Keralites in Italy fear anti-India wave
They fear losing jobs in Italy.
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Their relatives in Kerala feel that anti-Indian felling among the Italians is not obvious at present but things could go bad any moment.
Keralites constitute 20 per cent of the total 1,00,000 Indians in Italy.
“Usually, a tiny Indian State like Kerala need not be familiar to average businessmen or government officials in Italy. But the arrest of the two marines by the Kerala Police changed that situation. Italians now have specific knowledge of Kerala thanks to the killings and the row over that,” said Oommen Thomas, relative of an NRK in Italy from Pathanamthitta.
Though no anti-India sentiment is perceptible on the surface, there are rumours of Keralites losing job in private firms in Rome and other cities.
“It is not clear whether such job losses are the result of the domestic economic problems there or due to deliberate anti-Kerala stance in the wake of the Marines’ row. The fact is that the Keralites’ community there is anxious,” he said.
There were rumors that certain multinational companies based in Italy had developed a tendency of keeping aside job applications from Keralites.??
But Regina, relative of a computer engineer in Naples, said that this need not be true.
“Companies there seem to be taking extra care while processing Indians’ applications,” Regina, from Thiruvalla, said.
Both Regina and Thomas, however, said that the general feeling among the Indians, especially Keralties, in Italy is that Rome has the responsibility to return the two marines to India as per the assurance the Italian government had given to the Indian Supreme Court through its Ambassador in New Delhi.
A resident of Changanassery, working in Rome as a senior nurse, who did not want to be identified, said Indians applying for Italian citizenship could face problems now.
“There are reports that government officials in Rome are refusing to entertain pleas for expediting the processing of Keralites’ files. I am not sure how true these reports are,” she said.
A prominent Kochi-based member of the Latin Catholic Church said that it was Italy which should be taking care not to jeopardize the relations with India.
The Supreme Court had last month allowed the two marines to visit their home for four weeks to take part in general elections there.
However, even before the time period ended, Italy refused to send back its marines, forcing the Supreme Court to restrain the Italian ambassador from leaving India.
Source: The Pioneer
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