Introduction

In Italy, the first Western country to be severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing crisis, immigrants have played a key role to address the critical situation. Besides being critical epidemic workers (Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2020), immigrants, individually and collectively, have done much to come to the aid of both the immigrant and Italian populations with solidarity initiatives.

This study examines Italian immigrants' solidarity during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is based on 64 in-depth interviews with 'immigrants' (including naturalized citizens and ‘second generations') who participated in COVID-19 solidarity initiatives. As will be seen, this research examined both fixed and continuous solidarity actions, especially by immigrant organizations and religious communities, and more individual, shorter, and occasional forms of help linked to specific needs or requests (Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2021).

This study seeks to fill a gap in the growing literature on immigrants and COVID-19. Most literature on solidarity during COVID-19 focuses on immigrants' actions for fellow immigrants (Black, Chattopadhyay & Chisholm, Reference Black, Chattopadhyay and Chisholm2020; Galam, Reference Galam2020; Kynsilehto, Reference Kynsilehto2020) or pro-migrant initiatives from 'native' actors (e.g., Bauder & Godoy, Reference Bauder and Godoy2020; Falicov et al., Reference Falicov, Niño and D'Urso2020). Instead, here, we observed how immigrants' support also unfolded toward the receiving society in general, beyond the limits of 'co-nationalism.' As will be shown, this participation is driven by the desire for recognition, especially of individual deservingness, and public awareness of minority groups in society.

After this introduction, we will present the theoretical framework, focusing on the definition of recognition and claims of recognition. Then, the study will briefly discuss COVID-related repercussions on immigrants, emphasizing the forms of non- and mis-recognition. A methodology section follows. The main findings will be presented in two main sections, where we analyze the empirical data. The conclusion will discuss the analysis and suggest directions for future research.

Defining Recognition and Claims of Recognition

Recognition is a much disputed and multifaceted topic. Theorists of multicultural politics of recognition have emphasized the individual and social importance of recognition (e.g., Honneth, Reference Honneth2004; Modood, Reference Modood2013). In their readings, recognition revolves around the challenges of accommodating minoritarian customary practices; it can also be defined as cultural recognition, namely the protection and celebration of different and minoritarian cultural expressions (see Chin & Levey, Reference Chin and Levey2022). This equal recognition for different cultures becomes important in light of forms of mis-recognition (the ascription of a negative valuation) and non-recognition (the lack of an acknowledgment) affecting the obtainment of social justice for minority groups and individuals as well as subjective well-being (for a detailed definition of non-/mis-recognition, see Schweiger, Reference Schweiger2019). When a group is constituted as marginal or somehow outside the norm, it is indeed deprived of the capacity to effectively influence the rest of society, and its members may also lose their sense of belonging, self-confidence, and self-respect (Lamont, Reference Lamont2018; Modood, Reference Modood2013). Against this backdrop, recognition takes the form of a process developing through struggles against non- or mis-recognitions (Chin & Levey, Reference Chin and Levey2022). These struggles for recognition are praised for broadening the criteria by which people can gain cultural membership, social justice, and human dignity (Lamont, Reference Lamont2018).

This framing of recognition has been in tension with some feminist scholars. Okin (Reference Okin1994) maintained that the recognition of cultures justifying women's subordination conflicts with the feminist goal of social equality between men and women. Fraser (Reference Fraser2007) warned against the tendency of (multicultural) struggles for recognition to prioritize cultural struggles and the politics of recognition over social struggles and the politics of redistribution. Connolly (Reference Connolly2010) identified, in feminist thinkers such as Judith Butler and Kelly Oliver, the assumption that the struggles for recognition are embedded in relations of dependencies and social domination from hegemonic cultures and dominant institutions.

Migration studies academics concur that hegemonic cultures and dominant institutions shape the terms of recognition struggles. In studies on irregular immigrants, for example, it has been observed how migrants contest the identities of 'non-citizens' assigned to them with counterstrategies and assertions of subjective legitimacy that call attention to their good behavior and reliability (Chauvin & Garcés-Mascareñas, Reference Chauvin and Garcés-Mascareñas2014). In particular, to achieve legal status, they manifest a lifestyle compliant with standards of behavior perceived by the majority as worthy of appreciation (Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2023). 'Performances of deservingness' (Chauvin & Garcés-Mascareñas, Reference Chauvin and Garcés-Mascareñas2014) like these appear to be particularly employed in neoliberal societies for counteracting forms of non- or mis-recognition. Lamont (Reference Lamont2018) found that stigmatized individuals respond to discrimination based on prevailing cultural norms. In neoliberal contexts, specifically, their responses underscore individual self-sufficiency and hard work. These performance-based responses, based on the idea of appealing to ‘deservingness’ in the eyes of the receiving society, have been also emphasized by migrant movements. Dazey (Reference Dazey2021), for example, observed that for French Muslim activists, the best way to fully integrate into the political system is by using 'polite' responses (e.g., good manners and exemplary behavior) instead of confrontational actions.

Neoliberal responses have also been related to active civic participation, by which migrants engaging with churches, ethnic associations, and voluntary organizations positively impact society (see Yap et al., Reference Yap, Byrne and Davidson2011). Such interventions are accused of being complicit with neoliberal logic in sustaining the state's commitment to privatization and the idea of citizenship as something to be personally earned (ibid.). Neoliberal responses generally coincide with 'quiet' actions and a certain reluctance to deploy more confrontational initiatives and tend to reproduce the usual legal and social framework (Lamont, Reference Lamont2018). For critics, they minimize the role that social structures and political or economic power systems play in racism and structural discrimination, contributing to the neutralization of political claims to citizenship (Dazey, Reference Dazey2021; Guzman Garcia, 2016).

However, other works (Balazard et al., Reference Balazard, Carrel, Kaya and Purenne2023; Ellefsen et al., Reference Ellefsen, Banafsheh and Sandberg2022; Strunk, Reference Strunk2015) have highlighted the transformational and subtly political nature of quiet struggles for recognition, challenging this understanding. In contexts where the politicization of discrimination is usually disapproved, there is a tendency to favor subdued behaviors as opposed to overt political endeavors (Balazard et al., Reference Balazard, Carrel, Kaya and Purenne2023; Ellefsen et al., Reference Ellefsen, Banafsheh and Sandberg2022). Nonetheless, these discrete collective endeavors—such as engaging in recreational activities like sports, participating in workshops, and attending festivals (Strunk, Reference Strunk2015)—can lead to awareness of the collective nature of discrimination and imbue individuals with a sense of political consciousness (Balazard et al., Reference Balazard, Carrel, Kaya and Purenne2023).

This dynamic resonates with what scholars have recently observed in connection with 'acts of citizenship.' Acts of citizenship have been originally defined as moments that rewrite established practices, status, and order of citizenship; they often promote a new concept of citizenship via visible claims, like demonstrations and protests, to rewrite the meanings and foundations of citizenship (Isin & Nielsen, Reference Isin and Nielsen2008). Recently, scholars have revised this notion, opening the analysis to a broader set of processes involved in constituting citizens, including those consistent with wider 'technologies of governmentality' that prescribe what it means to be a 'good citizen' worthy of inclusion and rights. This includes acts performed in very discreet ways, through daily experiences, and under less visible guises, like engagement with local people and urban spaces, that, despite the ambiguity, allow the development of politics of belonging contrasting hegemonic and restrictive definitions of citizenship (e.g., Askins, Reference Askins2014; Canepari & Rosa, Reference Canepari and Rosa2017).

In this contribution, recognition has a two-fold level: individual and collective. Specifically, recognition is defined as the legitimate presence of minority groups and their members as co-constitutive of the political community (Chin & Levey, Reference Chin and Levey2022). Unlike standard multicultural recognition, which focuses on celebrating minoritarian cultural expressions, here, recognition represents the relationship of members that look at each other as equal members of a community, aware to belong to the same collective, without simply concealing their differences (see also Modood, Reference Modood2013). This might represent an 'elementary' form of acknowledgment, but it potentially transforms how the polity (the political community) is publicly symbolized.

Aligning with the recent broadening of acts of citizenship and recognition struggles toward quiet initiatives, we will observe how non-confrontational solidarity acts of immigrants during COVID-19 express what we can call 'claims of recognition.' To be clear, with recognition claims, here, we especially indicate both the demand for individual recognition of an individual's 'worth' and collective, positive public acknowledgment of minority groups that make up society. Instead, the recognition of cultural diversity (multicultural standard conception's forte) is less emphasized, perhaps because the particular situation of COVID-19 did not favor initiatives traditionally connected with this aspect, like public protests and cultural events.

In particular, these claims of recognition aim to fight forms of non- or mis-recognition expressing ethno-cultural membership boundaries in receiving society. These boundaries are established by the so-called politics of belonging, which can be defined as 'the dirty work of boundary maintenance' of the community of belonging by the hegemonic political powers (Yuval-Davis, Reference Yuval-Davis2006). Through legislation and public discourses, politics of belongings (re)produce divisions in society between those who 'really' belong and those who do not; by denying recognition (or stimulating negative public regard) to social groups, they establish boundaries of belonging that, in Italy, are often 'thicker' than the legal citizenship, evoking a community of belonging based on 'blood' and 'heritage' (Guglielmi, Reference Guglielmi2020).

Specifically, for immigrants, these solidarity activities represented resources to resist forms of politics of belonging and feed their sense of 'Italianness.' In this context, the pandemic situation (despite many negativities) also opened a space for nurturing a sense of belonging that defied the limits of ethno-cultural belonging as well as for claims of recognition of individual and collective values. As we will observe, however, all this was not without ambiguity and limitations in how these initiatives have reached public appreciation.

COVID-19 Non-/Mis-Recognitions and Italian Membership Ethno-Cultural Boundaries

Italy was the first 'Western' nation to deal with the COVID-19 epidemic in late February 2020, highlighting its systemic difficulties. Public institutions, especially healthcare services, were often underfunded and unable to handle the virus's spike and reach the entire community with supportive programs (Gatti, Reference Gatti2022). The 'lockdowns' implemented to reduce the virus spread were undoubtedly necessary, although they exacerbated socio-economic inequality (Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2020). According to the Italian National Institute of Statistics, the COVID-19 epidemic worsened absolute poverty in Italy (Istat, 2021). People faced fear, isolation, and economic distress.

This condition hurt migrants especially. Immigrants have suffered the most economically from lockdowns. Due to the temporary or informal nature of many of their work contracts, they lost more jobs and had fewer state economic protections (Quaranta et al., Reference Quaranta, Trentini and Villosio2021). Due to healthcare access issues, they were more exposed to SARS-CoV and had trouble getting COVID swab testing (Pagani et al., Reference Pagani, Conti and Giacomelli2021), especially when deprived of legal status.

The pandemic situation exacerbated forms of non-/mis-recognition toward immigrants, too. During the pandemic, migrants faced hostility and discrimination (Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2020). While assaults and beatings against migrants occurred across Italy (e.g., the Guardian, 2020; Krause & Bressan, Reference Krause and Bressan2020), the former Interior Minister, Salvini, tried to politicize the situation by criticizing the Italian government for not defending Italy against migrants, a narration also reflected by those media that linked immigration to the virus (Arcilla-Calderon et al., Reference Arcila-Calderón, Blanco-Herrero, Matsiola, Oller-Alonso, Saridou, Splendore and Veglis2023).

These are only the newest examples of Italians' struggles to accept their multiethnic identity. On the one hand, many statistics and analyses disclose the negative perception of immigrants and diversity in the Italian population; Italy has one of the strongest oppositions to ethnic variety in Western countries (Pew Research Centre, 2019). Simultaneously, political debate and legislation tend to privilege securitarian and discriminatory approaches to migration (Corsi, Reference Corsi2021). Many administrations oppose the construction of mosques or Arabic schools, demonstrating that governmental authorities fail to recognize cultural or religious diversity (Ambrosini et al., Reference Ambrosini, Molli and Naso2022; Artero & Chiodelli, Reference Artero and Chiodelli2019).

Italian boundaries of belonging present a strong ethno-cultural character. Jus sanguinis, which determines citizenship by ancestry, underpins Italian citizenship law. Accordingly, while the Italian 'diaspora' can preserve, impart, or obtain Italian citizenship while living abroad, non-EU migrants must demonstrate 10 years of continuous legal presence in Italy, and minors born in Italy must demonstrate their uninterrupted presence from birth to 18 to apply for naturalization (Ibrido & Marchese, Reference Ibrido and Marchese2020). In the meantime, immigrants cannot vote or run for office, even in municipal elections.

All this is also reflected in the meaning that 'Italianness' has for many Italian citizens. According to Guglielmi (Reference Guglielmi2020), Italians generally consider a person Italian if they share Italian habits, traditions, and, for some, 'blood.' Italian citizens of immigrant descent are likewise affected by non-recognition. Thus, being an immigrant typically means symbolic banishment from Italian society. In conclusion, these understandings do not allow for varied expressions of ‘Italianness’ and tend to exclude immigrant groups, especially visibly different ones (e.g., Blacks and practicing Muslims), from the recognition of their contribution to and membership in Italian society.

Immigrants' Help Toward Immigrants Between Inside Solidarity and Internal Individual Recognition

As highlighted earlier, the pandemic has strongly affected immigrants in Italy. We cannot ignore the profound hardships, yet we note that the pandemic was also a factor that showed and reinvigorated migrants' 'activism.' In particular, many participants offered their help to compatriots and migrants in general during the pandemic, both as members of associations and as single individuals.

As described above, COVID-19 worsened immigrants' economic situation. For migrant groups, some of which are organized according to nationality, immigrants' income reduction has triggered important problems. The activities of their organizations often rely on the contributions of members who find it extremely difficult to donate. Nonetheless, immigrant organizations have responded with innovative and creative initiatives, the most apparent being those that have co-ordinated and distributed critical resources to immigrant people most in need:

(Hadi, male, Senegalese origins).

These initiatives represented solidaristic activism directed inside, toward fellow immigrants, who were often perceived (as in Hadi's case) particularly 'in need.' It is noteworthy, however, how, for some, this feeling appears to have nurtured a willingness to help not only compatriots but also migrants from other countries; in such cases, indeed, all migrants, not only compatriots, can be seen as 'similar' based on shared experiences:

Our migration background leads us to be a little more sensitive to not only compatriots but also other foreigners. So you immediately identify with foreigners. It acts a bit like a mirror because you see yourself in them—the same experiences, the same problems.

(Razi, male, Pakistani).

In particular, many organizations decided to help compatriots as well as other immigrant groups in a difficult economic situation in Italy through donations of food or money for people's basic needs, including utility bills and house rent. Immigrant organizations also tried to provide for other non-material needs. The domestic confinement imposed, especially between March and May 2020, resulted in the worsening of psychological problems due to the lack of normal sociability and the feeling of loneliness (Minozzi et al., Reference Minozzi, Saulle, Amato and Davoli2021). In response, some organizations offered the foreign population mental healthcare and emotional support through telemedicine. The case of the group 'Abrazo Latino,' which provided psychological support to foreigners from Latin America, is the representative:

(Zanita, female, Salvadoran).

Besides these initiatives from immigrant groups (i.e., mutual aid societies, religious communities, and hometown associations), more informal and individual forms of help were directed to compatriots and immigrants. These were often enacted by participants who are also members of immigrant organizations. Individual help concerns many dimensions, from food distribution on an individual basis to individual participation in online fundraising. However, two stand out as primary.

The exceptional measures to safeguard public health caused problems accessing public services and offices, including those needed to renew and obtain residence permits (see Bonizzoni, Hajer, & Artero, Reference Bonizzoni, Artero and Hajer2021). Some interviewees thus gave bureaucratic information or guided and connected people with institutions. In particular, immigrants also suffer from language and information barriers regarding provisions for containing the virus (Carlotti, Reference Carlotti2020). Individual participants decided to disseminate information on measures and access to healthcare services:

(Tetyana, female, Ukrainian).

The roles of advisor and mediator provided by our participants were not generally officially recognized. Participants were reached by requests from compatriots or immigrant people because of their 'fame' or the fame of the association they were engaged in (see also Molli, Reference Molli, Ambrosini, Molli and Naso2023). In these instances of 'inside' solidarity, recognition, and specifically the individual recognition from within one's immigrant community, played a complex but important role: It was both a prerequisite and an incentive for solidarity. In particular, characteristics such as education, language, time spent in Italy, and the 'success' a person may have acquired in Italy lead to a sort of 'internal' social esteem, making one a reference point for other immigrants when in need.

Concurrently, solidarity initiatives can represent a catalyst for this recognition. In particular, giving help offers possibilities for gaining social status within the 'immigrant community.' Many participants admitted to thriving in the role of helper, which gave them meaning, satisfaction, and high social standing within immigrant communities. Even before the pandemic, Demba and Chand were important references for the immigrant communities in Naples and Padua, respectively. Demba achieved a leadership position within the Gambian community in Naples and beyond, representing the Italian delegate of a transnational Gambian network of activists, for his knowledge of Italian and his direct community involvement before and during the pandemic. Chand is a member of the representative body of foreign citizens residing in Padua; according to him, this position was achieved in recognition of his activities in support of fellow immigrants over the years.Footnote ¹

(Demba, male, Gambian).

(Chand, male, Indian).

However, this role is not exclusively reserved for men, as women also hold this position and are important 'nodes' within networks of groups. This is exemplified by Freira, who claims her merit in reaching this position that, in her words, makes her recognized:

(Freira, female, Argentinian).

As these participants suggest, the reference 'agent' role for immigrants also entails an intermediary role with Italian society. This is also evident in individual volunteers and immigrant associations' roles during the pandemic. In particular, as observed earlier, our participants often liaised with Italian institutions to facilitate immigrants' access to the healthcare system and bureaucratic services. In these cases, they often dialogued with Italian institutions and associations to extend forms of collectively organized solidarity to immigrants that were difficult to reach for Italian actors. Another woman, Marìa Marta, recounted her role in establishing an open day for COVID-19 swab tests:

(Marìa Marta, female, Ecuadorian).

These types of help can benefit the institution itself, besides immigrants. For example, Dayananda did language mediation with hospital staff and the hospitals themselves.

(Dayananda, male, Sri Lankan).

Ultimately, as we will observe in the next section, the initiatives of our participants have often involved a dimension that was external to the immigrant communities and directed to the general society and the Italian institutions. All this called for and stimulated the desire for forms of recognition that go beyond the ones offered by compatriots or fellow immigrants.

Expression of Belonging and Claims of Recognition: Immigrant Solidarity Toward Italian Society and its 'Drives'

While the works on migrant solidarity during COVID-19 have generally focused on actions in favor of fellow immigrants (Black, Chattopadhyay & Chisholm, Reference Black, Chattopadhyay and Chisholm2020; Galam, Reference Galam2020; Kynsilehto, Reference Kynsilehto2020), our study has detected the existence of immigrants' solidarity actions benefiting the well-being of the general Italian population. These go through three primary sources of mobilization: immigrant organizations, Italian organizations, and individual aid.

The interviews allowed us to collect many examples of how immigrant organizations also helped Italian society 'at large' during COVID-19: direct distribution of food or goods, infrastructural and logistical support to distributions, and advising on the correct behavior during lockdowns. In this regard, the most common, and probably noteworthy, form of help to Italian entities was fundraising and donations to Italian local administrations and hospitalsFootnote ²; in our 'sample' alone, five immigrant organizations organized such donations. As it will be seen better, there were substantial donations collected by different types of immigrant organizations.

Additionally, immigrants have expressed solidarity through their engagement with Italian associations. In this respect, many participants engaged in national associations before the pandemic and donated their time and energy to organizations’ activities during the COVID-19 emergency. By contrast, others engage specifically in forms of short-term and episodic volunteering (e.g., see Ambrosini, Reference Ambrosini2021). They usually responded to the request of Italian institutions and organizations for assistance during a time of extreme hardship in what could be considered a 'top-down civic project' (Eliasoph, Reference Eliasoph2009). Despite being collectively executed, these initiatives are generally free from a traditional membership in a group. In Faai's case, she joined the initiatives of the municipality of Cremona, Northern Italy.

(Faai, male, Egyptian).

Finally, there are forms of aid that are entirely individual. Some participants disclosed having helped Italian organizations and institutions like hospitals with individual financial donations; however, our participants also carried out other types of creative, individual solidarity actions. A noteworthy case is Assa, who produced and distributed thousands of face masks (first by herself and later with the help of members of her organization) during the first period of the pandemic.

(Assa, female, Burkinabe).

The foregoing examples showed the different ways in which individuals and immigrant organizations expressed solidarity toward Italian society during the pandemic: They have offered valuable resources to Italian institutions in need (e.g., fundraising and donations to municipalities or hospitals). Also they have been committed to helping the most vulnerable people. As shown later, these forms of civic participation have (more or less implicitly) become a harbinger of expectations of recognition from institutions and Italian people alike. Specifically, their initiatives are tied to the dynamics of belonging and articulate claims of recognition that move in two interconnected yet discernible directions: individual recognition and collective recognition.