Italian Exodus

DURATION: 7 MINUTES 48 SECONDS

SPANISH SPEECH

00:02 The Italian Embassy; Buenos Aires.

00:07 It's six in the morning. A crowd waits patiently for the Embassy doors to open. Some have been here all night.

00:19 These Argentinians are all of Italian descent, the children and grand-children of immigrants who landed here at the turn of the century.

00:28 Now, with Argentina’s economic crisis showing no sign of letting up, many want to go back to Italy.

00:38 The Italian Consul General in Buenos Aires, Vincenzo Palladino.

00:44 The last twelve months have seen a steady increase in the numbers of nationals applying for Italian passports.

00:50 The Consulate is struggling to cope with the volume of work.

00:54 VINCENZO PALLADINO, ITALIAN CONSUL GENERAL, BUENOS AIRES, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"The pressure over the past year, throughout all of 2000, has increased dramatically. The consulate is permanently under extreme pressure. We are operating at the limits of our capabilities, subsequently we can't deal with everyone who comes here. Every day we have approximately four hundred people coming to the consulate. The limit of this office, and that is operating at full capacity, is of 80 to one hundred people per day."

01:29 Fifty year old Marta Sanguinetti is preparing to leave Argentina to join her husband in Florence. He has spent the last six months there, living with relatives while he looks for work.

01:40 For seventeen years the Sanguinetti's ran a pasta making shop in Buenos Aires. Last year it went bust. It proved to be the last straw for Marta and her husband. They now feel they have no choice but to leave.

01:56 MARTA SANGUINETTI, ARGENTINE IMMIGRANT, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"It's a shame, a terrible shame. Even though I do love Italy, I also love Argentina. But the situation here has now become unbearable. There is no work, none of us feel safe, there are no prospects for anyone. There is no future. Nobody can see a future here. So we really have no choice."

02:19 (UPSOUND: Ship's horn and ship noises)

02:22 Marta’s father was one of hundreds of thousands of Europeans, the majority Italian, who migrated to Argentina at the start of the twentieth century.

02:32 (UPSOUND: Ship noises)

02:36 They came to work in the country's factories and farms at a time of economic growth and development.

02:43 (UPSOUND: Crowds on dockside)

02:48 The immigrants arrived at Buenos Aires' 'La Boca' port where they would be greeted by landowners desperate for workers.

02:56 (UPSOUND: Crowds)

03:00 It was a prosperous time.

03:04 Today 'La Boca' is very different. Looking out over the Rio de la Plata it is now a popular tourist destination.

03:13 Though still operational it is no longer the bustling hub that once welcomed thousands to a brave new world.

03:23 It was in the bars and cafes of the dockside that the new arrivals celebrated their good fortunes. These heady nights spent drinking and singing led to the birth of one of Argentina's best loved and most passionate of traditions - tango.

03:39 (UPSOUND: Tango singer)

03:52 The party ended long ago, and today unemployment stands at 14.7 per cent. For many, it is time to leave.

04:01 VINCENZO PALLADINO, ITALIAN CONSUL GENERAL, BUENOS AIRES, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"It's not so simple to just go to Italy and find work. It's true that in Italy there is a need for manual labourers. But I'm not convinced that the vast majority of Argentines are qualified or able to take up these jobs once in Italy. At the moment these manual jobs are taken up by immigrants from Eastern European and African, North African nations."

04:31 (UPSOUND: Drums)

04:35 The national crisis has seen protestors taking to the streets, angry at the government’s inability to end what is now three years of recession.

04:43 (UPSOUND: Drums)

04:47 The start of the year saw the IMF announce a 39.7 (b) billion US dollar loan package to revive the slumping economy. This is one of a series of measures taken to try to boost foreign and domestic confidence.

05:04 But it has done little to change the mood of the nation. A quarter of the 37 million population now live below the poverty line.

05:16 The country's powerful unions are vowing to step up a campaign of civil disobedience. Protesters are growing increasingly impatient.

05:24 (UPSOT: Protester giving speech)

05:35 President De La Rua is under increasing pressure as his government fails to find a solution - so far a series of economic reforms and programmes have had little positive impact.

05:50 PRESIDENT DE LA RUA, ARGENTINE PRESIDENT:

"Employment is a priority. Corruption. Security. These are all important issues. These are concrete issues that need to be addressed. But the most important and immediate issue to be dealt with is the state of the economy. We have a tremendous deficit. It is important that we create an environment of support and consensus so that we can all work to reduce spending, improve our debt repayments, improve our credit, and reduce interest rates so that we can move on."

06:23 Meanwhile the embassy queues are continuing to form daily. For many, the paperwork allowing a possible return to Italy acts as a safety net should the situation become intolerable.

06:36 But with demand continuing to grow consulates are now handing out appointment cards to applicants. The volume of work means that many of those in this line will not be able to see an Embassy official for another six months.

06:52 GRACIELA, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"It's impossible to continue living here. There is no future for our children or grandchildren. At this rate we're all going to die of hunger."

07:00 MARIA SERINGA, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"I emigrated from Italy and came here because there were problems back there. Now there are problems here. What are we supposed to do? Keep moving?"

07:09 SALVADOR SORACE, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"Here we all work, but can't survive. The thieves are at the top, and the poor are at the bottom."

07:19 MARTA SANGUINETTI, ARGENTINE IMMIGRANT, IN SPANISH WITH ENGLISH TRANSLATION:

"It's a terrible shame, but we all have to go because of the economic situation. The country is marvellous. The common people are marvellous. But those in power are not."

07:33 Unless the country's economy performs a dramatic and miraculous turnaround soon, this could prove to be the end of the line for thousands of Argentines.

07:48 ENDS