Italiaanse arbeiders in de Limburgse mijnstreek en in Twente. Aanpassingsproblemen en sociale begeleiding

Samenvatting

An inquiry into the problems of integration of young unmarried M Italians, temporary immigrants, in the Netherlands coal-mining district of Limburg & in the textile industrial region of Twente. If soc change from traditional societies into the highly developed industrial regions is important, 3 types of reactions among immigrants may arise: positive, indifferent, negative. In both Dutch regions the Italian groups acted in a positive way, accepting the functional & structural diff's & taking advantage of them. In both regions econ conditions hardly varied but soc conditions greatly differed. The employers of Limburg mainly dealt with the immigrant workers re the recommendations of the UNESCO conference of Apr 1956. Some favorable results may be attributed to this kind of admin, eg, the influence of trained interpreters & diligent & assiduous soc & religious workers. The process of integration is smoother when the group is not too large & homogeneous, & the site of the boarding-houses, inside the towns or outside, proved to be important in many respects. The employers of the Twente textile district generally limited their care to financial conditions, training & lodging. Public authorities hardly paid attention to promoting integration. This proved to be insufficient & there were riots. Main factors seemed to be lack of knowledge of the language & customs; eg, the long visits the Italians paid to bars & cafes without drinking much, & their manner of courting girls. On the other hand, aggressive young autochtonic people provoked the immigrants' anger. Very few clubs accepted the Italians, but they did not care much for such club memberships anyway. If immigrants, individuals as well as groups, seem to be incapable of sufficient integration (because of lack of educ, lack of ability, egocentrism, or otherwise), the public authorities have to develop a program of integration & apply it as soon as possible, in order to avoid econ & soc troubles. AA.