Migrants in Italy toil to put food on Europeans' plates
SYRACUSE, Sicily (AP) — Colorful plastic boxes lie evenly spaced on a freshly turned field, ready to be filled with potatoes destined for the plates of diners across Europe. The 14 men lining up to pluck them from the rich soil of eastern Sicily are almost all newcomers to a continent where many eye them with a mix of pity and suspicion.
The desperate quests of record numbers of migrants to cross the Mediterranean have been well-documented. But few know that those who make it here often spend years trapped in an immigration limbo where the only way to make money is to do the back-breaking farm labor that locals shun — but which is critical to feeding the continent.
This week, Interior Minister Angelino Alfano suggested that the newcomers do volunteer work while they wait for their asylum requests to be processed. They are more likely, however, to work under-the-table to earn cash to send home or to fund the next leg of their journeys north.
"The work is good," said Khamis, a 33-year-old from Sudan who was harvesting potato fields near Syracuse this week. He said he earned 50 euros ($56) a day, more than the amount typically cited by aid groups. Payment is usually cash in hand, but often a local agent gets a cut.
In Italy, which has seen a near-record 26,228 migrants arrive so far this year, would-be refugees are housed in special centers where food and clothing are provided. Depending on their immigration status, some receive pocket money in the form of vouchers or cash. Some are allowed to work while their asylum bids are being reviewed, others must wait months or even years before getting the necessary papers. ...
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