Procura-se uma identidade: análise de um percurso de reconhecimento

A new increase in the human migration phenomenon has been observed in recent decades. However, the directions and routes of this process have been greatly modified. The European continent, a historical source of migrants, has become since the 1980s a favourite area for immigrants. As a result, the continued diffusion of news by the mass media on the arrival of Africans, Asians and Latin Americans has produced an image of invasion by foreigners in the European public opinion. In this adverse context, foreign newcomers have faced the difficult task of rebuilding their identities amidst the dynamics of integration and loss of bonds with their original homeland. Different responses to this process have exposed the plurality of visions held by the migrants on their new land and their relations with the host societies. We sought to understand this plurality departing from the narrative of a Brazilian woman living in Italy. We based our analysis on her perceptions about the daily dilemmas experienced by people who have decided to live permanently abroad, and which are the most common chosen paths adopted to gain recognition and to build hybrid social identities.