Financial Times

"Little Italy" in the town of Wennappuwa
By Quintus Perera
Land prices in the town of Wennappuwa and its suburbs have shot up and command rates as high as around Rs 500,000 per perch - equivalent to the suburbs of Colombo.

Many children in the town attend 'big schools' in the metropolis while lots of families own vehicles, some of them luxury cars or jeeps. Those who were fishermen before going abroad haven't gone back to their old trade. What's so unusual about this once-sleepy fishing village?

The magic of this town buzzing with new found wealth lies in the fact that one member out of less than three families has migrated to Italy for a better future. According to Hector Appuhamy, Chairman, Wennappuwa Pradeshiya Sabha, of the 70,565 people or 18,335 families in the area, 6,786 has migrated to Italy mainly for employment.

Economic activity continues to boom with palatial residences all over the coastal areas of Ulhitiya, Thaldeka and Dummaladeniya, west of Wennappuwa, resembling a "Little Italy".

As one drives through roads in Wennappuwa off the main Colombo-Puttalam highway, there are large houses, either complete or in the process of being completed. Shan Hamza, Officer in Charge of Hanifa Travels & Tours which handles the Qatar Airways agency in Wennappuwa, says the agency since its opening two months ago has daily averaged around 10 reconfirmations and of this five to six tickets are issued to destinations in Italy. Qatar found it opportune to set up its branch in Wennappuwa as there is a large outflow of people to Italy. Qatar operates four flights weekly to Milan and Rome.

W. B. Tissera, a resident of Thaldeka said he went to Milan in 1997 having been sponsored by a relative there. He paid around Rs 300,000 to a job agent and obtained a visa. He returned home on November 2 and hopes to fly back to his workplace in Italy after Christmas. "Out of my earnings from Italy my wife has put up this house which costs us around Rs 2.2 million. I have three children, two daughters a son. Before I took up the job in Italy I was involved in the tourism trade in Sri Lanka for 12 years."

We drove through several areas in Wennappuwa and spoke to many residents who had either come back to Sri Lanka for a short holiday or returned permanently after earning enough for the future. Most preferred to remain anonymous, the reason being that they entered Italy as illegal immigrants and subsequently obtained valid visas.

There are whole families who have migrated to Italy and obtained citizenship in that country. One family in Ulhitiya is renovating their posh residence to be given on lease. The family of four plans to settle down in Italy. The head of the family has been in Italy for the last 16 years and is now an Italian citizen.

A woman in Thaldeka said her husband went to Italy at the age of 19 years in 1983, crossing the border illegally. After obtaining his visa he came to Sri Lanka five years later and got married. The wife also went to Italy after being sponsored by somebody else and worked there for five years.

The husband is still in Italy and he returns every year. The family has built a massive, two-storied house with a concealed basement. The house was completed around 10 years ago. The husband is an Italian citizen.

With their two children they often shuttle to and from Italy. They spent several millions to complete the house. Another person from Ulhitiya went to Milan in 1989, crossing the Russian border illegally and was given a visa in 1990. He has also worked in Rome for some time.

Residents say there are a large number of Wennappuwa people in Catania in Italy but wages are low there and most now want to relocate to Milan where wage levels are better.

A fisherman who went to Italy returned a few years later, built a house and bought a luxury passenger coach. He now makes a living hiring the vehicle. Illegal job agents in Sri Lanka charge staggering fees and have arranged these life-and-death journeys to Italy. These agents operate with the Mafia in Italy. Small groups of Sri Lankans and other nationals are taken to Yugoslav cities close to the Italian border travelling in tightly closed trucks across thick jungle. At the edge of the jungle the group would disembark and the guide leads them on a 90-minute walk through rugged terrain.

One man who undertook this 3-hour tiresome journey, said Mafia agents take charge of groups in Italy. They would be taken to nearest restaurants and after waiting there for some time they would be accompanied to various places where contacts would be made and kept in the country. Others took the river crossing to cross the border.

Large numbers of these illegal immigrants in Italy were issued visas when Italy became the venue for the World Football Cup Finals in 1990. OnceYugoslavia broke up trafficking illegal immigrants through that country stopped.

Other means of entering Italy were sought. Some experienced fishermen with some impoverished naval equipment and navigational methods with the connivance of some Sri Lankan business people began taking illegal immigrants in boats across the seas creating the infamous 'boat people'.

Some of them were unlucky with their over-loaded boats capsizing and passengers being drowned in mid-sea while others were caught by the border guards of these countries and deported. Only the lucky 'boat people' reached Italy.

Most of the Sri Lankan illegal migrants live in Naples, Catania, Csicli, Brescia, Florance, Padua, Milan, Verona, Bologna, Venice and Cirakusa. Working conditions are good with EPF provided. Completion of the minimum number of years such as 15 years service and reaching 55 years would entitle one to a pension. Lot of foreigners in Italy work as domestic workers in apple and grape farms, in piggeries and factories. Wages range from Euros 500 to 1500 per month.

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