Appeal to mayors: “Give foreign children honorary citizenship”

The proposal is to give honorary citizenship to children born in Italy of foreign parents, and more generally, to foreign minors who have been resident in Italy for at least five years. The proposal has been made by the Migrant Coordination Committee of Varese Province, as we approach 10 December, the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “This is a date that we should remember,” explained one of the promoters, Alessandra Pessina, the chairperson of the sports association, UISP Varese, and the association of Italian partisans, ANPI. “In the past, we organised the initiative ‘Dress in yellow against the racism’, but this year, we are proposing an even more concrete action.”

The Committee has sent 80 councils in Varese Province resolution proposals. “We are asking mayors in Varese Province to perform an act of civility,” said Sergio Moia, of the provincial secretariat of the trade union CISL. “We contacted the towns and villages with more than five thousand inhabitants, and smaller ones with a greater presence of foreign minors. The purpose of this proposal is to start with a local request, and to reach higher up, in order to modify the law on citizenship.”

The data released this morning shows that there were 16,152 immigrant minors living in the Varese Province at the end of 2010.

“These numbers force us to reflect at both national and local levels,” Oriella Riccardi of the trade union CGIL, in Varese, declared. “18.4% of new births in Italy are of immigrant parents, and a quarter of these new births are in Lombardy; in Varese, 1351 babies were born to immigrant parents between 2010 and 2011. We think that the request to modify the law on citizenship is an essential step forward; the President of the Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, has himself said this several times. Because of this, we are appealing to councils: take this step forward.”

The Migrant Coordination Committee of Varese Province is a movement that brings together associations, trade unions and immigrant communities. For a number of years, it has been active in the area of integration and in the fight against prejudice. The initiatives include “Dress in yellow against racism” and the party “Town squares of the world”, but also many protests against discrimination and intolerance. On the theme of citizenship, a collection of signatures in the campaign “Italy is also me” has started.

The Committee includes: associations and communities of immigrants from Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Brazil, Cameroon, Ecuador, Eritrea, the Philippines, the Mauritius Islands, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Romania, Senegal, Togo, the Ukraine, ACLI Colf Varese e Gallarate, ACLI Varese, Amnesty, ANOLF Varese ONLUS, ANPI, APV-Ass. Provinciale Pakistani Varesini, ARCI Varese, Ass. AgodellaBilancia, Ass. Anna-Sofia, Ass. Cittadini del mondo ONLUS, @ssoci@zione cultur@le v@rese, Ass. Donne da Oltre la Frontiera, Ass. I Colori del Mondo, Association Elikya R.D.C, Ass. “I figli del Congo”, Ass. Vo.C.E- ONLUS, Ass. Yacouba per l’Africa, Banca Etica, Caritas Ambrosiana, CGIL Camera del Lavoro Varese, Cooperativa Lotta contro l’emarginazione, Coordinamento Immigrati CGIL, Circolo ACLI People, CISL Varese, Comitato Progetto Cernobyl Induno Olona, Comitato varesino per la Palestina, Cooperativa Com Service, CTP EDA Centro Territoriale Permanente per l’istruzione e la formazione in età adulta di Varese, FiabCiclocittà, IPSIA Varese ONLUS, L’albero di Antonia, Legambiente Varese, Libera, UIL Varese, UISP Varese, Un’altra storia, U.S. ACLI Varese.