Jaswinder, the man who was looking for a better life and found brutality

Born in 1978 in Shahabpur Jalandhar, Punjab, at the age of twenty-four Jaswinder decided to give a turn to his life and moved to Italy looking for better conditions. After relocating several times in Milan, Potenza, Bari, Naples, he eventually ended up in Rome to work as a milker. But the hardships of the street got his life to take a different course. Today, his home is a bunch of beat-up sacks and a tent, and he makes little money helping people park in the street. But the competition among Indian groups struggling for money can be harsh. One night, when sleeping in the street, Jaswinder was assaulted by an Indian rival who smashed his head with a hammer. After almost two months in a coma, Jaswinder resurrected to life. This story I heard from his voice, while he was visibly moved. He has now returned to the street, but this time he has a new idea in his mind, going back to his country of origin, to start a second life, this time with the people he loves.

This is the story of an Indian man who came to Italy seeking a better life and ended up experiencing the harshness of the street. Born in 1978 in Shahabpur Jalandhar, Punjab, at the age of twenty-four Jaswinder decided to give a turn to his life and moved to Italy looking for better earning opportunities. After relocating several times in Milan, Potenza, Bari, Naples over a time span of almost twenty years, he eventually ended up in Rome to work as a milker. But the hardships of the street got his life to take a different course.

At first, Jaswinder’s case appears not so different from that of many other immigrants from India. Indian immigration to Italy began in the 1960s. Initially, it was mainly regular immigrants, businessmen in the automotive industry, catholic nurses coming from the state of Kerala and other regular workers. But it was in the 1990s that the massive immigration of unskilled Indians from the states of Punjab and Haryana began. Most of them were attracted by weak border controls and an easy access to the low-skilled labor market. In this wake, the size of the Indian population living in Italy has increased five-fold in the last twenty-five years and today Italy has the largest community of Indians in Europe after the United Kingdom.

Most Indians in Italy spend a life of hardship. Their low educational level (according to the 2011 Census, 20% of the Indian immigrants in Italy were illiterate, and almost 40% had an education below the secondary level) makes it difficult for them to integrate in the Italian social fabric. They tend to concentrate in the deprived areas of big cities and their overall condition has worsened after the economic crisis in year 2008.

It is in this scenario that the story of Jaswinder takes place. After working for many years in various parts of Italy, living in poor but descent shared homes, he arrived in Rome where eventually he had to accept to live as a tramp. Today, his home is a bunch of beat-up sacks and a tent, placed near a church. He makes little money doing odd jobs for the nearby shops and also helping people park in the street. Occasionally, the Caritas brings him warm food. But the competition among Indian groups struggling for money can be harsh and indeed some months ago it got the upper hand. One night, when sleeping in the street, Jaswinder was assaulted by an Indian rival who smashed his head with a hammer. Taken to the hospital in desperate conditions, the doctors fought to save his life and, after almost two months in a coma, Jaswinder resurrected to life. This story I heard from his voice, while he was visibly moved. He has now returned to the street, but this time he has a new idea in his mind, going back to his country of origin, to start a second life with the people he loves.