more incorporated into Italian society than Somali are

Magnitude of ImmigrationMost sources suggest that the overall magnitude of Eritrean emigration toItaly was larger than that of Somali up to the early 1990s when the trendapparently began to reverse In 1970 the number of Somali immigrantsin Italy with residential permits (permessi di soggiorno) was 472 and the num-ber of Ethiopians the majority of whom were probably Eritrean was 376(Hornziel 198629) By 1976 2345 EritreanEthiopians had residentialpermits compared to 739 Somali (Hornziel 198629) In 1981 5471 Er-itreanEthiopians had permits in comparison to 1412 Somali (Hornziel198629) The gures for residential permits for Eritreans and Somaliwithin Milan are similar In Milan in 1979 490 EritreanEthiopians and71 Somali had residential permits (Aimi 1985143 145 Bonora 198376)In 1984 1276 EritreanEthiopians and 166 Somali had residential permits(Aimi 1985143 145) Thus the absolute number of EritreanEthiopianswas greater than Somali The increase in the number of residential per-mits to EritreanEthiopians was also larger (Aimi 1985143 145 Hornziel198629) Of cial statistics greatly underenumerate the number of migrantsbecause many are undocumented In 1979 71 Somali and 490 Eritre-ans had residential permits but one estimate suggests that there werebetween 200 and 500 undocumented Somali and around 1500 undocu-mented Eritreans (Bonora 198376) Thus the rise in the number of doc-umented Eritreans probably indicates an increase in the size of Eritreanimmigration and especially with respect to Somali during this period 2

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1997228)data also suggest that Ethiopian migrants (who were mostly Eritrean)outnumbered Somali up to the early nineties In 1985 there were1800 Somali and 7200 Ethiopian immigrants in 1986 2000 Somali and7500 Ethiopian immigrants in 1987 3400 Somali and 10500 Ethiopians

2 Some Ethiopians and Eritreans had Somali passports (Aimi 1985116) and so mayhave been counted as Somali

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 181

in 1988 4200 Somali and 12200 Ethiopians in 1989 3700 Somaliand 7900 Ethiopians in 1990 9400 Somali and 11900 Ethiopiansand in 1991 11900 Somali and 12500 Ethiopians (cf King 1985173)Somali immigration increased after 1991 exacerbated by famine and civilwar In 1992 there were 14900 Somali immigrants in 1993 19600in 1994 16300 and in 1995 17400 The corresponding gures forEthiopians increase from 12249 in 1990 to 14016 in 1993 (Caritas diRoma 199590) Data from the Ministry of the Interior report a drop in thenumber of Ethiopians to 10145 in 1994 (Caritas di Roma 199590) TheNational Statistical Institute (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica ISTAT 1998157)reported a larger number of residential permits in the years 1991-1995and in 1997 to Somali than EritreanEthiopians Though the data after1991 are dif cult to interpret because Eritrean independence changed thepolitical units and therefore the enumeration of migrants it is clear thatSomali immigration increased dramatically in the 1990s

Survey data cannot estimate the magnitude of immigration but theyprovide information about the relative numbers of Eritreans and Somaliand are more likely than of cial statistics to include undocumentedmigrants They suggest that there were more Eritreans than Somali in Italyup until the early 1990s For example a study in Milan in the mid-1980sfound 99 Ethiopians (who are likely to be Eritreans) and only ve Somali(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198550) Another study of Milanese migrantsestimated that in 1982 there were 1600 to 2000 Eritreans and about 30Somali (Brambilla and Favaro 1984114 148) Another survey in Milanfound 567 Ethiopian foreign residents in 1979 816 in 1980 1481 in 1983and 1596 in 1984 (Aimi 1985134) indicating an overall increase in thenumbers of Eritreans during this time

Thus up to the 1990s the absolute size of Eritrean immigrationsurpassed Somali immigration In the 1990s Somali immigration increasedas a result of civil war while the Eritrean ow decreased probablybecause of independence Nevertheless in proportional terms the Somaliimmigration ow never reached the size of the Eritrean one given thatSomalia has about twice the population of Eritrea (CIA 2000) Thecomparison is even more dramatic if the size of the Tigrinya ethnic groupthe group most likely to immigrate to Italy is compared to the Somali oneas the size of the former is about 13 the size of the latter Thus evenin the 1990s a much larger proportion of Eritreans immigrated relativeto the sending population Thus in both countries war civil unrest andfamine sparked emigration but fewer Somali went to Italy

Incorporation of ImmigrantsWe now turn to evidence concerning immigrant incorporation We suggestthat individuals who are moving to a country either to be with their family

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

182 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

or for religious reasons have more contact with host society than those whoare coming to work In 1991 68 of residential permits issued to holdersof Ethiopian passports were for work For Somali the gure was 81(In 1992 these gures were 67 and 90 in 1993 68 and 91in 1994 68 and 90 in 1995 68 and 86) In contrast in the1990s 9 of Ethiopian passport holders requested residential permits fortheir family and 3 for reasons of religion Only 4 of Somali requestedresidential permits for family and only 17000 for religion Throughout the1990s more Somali than Ethiopians came to Italy for economic reasonswhile more Ethiopians than Somali came to join their families or religiouscommunities (ISTAT 1998181 183 185 187 189) This evidence suggeststhat the EthiopianEritrean community was more established than theSomali one

A 1985 survey found that only 17 of Ethiopians (most of whomwere probably Eritreans) as opposed to 50 of Somali had recentlychanged their residence (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) The rate ofresidential relocation of Ethiopians was one of the lowest among Milaneseimmigrants (Aimi 1985109-110 127-128) Eritreans were more likely touse formal institutional channels for immigration than other immigrantgroups (Metere 1983109 130-155) Eritreans often used agencies in theprocess of immigration sometimes to nd lodging (Metere 1983130-155)Eritreans were less likely to participate in organized crimes than otherimmigrant groups (Ambroso 198841) Another indication that Eritreansare relatively well integrated into Italian society is that the local Milaneselabor union supported Eritreans and Eritrean nationalism (Sironi 198855)Furthermore Eritreans have links to the major left-center political partyAinom Maricos an Eritrean and a member of the Democratici di sinistra(Democrats of the Left) was a major spokesmen for immigrant rights(Foschini and Cremonese 2001) In Milan the Associazione amicizia ItaliaEritrea (Italian Eritrean Friendship Association) organized a concert tocelebrate Eritrean liberation from Ethiopia (Corriere della sera 1993)

Another indicator of incorporation is intermarriage The overall num-bers of marriages between East Africans of any nationality and Italians areminiscule (about 300 such marriages in all of 1995) but more Ethiopi-ans than Somali married Italians in every major geographical region ofItaly except in Sicily and Sardinia where the numbers were equal Fur-thermore the higher intermarriage rates do not simply re ect that moreEthiopianEritreans live in Italy than Somali Provincial data indicate thateven in areas where the number of Somali receiving residential permits out-numbered EthiopianEritreans they did not marry more Italians in 1995(though of course the number of marriages is small) (ISTAT 1999164-188) Furthermore survey data show that Eritrean women are interested

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 183

in marrying Italians and demonstrate a higher intermarriage rate for Er-itreans than for other foreign women (Ziglio 198591-92 94 cf Brambillaand Favaro 1984116)

Though neither group can be considered ldquoassimilatedrdquo or ldquowell-integratedrdquo Eritreans are better integrated than are Somali Melotti(198951) argues Eritreans ldquo now constitute a rather numerous com-munity that has also become an important reference point for their co-nationals who have emigrated to other European countries and AmericardquoSomali immigrants have no comparable organized presence in Italian soci-ety though their numbers may be increasing Eritrean organizations assistimmigrants and facilitate their integration (Melotti 1985b42-43)

Much of the existing research discusses the Eritrean community inMilan (Melotti 1985c) though there are also Eritreans in Rome (Hornziel198675-80) Eritrean immigration to Milan and integration into Italiansociety is facilitated by Capuchin-Eritrean relations and the EPLF 3

(Ambroso 198832-35 38-40 Favaro 198882-83 Melotti 1985b42-43)In the 1980s the Eritrean community in Milan was organized aroundthe ldquoEthiopian-Eritrean Centerrdquo (il Centro etiopico-eritreo) located near theChurch of San Francesco and the of ces of EPLF (Melotti 1985b43Melotti and Valtorta 198515)

The Church of San Francesco provided access to resources jobseducation and housing which in uenced the decision to immigrateand possibilities for incorporation (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro 198882-83) An Eritrean Capuchin brother Marino Haile ran the Ethiopian-Eritrean Center (Melotti 1985b43 Melotti and Valtorta 198515 Sironi198852) He conducted mass according to Abyssinian rites in Eritreanlanguages though he was a Catholic priest The church celebrated religiousfestivals of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Ambroso 198834) Thesemixed practices were rooted in the colonial interaction between ItalianCatholicism and Abyssinian Christianity Missionary activities during theItalian occupation also in uenced the eventual creation of the Church ofSan Francesco (Ambroso 198834)

The EPLF also provided access to resources jobs education andhousing and facilitated political activism (Ambroso 198838-40 Favaro198882-83 Sironi 1988) The EPLF helped to preserve and developnational consciousness among Eritreans living abroad It collected moneyfor these purposes and for disaster and famine relief in Eritrea (Sironi198858) Partly as a result of EPLF activities legislation was passed that

3 After Eritrean independence the name was changed to The Peoplersquos Front forDemocracy and Justice (PFDJ) We use the name EPLF following the academic literaturewe cite

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

184 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

protects foreign workers in Italy (Sironi 198857) The EPLF advocatedfor the rights of Eritrean workers in Milan and developed relations withItalian labor movements Because of the EPLF organizational activitiesabout 10 of the Eritrean population was af liated with the NationalUnion of Workers Students and Women (Unioni nazionali dei lavoratoridegli studenti e delle donne) (Sironi 198853) The EPLF was particularlyvocal about womenrsquos roles in Eritrean nationalism and its organization Itsposition was important because many immigrants were female domesticlaborers (Ziglio 198872 76) Ziglio (198591-92) argued that Eritreansand in particular domestic workers had more direct contact with Italiansociety and were more integrated into Italian society than other immigrantsprecisely because of these organizations and because of the relatively longimmigration history The EPLF linked the conditions of Eritrean migrantsin Milan to the resolution of the Eritrean-Ethiopian con ict in Africa(Sironi 198857-58) The EPLF also organized language classes in Eritreanlanguages for children and adults (Brambilla and Favaro 1984121) EPLFleaders encouraged migrants especially Eritrean women to attend literacyclasses (Melotti 198818 Sironi 198853-54) Eritreans were more likelyto attend literacy classes than other foreigners (Ziglio 198599) Theseorganizations facilitated integration into Italian society while maintainingEritrean public and private customs holidays identity and a highlydeveloped sense of community (Ambroso 198834 Sironi 198852 Ziglio198591-92) 4

The EPLF is also a partial outgrowth of the interaction betweencolonizer and colonized The rst Eritrean nationalist movements wereaffected by Italian militarism and by demographic and political shiftsinduced by Italian colonialism Moreover the EPLF did not arise inopposition to Italian rule and thus Italian and Eritrean ties were notdestroyed by its triumph

Somali are less integrated into Italian society in comparison toEritreans For example Somali apparently used social services relativelyless frequently than Eritreans (Favaro 198882-83 Ziglio 198867) andfewer Somali than Eritreans were enrolled in language classes (Favaro198882-83 Ziglio 198867) Accounts of Somali living in Italy suggestthat there was no organized community comparable to the Eritreanone (Brambilla and Favaro 1984148-151 Fazel 1994) For examplea recent story in the Corriere della sera discussing a protest of some Somali

4 Eritreans like all immigrants face many obstacles dif culties and Italian hostility(Melotti Aimi and Ziglio 198558-59) When housing shortages increased in the late1980s relations between the EPLF and Milanese unions became strained (Sironi 198857)Eritreans also had dif culty nding employment (Brambilla and Favaro 1984118)

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 185

immigrants at the train station in Florence made no mention of anySomali immigrant organization (Catani 2000) The Somali apparently donot have any institutionalized relationship with the pro-immigrant politicalparty the Democrats of the Left in contrast to the Eritreans Somalimigrants feel isolated in Italy which is compounded by religious differencesbecause most Somali are Muslim (Fazel 1994) not Christian like theEritreans Fazel (199421-25 56) a Somali immigrant to northern Italyargued that familiarity with the Italian language and culture did littleto ease her entry to Italian society and stressed the relatively super cialimpact of Italian colonialism on Somali society Finally there is simplymuch less information about Somali in Italy than Eritreans despite theirgrowing numbers which must re ect their relatively clandestine livingconditions

Conclusions

Part of the explanation for East African post-colonial immigration asin other countries lies in the degree to which immigrants are familiarwith and have knowledge of the language customs and religion of hostcountries (Massey et al 1993446-447) In particular Eritreans often knowthe Italian language and are familiar with Italian culture (Brambilla andFavaro 1984115 Galeazzo 1994369 Melotti 1985a29) This familiarityand knowledge itself is partly a result of institutional ties developed duringcolonialism In turn these institutional ties are a partly a result of thepre-colonial social structure as our EritreanSomali comparison showsPush factors often compel individuals to leave their country of origin(Heisler 1992 Massey et al 1993 Morawska 1990 Rystand 1992 Salt1992) In both Eritrea and Somalia there were local changes in politicalpower famine natural disasters war low levels of per capita incomewage differentials between sending and receiving countries instabilitycreated by colonial rule and shifts in colonial administration all of whichprovided individuals with reasons to emigrate (Ambroso 198829 Brambillaand Favaro 1984114-115 148 McCann 1986 1990 Melotti 1985b42-43 198818 Sironi 198849) These reasons probably caused the rise ofEritrean immigration in the 1980s and Somali immigration in the 1990sHowever these factors cannot explain differences in the incorporation ofEritreans and Somali in Italy

In fact though both migration ows are relatively long term providingtime for both groups to establish an organized presence in Italy only theEritreans have done so Italian families were repatriated from Somalia atthe end of Italian duciary control in 1960 and left Eritrea in 1962 when itwas annexed by Ethiopia (Melotti 1985b40) These families often broughttheir Eritrean and Somali domestic workers with them (Brambilla and

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

186 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

Favaro 1984114 Melotti 1985b40 198818 Sironi 198849) The sizeof the Somali domestic labor ow however was smaller because therewere fewer Italian settlers in colonial Somalia and thus less domesticlabor (Melotti 198818 Ziglio 198586 88 see also Brambilla and Favaro1984149) Domestic workers of Eritrean origin continue to form a sizableproportion of the migrant population in Italy particularly in Milan (Aimi1985121 Melotti 1985b43 Ziglio 198586 88)

We argued that theories of international immigration and integrationneed to be expanded to include the effects of the interaction betweenpre-colonial social structure and colonialism We suggested that institutionsshaped by colonialism facilitate immigration and integration where orga-nizations have institutional ties between post-colonial countries and formercolonial powers but also suf cient autonomy to retain legitimacy amongimmigrants The comparison between Eritrean and Somali immigrationto Italy illustrates our point By examining two post-colonial immigrantgroups whose countries were colonized by the same country that hada relatively similar historical and migratory trajectory and by examininga single migrant destination we attempt analytically to control for thesefactors (though of course we do not deny their importance) This com-parison isolates the independent effect of pre-colonial social structure thepreviously neglected factor which we claim explains some differences inimmigrant experience

We focused on three pre-colonial differences between Eritrean andSomalia ndash class structure the state and religion In Eritrea relativelywell-developed class differences combined with a strong state and anindigenous Christianity led to dense institutional interaction between thecolonized and the colonizers Nationalist movements oriented primarilyagainst Ethiopia rather than Italy did not seriously damage these relationsIn contrast Somali society was Islamic relatively egalitarian and hada weak state Somali nationalism developed against Italian rule Thus theinstitutional ties between Italians and Somali were super cial

These post-colonial links facilitate Eritrean immigration to Italy Er-itrean immigrants are relatively plentiful in Italy and form a well-organizedcommunity The large presence of Eritrean domestic laborers in Italy isa result of Italian settlements in Eritrea In addition the two centers of theEritrean community in Milan the church run by the Capuchins and theEPLF were shaped by colonialism In contrast there are relatively fewerSomali immigrants in Italy and they are relatively less well integrated intoItalian society than Eritreans

Thus we argue that immigration and integration are shaped bythe interaction between pre-colonial social structure and colonial ruleAlthough some work on immigration and integration considers how human

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 187

capital partially depends on the colonial experience ndash knowledge of thelanguage or familiarity with a culture ndash the effects of colonialism are morefundamental Individuals are rarely passive actors even when they areexploited or dominated (Scott 1985) Colonialism was an interactionalprocess of resistance and accommodation that altered the consciousnessand institutions of both colonizers and colonized (Comaroff and Comaroff1991) As Tilly (199084) argued ldquonetworks migraterdquo effective units ofmigration are sets of people linked by acquaintance kinship or workAs we showed the interaction between pre-colonial social structure andcolonialism affected the constitution of these networks Future work couldexplore these interactions in other cases of colonialism where there wereEuropean or non-European colonial powers or where European were bothcolonists and colonized (Chan 199048)

References

AIMI ANTONIO

1985 ldquoI lavoratori del Terzo Mondo a Milano aspetti quantitativirdquo Pp 107-158 inLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto MelottiMilan Mazzotta

AMBROSO GUIDO

1988 ldquoGli eritrei e gli egiziani a Milano due casi di lsquoetnicitagrave urbanarsquordquo Terzo Mondo31-3225-45

BARRERA GIULIA

1996 ldquoDangerous Liasons Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941rdquo Program ofAfrican Studies Working Papers Number 1 Evanston PAS

BONORA ROSA M1983 ldquoMercato del avoro e movimenti migratori in Europa occidentalerdquo Pp 22-80

in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milano edited by Paolo Caputo MilanAngeli

BRAMBILLA MARIO AND GRAZIELLA FAVARO

1984 ldquoLrsquoanalisi dei bisogni linguistici di gruppi etnici a Milano un metodo e unaricerca orientativardquo Pp 105-166 in Immigrazione straniera e interventi formativi editedby Duccio Demetrio Milan Angeli

BUONAIUTI CESARE MARONGIU

1982 Politica e religioni nel colonialismo italiano (1882-1941) Milan GiuffregraveCAMPANI GIOVANNA

1993 ldquoImmigration and Racism in Southern Europe The Italian Caserdquo Ethnic andRacial Studies 16507-535

CARITAS DI ROMA

1995 Dossier Statistico rsquo95 Rome AnteremCASSAN ELLI LEE W1982 The Shaping of Somali Society Reconstructing the History of a Pastoral People 1600-1900

Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania PressCATANI PAOLA

2000 ldquoI Somali smontano la tendardquo Corriere della sera September 1st

188 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY

2000 The World Fact Book [Online] Available wwwciagovciapublicationsfactbookCERULLI ENRICO

1957 ldquoSomalilandrdquo Pp 139-152 in Somalia scritti vari editi ed inediti I Storia della SomalialrsquoIslam in Somalia il libro degli Zengi Rome Istituto Poligra co dello Stato

CHAN SUCHENG

1990 ldquoEuropean and Asian Immigration into the United States in ComparativePerspective 1820s to 1920srdquo Pp 37-75 in Immigration Reconsidered History Sociologyand Politics edited by Virginia Yans-McLaughlin New York Oxford UniversityPress

COLE JEFFREY

1997 The New Racism in Europe A Sicilian Ethnography Cambridge Cambridge UniversityPress

COMAROFF JEAN AND JOHN COMAROFF

1991 Of Revelation and Revolution Christianity Colonialism and Consciousness in South AfricaChicago University of Chicago Press

Corriere della sera1993 ldquoMilano di sera spettacolo di solidarietagrave ai Magazzini Tri Baseirdquo Septem-

ber 26thCRUMMEY DONALD

1972 Priests and Politicians Protestant and Catholic Missions in Orthodox Ethiopia OxfordClarendon Press

EMIGH REBECCA JEAN

1997 ldquoThe Power of Negative Thinking The Use of Negative Case Methodology inthe Development of Sociological Theoryrdquo Theory and Society 26649-684

ERLICH HAGGAI

1983 The Struggle Over Eritrea 1962-1978 War and Revolution in the Horn of Africa StanfordHoover Institution Press

FAVARO GRAZIELLA

1988 ldquoImmigrazione e formazione linguistica il progetto del Liceo Volta a MilanordquoTerzo Mondo 31-3279-88

FAZEL SHIRIN RAMZANALI

1994 Lontano da Mogadiscio Roma DatanewsFOSCHINI PAOLO AND MARCO CREMONESI

2001 ldquoCosigrave daremo un tetto agli emarginatirdquo Corriere della sera January 3rd GALEAZZO PATRIZIA

1994 ldquoLa nuova immigrazione a Milano Il caso dellrsquoEritreardquo Pp 367-412 in Tra duerive La nuova immigrazione a Milano edited by Giuseppe Barile Alessandro DalLago Aldo Marchetti and Patrizia Galeazzo Milan Angeli

GILKES PATRICK

1975 The Dying Lion Feudalism and Modernization in Ethiopia London Julian FriedmannPublishers

GINSBORG PAUL

1998 LrsquoItalia del tempo presente famiglia societagrave civile Stato 1980-1996 Turin EinaudiHAILE SEMERE

1986 ldquoThe Roots of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Con ict The Erosion of the Federal ActrdquoJournal of Eritrean Studies 11-18

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 189

HEISLER BARBARA SCHMITTER

1992 ldquoThe Future of Immigrant Incorporation Which Models Which ConceptsrdquoInternational Migration Review 26623-645

HESS ROBERT L1966 Italian Colonialism in Somalia Chicago University of Chicago PressHIWET ADDIS

1975 Ethiopia From Autocracy to Revolution London Review of African Political EconomyHORNZIEL IJOLA MARIA

1986 La condizione degli immigrati stranieri in Italia Rapporto al Minstero del Lavoro dellrsquoIstitutoper gli studi sui servizi sociale Milan Angeli

ISTAT1998 La presenza straniera in Italia negli anni rsquo90 Istituto Nazionale di Statistica Rome1999 La presenza straniera in Italia caratteristiche demograche Istituto Nazionale di Statistica

RomeKING RUSSELL

1985 ldquoItalian Migration The Clotting of the Haemorrhagerdquo Geography 70171-175LAITIN DAVID D AND SAID S SAMATAR

1987 Somalia Nation in Search of a State Boulder CO Westview PressLEVINE DONALD N1974 Greater Ethiopia The Evolution of a Multiethnic Society Chicago University of Chicago

PressLEWIS IM1961 A Pastoral Democracy A Study of Pastoralism and Politics Among the Northern Somali of the

Horn of Africa London Oxford University Press1978 The Somali Lineage System and the Total Genealogy Ann Arbor University Micro lms

International1980 A Modern History of Somalia Nation and State in the Horn of Africa London LongmanLONGRIGG STEPHEN H1945 A Short History of Eritrea Westport CN GreenwoodMAHER VANESSA

1991 ldquoCapitolo IV Alcuni aspetti del cristianesimo africanordquo Pp 73-89 in Uguali ediversi il mondo culturale le reti di rapporti i lavori degli immigrati non europei a TorinoTurin Rosenberg amp Seiller

MARKAK IS JOHN

1987 National and Class Conict in the Horn of Africa Cambridge Cambridge UniversityPress

MARKAK IS JOHN AND NEGA AYELE

1978 Class and Revolution in Ethiopia Nottingham SpokesmanMASSEY DOUGLAS S JOAQUIacuteN ARANGO GRAEME HUGO ALI KOUAOUCI

ADELA PELLEGRINO AND J EDWARD TAYLO R

1993 ldquoTheories of International Migration A Review and Appraisalrdquo Population andDevelopment Review 19(3)431-466

MCCANN JAMES C1986 ldquoHousehold Economy Demography and the lsquoPushrsquo Factor in Northern

Ethiopian History 1916-35rdquo Review 9(3)369-4111990 ldquoA Great Agrarian Cycle Productivity in Highland Ethiopia 1900-1987rdquo Journal

of Interdisciplinary History 20(3)389-416MELOTTI UMBERTO

1985a ldquoLe nuove migrazioni internazionalirdquo Pp 13-35 in La nuova immigrazione a MilanoPrimi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto Melotti Milan Mazzotta

190 sup2 Riley amp Emigh

1985b ldquoLrsquoimmigrazione straniera a Milanordquo Pp 37-46 in La nuova immigrazione a MilanoPrimi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto Melotti Milan Mazzotta

1985c (ed) La nuova immigrazione a Milano Primi dati di una ricerca Milan Mazzotta1988 ldquoLrsquoimmigrazione dal Terzo Mondo in Italia cause tendenze caratteristicherdquo

Terzo Mondo 31-325-241989 ldquoVerso una tipologia delle comunitagrave straniere in Italiardquo Pp 43-61 in Le migrazioni

dallrsquoAfrica mediterranea verso lrsquoItalia edited by Carlo Maccheroni and Arnaldo MauriMilan Giuffregrave

MELOTTI UMBERTO ANTONIO AIMI AND LEILA ZIGLIO

1985 ldquoIntegrazione sociale e identitagrave culturale degli immigrati del Terzo Mondoa Milano unrsquoindagine campionariardquo Pp 47-72 in La nuova immigrazione a MilanoPrimi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto Melotti Milan Mazzotta

MELOTTI UMBERTO AND ROBERTA VALTORTA

1985 Stranieri a Milano Immagini di una nuova immigrazione Milan MazzotaMESTHRIE RAJEND

1993 ldquoKoineization in the Bhojpuri-Hindi Diaspora ndash with Special Reference to SouthAfricardquo International Journal of the Sociology of Language 9925-44

METERE LP1983 ldquoIndagine campionariardquo Pp 105-175 in Il ghetto diffuso lrsquoimmigrazione straniera

a Milano edited by P Caputo Milan AngeliMORAWSKA EWA

1990 ldquoThe Sociology and Historiography of Immigrationrdquo Pp 187-238 in ImmigrationReconsidered History Sociology and Politics edited by Virginia Yans-McLaughlinNew York Oxford University Press

NADEL SF1944 Races and Tribes of Eritrea Asmara British Military AdministrationNEGASH TEKESTE

1986 No Medicine for the Bite of a White Snake Notes on Nationalism and Resistance in Eritrea1880-1940 Sweden Uppsala

1987 Italian Colonialism in Eritrea 1882-1941 Sweden UppsalaOLIVER ROLAND AND ANTHONY ATMORE

1994 Africa Since 1800 Cambridge Cambridge University PressORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

1997 Trends in International Migration Continuous Reporting System on Migration Annual Report1996 Paris Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

PANKHURST RICHARD

1967 ldquoTribute Taxation and Government Revenues in Nineteenth and Early Twenti-eth Century Ethiopia (Part I)rdquo Journal of Ethiopian Studies 5(2)37-87

PATEMAN ROY

1990 Eritrea Even the Stones are Burning Trenton NJ The Red Sea PressPOOL DAVID

1983 ldquoEritrean Nationalismrdquo Pp 175-193 in Nationalism and Self Determination in the Hornof Africa edited by IM Lewis London Ithaca Press

POSTIGLIONE VENANZIO

1999 ldquoLa lega in piazza contro gli immigratirdquo Corriere della sera July 18thPROUTY CHRIS AND EUGENE ROSENFELD

1981 Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia Metuchen NJ The Scarecrow PressRINEHART ROBERT

1982 ldquoHistorical Settingrdquo Pp 1-63 in Somalia A Country Study edited by Harold DNelson Washington United States Government Printing Of ce

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 191

RYSTAND GOumlRAN

1992 ldquoImmigration History and the Future of International Migrationrdquo InternationalMigration Review 261168-1199

SALT JOHN

1992 ldquoThe Future of International Labor Migrationrdquo International Migration Review26(4)1077-1111

SAMATAR ABDI ISMAIL

1992 ldquoDestruction of State and Society in Somalia Beyond the Tribal ConventionrdquoThe Journal of Modern African Studies 30625-641

SCOTT JAMES C1985 Weapons of the Weak Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance New Haven Yale

University PressSHENK CALVIN E1972 ldquoThe Italian Attempt to Reconcile the Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Use of

Religious Celebrations and Assistance to Churches and Monasteriesrdquo Journal ofEthiopian Studies 10125-135

SHERMAN RICHARD

1980 Eritrea The Unnished Revolution New York PraegerSIRONI BRUNA

1988 ldquoLa communita eritrea in Lombardiardquo Terzo Mondo 31-3246-78SKOCPOL THEDA AND MARGARET SOMERS

1980 ldquoThe Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiryrdquo Comparative Studies inSociety and History 22174-281

TEGEGN MELAKO U

1994 ldquoEritrea Evolution Towards Independence and Beyondrdquo Pp 45-76 in Ethiopia inChange Peasantry Nationalism and Democracy edited by Abebe Zegeye and SiegfriedPausewang London British Academic Press

TILLY CHARLES

1990 ldquoTransplanted Networksrdquo Pp 79-95 in Immigration Reconsidered History Sociologyand Politics edited by Virginia Yans-McLaughlin New York Oxford UniversityPress

TSEGGAI ARAIA

1986 ldquoHistorical Analysis of Infrastructural Development in Italian Eritrea 1885-1941(Part One)rdquo Journal of Eritrean Studies 1(1)19-33

1987 ldquoHistorical Analysis of Infrastructural Development in Italian Eritrea 1885-1941(Part Two)rdquo Journal of Eritrean Studies 1(2)10-25

VEUGELERS JOHN WP1994 ldquoRecent Immigration Politics in Italy A Short Storyrdquo West European Politics 1733-

49VENTURI SILVIA

1991 ldquoImmigrati del sottosviluppo nel sottosviluppo italianordquo Sociologia e ricerca sociale3437-48

WOOLF LEONARD

1919 Empire and Commerce in Africa A Study in Economic Imperialism London Allen andUnwin

ZIGLIO LEILA

1985 ldquoLe donne del Terzo Mondo a Milanordquo Pp 73-105 in La nuova immigrazionea Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto Melotti Milan Mazzotta

1988 ldquoLe donne eritree a Milano date e confrontirdquo Terzo Mondo 31-3260-78

Post-Colonial Journeys Historical Roots of Immigration and Integration sup2 191

RYSTAND GOumlRAN

1992 ldquoImmigration History and the Future of International Migrationrdquo InternationalMigration Review 261168-1199

SALT JOHN

1992 ldquoThe Future of International Labor Migrationrdquo International Migration Review26(4)1077-1111

SAMATAR ABDI ISMAIL

1992 ldquoDestruction of State and Society in Somalia Beyond the Tribal ConventionrdquoThe Journal of Modern African Studies 30625-641

SCOTT JAMES C1985 Weapons of the Weak Everyday Forms of Peasant Resistance New Haven Yale

University PressSHENK CALVIN E1972 ldquoThe Italian Attempt to Reconcile the Ethiopian Orthodox Church The Use of

Religious Celebrations and Assistance to Churches and Monasteriesrdquo Journal ofEthiopian Studies 10125-135

SHERMAN RICHARD

1980 Eritrea The Unnished Revolution New York PraegerSIRONI BRUNA

1988 ldquoLa communita eritrea in Lombardiardquo Terzo Mondo 31-3246-78SKOCPOL THEDA AND MARGARET SOMERS

1980 ldquoThe Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiryrdquo Comparative Studies inSociety and History 22174-281

TEGEGN MELAKO U

1994 ldquoEritrea Evolution Towards Independence and Beyondrdquo Pp 45-76 in Ethiopia inChange Peasantry Nationalism and Democracy edited by Abebe Zegeye and SiegfriedPausewang London British Academic Press

TILLY CHARLES

1990 ldquoTransplanted Networksrdquo Pp 79-95 in Immigration Reconsidered History Sociologyand Politics edited by Virginia Yans-McLaughlin New York Oxford UniversityPress

TSEGGAI ARAIA

1986 ldquoHistorical Analysis of Infrastructural Development in Italian Eritrea 1885-1941(Part One)rdquo Journal of Eritrean Studies 1(1)19-33

1987 ldquoHistorical Analysis of Infrastructural Development in Italian Eritrea 1885-1941(Part Two)rdquo Journal of Eritrean Studies 1(2)10-25

VEUGELERS JOHN WP1994 ldquoRecent Immigration Politics in Italy A Short Storyrdquo West European Politics 1733-

49VENTURI SILVIA

1991 ldquoImmigrati del sottosviluppo nel sottosviluppo italianordquo Sociologia e ricerca sociale3437-48

WOOLF LEONARD

1919 Empire and Commerce in Africa A Study in Economic Imperialism London Allen andUnwin

ZIGLIO LEILA

1985 ldquoLe donne del Terzo Mondo a Milanordquo Pp 73-105 in La nuova immigrazionea Milano Primi dati di una ricerca edited by Umberto Melotti Milan Mazzotta

1988 ldquoLe donne eritree a Milano date e confrontirdquo Terzo Mondo 31-3260-78