Italian Villages Welcome Refugees to Avoid Oblivion
- African, Asian refugees seen as last hope for deserted towns
- Calabria region with top jobless rate tries to revive economy
A sale sign sits on the door of a residential property in Satriano, Italy, on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016.
Photographer: Luke MacGregor/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
A mild February afternoon finds nine young men kneeling in prayer on small green and red carpets in a dimly lit dining room of an 18th-century palazzo overlooking the distant shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
The worshipers from countries including Pakistan, Somalia and Mali have crossed continents to arrive in the town of Satriano in Italy’s Calabria region. Their quest for survival or for a better life may also be the last chance for Satriano to escape oblivion in a region whose youth unemployment of 60 percent has made it a land of the aged.