Being Eritrean in Milan: the constitution of identity

The research concerns the Eritrean community resident in Milan where it originated around forty years ago. In this thesis I reflect on how people who migrated from Eritrea at different times, and young people who were born from Eritrean parents in Milan, perceive themselves as a community away from their native country; how they perceive the differences and similarities between each other and those considered to be outside this community; and how the memories of the past are perceived by people with different personal and social histories. Since this research relates to the formation of identities and perceptions of the self among a migrant community, issues are analysed with the awareness that movement, dislocation, and re-location have great impact on the perceptions of home and of the self in cultural, historical and social terms