Thursday, December 1, 2011  The Immigration Question  Note: I’m
honored to be added to the roster at Novel Adventurers. From its
inception, I’ve followed this blog and envied the zest for life,
writing, and travel the contributors exhibit.  Since I came to
live in Rome in 2002, the percentage of legal immigrants has
risen almost 50 percent, from about 1.5 million to nearly 4.5.
The number of illegals adds about another million. Chinese
Grocery Shop in Rome Until this influx began, Italian culture,
with its focus on food and family, had remained essentially
unchanged for centuries. Now, people are feeling threatened by
the way Chinese restaurants and Halal butchers have popped up
everywhere. The Immigration Question gets almost as much
newspaper ink and air time as ex-Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi.  Some people take their frustration out on
individuals. I once saw a Chinese man unload merchandise from
his car onto a handcart and begin pushing it towards his shop.
An Italian man hit the boxes, strewing them