BADANTI, migrant women from Eastern Europe

ITALIE , MOLDAVIA , POLAND , UKRAINE, ROMANIA
The Italian expression “Badanti” indicates all these women that come to Italy from Eastern Europe, to work as home carer and to look after elderly people, day and night; job that allows them to economically support their distant families. This is becoming a real social issue in Italy, one of the countries with the highest rate of aged people in Europe, where a demand for help is constantly rising. And the answer is coming from immigration, more or less clandestine..

Most of them are young and are highly educated; and most of them come from Ukraine, Romania, Poland, Moldavia, or Byelorussia. They are perceived as a sort of “safety member” in the family, soon becoming fundamental for its serenity and for the old person well being; but this role is very contriving for the “badanti” as they have to accept strong restrictions on their personal freedom.