The small town of Riace, in the southern Italian region of Calabria, was a deserted town before it became a model of integration of migrants. After its transformation from deserted town to success story of integration thanks to refugees and the perseverance of Mayor Domenico Mimmo Lucano, it made headlines when the mayor was placed under house arrest on charges of aiding illegal immigration and irregularities in the assignment of waste collection contracts.
The investigation has prompted a campaign in support of the mayor under the hashtag #IstandwithMimmoLucano. The mayor over several years has helped integrate over 6,000 asylum seekers from a total of 20 countries, breathing new life into a town that had very few residents up until 17 years ago.
A model in integration
The American magazine Fortune in 2016 listed the mayor in 40th place in a ranking of the world's 50 most influential leaders. Abroad, Riace is not known anymore only as the town of the 2,500-year-old Riace Bronzes, two statues of Greek warriors and one of Italy's greatest archaeological treasures. It is also known as a place where social inclusion has worked. Everything started in 1998, when 200 refugees from Kurdistan landed in Riace Marina and the association Città Futura (dedicated to Sicilian priest Don Giuseppe Puglisi, killed by the mafia) decided to help them. Their integration started when they were given houses that had been abandoned by their owners.
The city's initiatives
Mayor Lucano's administration worked for the integration of refugees and irregular migrants, opening schools, funding small activities and creating laboratories, bars, bakeries and even door-to-door garbage collection, guaranteed by two young migrants, who used donkeys. Cultural mediators worked alongside the migrants while a special currency helped them in their daily expenses while the administration was waiting for European funding. During the summer, many Europeans visited the small Calabrian 'model' of integration.