Identity in first and second generation migrants belonging to a Tunisian Community in Mazara del Vallo (Sicily)

Abstract

In Sicily, the increasing presence of immigrants has given the society an important challenge which has also required the adoption of an intercultural view and intervention designed to deepen the needs of migrants. Immigrants living in Sicily are distributed above all in coastal areas. The most numerous migrant communities come from Romania, Tunisia and Morocco. In the province of Trapani, the presence of foreigners reflects the regional distribution with migrants from Romania, Tunisia and Morocco. However, a different distribution of the population has been recorded in Mazara del Vallo, a small town in the province of Trapani, where a Tunisian community justifies the prevalence of Tunisians (77.7%) above any other group of immigrants living in the city. The presence of the Tunisian community in Mazara Del Vallo for over forty years allows us to identify the variety in needs between first generation and second generation migrants. Particularly, this study explores the issue of redefining one’s personal identity in both I and II generation migrants and the differences that emerge between them through the text analysis of interviews conducted on 40 immigrants, 20 pertaining to first generation migrants and the remaining 20 belonging to the second generation: parents and children, all members of the Tunisian community of Mazara del Vallo.