Is Neapolitan immigration different compared to the rest of Italy?
You stay in Naples to get your papers in order. In Naples, with its precariousness and its difficulties, immigrants can go almost unnoticed. They blend in with the population because they face more or less the same difficulties as Neapolitans. In Naples, it’s certainly easier to survive than in more regulated cities like Turin or Milan. If you want to wander around the Piazza Garibaldi, for example, you’ll find Italian and Senegalese hawkers working side by side. We often visit the morning markets where prostitutes are working. It’s interesting to see that in the midst of the market, among people selling vegetables or appliances, prostitutes are blending into these activities. I wouldn’t go so far as to say there’s real acceptance, but there’s definitely a certain tolerance linked to the fact that everyone works in the street. The solidarity is based on the principle that ‘we’re all from the street.’ The huge difficulties faced by people living on the margins create these ‘links of the
