REVIEW - Debate Over Italian 'Model' Town Riace Grows As Rome Gears To Send Local Migrants Out

REVIEW - Debate Over Italian 'Model' Town Riace Grows as Rome Gears to Send Local Migrants Out

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2018) The Italian authorities' decision to transfer migrants from the town of Riace, known for its policy of welcoming migrants as a form of social experiment, has left people split into those touting the model as a successful example of integration and those labeling it as a dubious "business".

Riace gained prominence back in the late 1990s, when then-activist and later mayor Domenico Lucano offered a migrant-welcoming program as a tool to counter depopulation and boost the town's economy. Migrants were allowed to settle in abandoned homes and provided with job training.

In early October, the town returned to the spotlight amid a police announcement that longtime mayor Lucano had been placed under house arrest on suspicion of supporting illegal migration.

The investigation against the mayor was actually launched last year after the prefecture of Reggio Calabria city had sent a commission to Riace, which allegedly detected the misuse of public funds dedicated to the accommodation of migrants. As a result, Lucano has been accused of aiding illegal migration and fraudulently awarding contracts for waste disposal.

Last week, media reported that the Italian Interior Ministry ordered that all migrants of the famous town be transferred to other migrant centers.

According to Marco Affronte, a European Parliament member from Italy, the dismantlement of the project promoted in Riace would be a mistake as it has proved to be an effective model for integration.

"Actually the migrants who used to live in Riace are invited � but not obliged � to leave. The disruption of the project is such a stupid thing ... I think they showed they can be well integrated in the society, and be part of the community. It makes no sense to destroy their lives," Affronte, an independent lawmaker, told Sputnik.

He however stressed the need to clearly separate two situations, the arrest of the mayor and the social aspect of the wider situation in question.

The lawmaker clarified that the story was clear from the legal perspective, as it is up to competent agencies to establish all the facts.

As for the social dimension of the story, Affronte insisted that the mayor managed to prove that integration of migrants can significantly contribute to the development of the local economy.

"Lucano showed us that is possible to integrate migrants, it is possible to live together in peace and productivity, he showed us they can bring us richness. We should learn this lesson and try to commute it into real politics," he opined.

Affronte noted however that Rome's move toward the town perfectly fit its consistently tough stance on migration, and was meant to discourage migrant-welcoming policies.

"The government is used to communicate through strong symbols. The so called Riace-model has been identified as something dangerous for their politics against migrants, so the beginning of this trial perfectly fits to their attempt to de-legitimize everyone who tries to welcome migrants," Affronte said, expressing his personal disagreement with Rome's stance.

Gianmatteo Ferrari, a member of Italy's Lega party, in contrast insisted that Riace could hardly become a role model for the rest of the country, noting that migrants living there mainly do not speak Italian.

"The situation of migrants in the city of Riace is absolutely unusual. They say it is a model for integration and yet, 90 percent of the migrants interviewed by the television responded in English or French. Out of 100 migrants, 90 do not speak Italian. Does this seem like a model of integration? Not for me," Ferrari told Sputnik.

He also stressed that the investigations into the mayor's activities had begun under then-Interior Minister Marco Minniti of the Democratic Party and just continued under his successor Matteo Salvini from the Lega party.

According to Ferrari, the investigations are transparent, and there have been numerous violations of the law on the mayor's part.

"The Riace issue puts the spotlight on the issue of 'migrants,' giving full reason to those who, like Matteo Salvini, have always denounced an undue relationship with those who make money and speculate on these people," he pointed out.

The lawmaker reiterated that controlled and qualified migration was welcome in Italy unlike illegal migration involving criminality and human traffickers, which the new Italian government has been waging war on.