Sicily's Indians

On my first day in Palermo, I was surprised to see a sari shop. Sicilians don't exactly walk around wearing the traditional Indian dress. Then there were the curry houses and people with Indian features. (I was told the flower sellers were Tunisians and not from South Asia). As I walked past an Indian shop, the owner stepped out and asked if I was Indian.

He went on to tell me about how he came from Punjab illegally but has been in Palermo for 13 years with a legal status, where he pays a lot of taxes! "They don't give Italian visas in Delhi," he said. When I reminded him that illegal immigrants were the reason behind tough visa rules, he hit back saying that "you Bombayites have the money from birth and can do whatever you please but object when the rural poor want a better life"

I honestly loathe human smuggling and the barely educated people who illegally immigrate to the West or any developed country for that matter. Such people are the bane of the decent hard-working and educated Indian. But Sicily doesn't seem to mind these Indians. Many young people in Palermo relish Indian food at these curry houses and also appreciate the hard-working Indians who run cyber cafes and phone centres late into the night.

One Sicilian even told me that South Asian migrants were a boon to Palermo and helped the economy. This man did not have kind words for what he calls thousands of clandestine Americans living and working in Rome as tourist guides, illegally. "Don't they need visas? Does anyone even care." he said.

See this link for an analysis on immigration in Sicily.

http://www.bestofsicily.com/mag/art181.htm

I have to add that many people in Palermo assumed that I was an immigrant especially since I speak Italian. So, when I went to the more expensive places dressed well and with my DSLR camera, there were stares. A well to do, well-dressed dark man.. hmmm.. That is a rare phenomenon in Sicily.