Integration, political behaviour and attitude change : A comparative study of 100 southern Spanish and 100 Sicilian migrants in Charleroi, Belgium

This thesis is a comparative study of two groups of migrant workers in Charleroi, Belgium: one Sicilian group from Santa Elizabetta, Agrigento, and one Spanish group from the San Roque area, Andalusia. By means of interviews carried our in the host country Belgium, questions were asked in order to ascertain various political , economic and social beliefs, held by the migrants. These were used to throw light on the various effects of migration.

It was found that those who adapt least, the Spaniards, are those who are more politically aware. The answer to this would seem to lie in the culture of the home village. The Sicilians were found to rely heavily on the extended family, which explains their sense of well being and relative ease of assimilation.

Most European countries are now faced with high unemployment and in some instances xenophobia is high. Many Governments have imposed restrictions on immigration. Besides the political reasons there are also pressing economic reasons which have called for a halt to immigration.

However, the immigrants are now a permanent fixture arc the majority are unlikely to return to the donor countries. The presence of large numbers of foreign workers has become indispensable ever, in times of recession. For the most part in Europe immigrants live on, the fringes of society, they nave not been absorbed or integrated into the host country. To a large extent the initial attitudes of the immigrants coincided with those of the host countries because they saw themselves and were seen as temporary labour. But now they nave become a permanent force which must be reckoned with.