A new generation of students has grown up and studied in Italy, pressing for reforms to citizenship laws that reward those whose blood runs through Italian blood and excludes those who have lived there for their entire lives.

In a report published by the American Foreign Policy magazine, writer Stefania Degnotti said that on November 9, Nadisha Yuyangoda addressed a crowd of hundreds of people, to find out more about the reform of the citizenship law, which is causing great controversy in the Italian media.

"The ethnic minorities in Italy are used as tools of political propaganda, whether from the right side to support white nationalism, or the left to counter the opposition; therefore we demand legal recognition of our existence," she said.

The right to citizenship and cultural assimilation
Last October, the Italian Parliament’s Committee on Constitutional Affairs returned to the discussion table the issue of the current citizenship law reform, dating back to 1992, and the granting of Italian citizenship depends on blood ties; but what is called a cultural right would be a third alternative to a right Citizenship by birth and the right to blood.

The author indicated that the reform proposes adopting the right to citizenship through cultural assimilation, which is acquired mainly by the individual through practicing the Italian education system, in addition to that it aims to support population growth in a country where birth rates are low.

The debate over the citizenship law reform began in 2016 led by former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, and was dismissed after the government - which came to power in early 2018 - targeted immigrants with anti-foreign laws that stripped newly arrived immigrants of human rights.

According to one report, during the 2017-2018 academic year, approximately 842,000 “foreign” students enrolled in Italian government schools did not hold Italian citizenship.

The report classifies students with residence permits who do not hold Italian citizenship as "foreigners". If the law is passed, citizenship will automatically be granted to all children who were born in or entered Italy before the age of 12 and had an education in Italian schools for at least five years.

Italian young men with immigrant backgrounds to Italy stress the importance of obtaining citizenship rights (Getty Images)

Italian New Generations Festival
Yuangoda spoke at the Italian New Generations Festival, organized by Italy's next generation, and featuring the first and second generations of Italians. This festival aims to raise the voice of Italian youth with immigrant backgrounds who do not feel sufficiently represented in Italian politics and stress at the present time the importance of obtaining citizenship rights, as well as demanding fair representation.

The writer indicated that Yuyangoda - the 26-year-old journalist and immigration rights activist - moved to Italy with her family twenty years ago to escape the civil war in Sri Lanka, and although she did not live in a country other than Italy, she could not admit that she was completely Italian, because she You do not have the necessary legal documents.

Yuyangoda could have applied for citizenship after she turned 18, but she did not do so during that year in which people were allowed to apply for citizenship. Anyone who has reached the age of nineteen years and who wishes to apply for citizenship must submit a legal declaration stating good reason for not applying for this application during the first year after reaching the age of eighteen.

The issue of citizenship for Yuyangoda is a matter of principle. She wanted it to be a naturally recognized right, not something to claim, she says, and she is from a large number of descendants of Italian immigrants who demand clarification of this thorny issue. Now, providing evidence that all family members have sufficient income is one of the conditions for applying for citizenship.

Given that many migrants lost their jobs or only found illegal employment options during the economic crisis, they often face a problem in providing evidence of their continued legal stay in the country for a period of ten years.

Because of the high cost of applying for citizenship - about 250 euros ($ 275) - in addition to other bureaucratic expenses, many families give up this right.

Italy is late in immigration reform
According to Italian immigration law expert Pino Giulia, the main challenge is the inability of politicians to clearly distinguish between migrants who are temporarily arriving in Italy as a result of the refugee crisis, and the generations of immigrants who have lived in them since the end of World War II.

For him, Italy was too late in reforming immigration law if it wanted to catch up with the rest of the European Union on immigration laws.

While France and Germany already offer the option of obtaining the citizenship right for foreign children who have had legal residence for at least five and six years in a row, Italy still requires immigrants to stay for a minimum of ten years to obtain this right. In this context, Julia said: "There is a lack of strong political leadership taking concrete actions against xenophobia."

Immigrant youth in all of Italy
The author stated that during the past five years, more millennials are trying to demonstrate their ability to influence political sentiments through committees and meetings, rather than continuing to live as ghosts in the place they consider their home.

But according to Yuyangoda, this may not be enough to attract political attention. She cautioned that the second generation of Italians needs better representation at the institutional and political level, and is one of the biggest gaps in Italian politics today.

In any case, there are young people with immigrant backgrounds everywhere in Italy, except for some vital sectors of Italian society, such as the media and politics. Very few politicians with immigrant backgrounds hold public office.

Simouhamd Kapour, a 37-year-old Moroccan, believes they risk being criticized for their ethnic background and appearance rather than reaching results.

It is reported that Cecile Kenji, who served as Minister of Integration and Youth Policy in Italy from 2013 to 2014, is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and during her tenure was subjected to a large number of racist insults due to the color of her skin, and she was called monkey even by a former member of parliament from the Association Party North Salvini.

Previous generations believed that Italians could not be associated with dark skin or veils (Getty Images)

Part of the Italian community
Kapoor said, "We have been an integral part of this country for decades and have helped us transform it into what it is today."

Although he was raised in Italy from the age of nine, he often feels "non-Italian", given that people used to view him as a foreigner, and added, "Previous generations do not fully understand the idea of ​​modern identity. For them, Italians cannot be associated with dark skin or a veil. Or with eastern features, but the Millennials seem to be more open to this. "

The writer indicated that Kapoor participated in the establishment in 2015 of the National Coordination Organization for New Italian Generations, a group that provides an alternative view on the benefits of a multicultural society for Italy, and has nominated himself for the position of mayor of Genoa, his hometown.

"Reform is an opportunity for those who feel they are part of Italian society to participate on an equal footing in social and political life. We have enjoyed more rights that do not diminish the rights of the rest of the Italians," Kapoor added.

Giulia believes that more years of education are needed to normalize multicultural Italy before an actual change takes place; starting from primary schools is the way forward.

There are already awareness campaigns at the university level, through student-led initiatives. Recently, a group of graduates from the University of Bologna launched the Unlimited Identities project, which aims to send DNA tests to Italian politicians in 2020 and challenge them to reveal their non-Italian origins.

"This project is a symbolic gesture for engaging Italian civil society, and making people aware that accepting immigration flows is critical to creating modern societies. Our tests are just a way to awaken the Italians to an intolerable idea," says Rosa Maria Coro, one of the project's founders. Being Italy is an exclusive blood-related thing. "