Italy’s Last Chance At Bat

After the town closed its two Islamic centers, Muslims in Monfalcone pray in an empty parking lot. Photo courtesy of AFP.

In April 2023, Monfalcone, a small city in Northern Italy, banned the game of cricket. The ban prohibits the sport from being played within city limits and punishes offenders with a fine. The game is popular with the city’s Bangladesh population, which makes up one-third of Monfalcone’s population as a result of having immigrated in large numbers to the Italian city and others like it, looking for employment. In Monfalcone, many of these immigrant workers are drawn to the city by jobs at the Fincantieri Shipyard, the biggest shipyard in Europe. These workers are needed to fill vacancies; yet, despite their essential role at the shipyard, immigrant workers face persistent discrimination from both the mayor’s administration and Monfalcone citizens. Mayor Anna Maria Cisint has led various discriminatory efforts against the Bangladeshi population, including the closure of the town’s two Islamic centers on the basis of building code violations and the removal of all public benches, a common place where the Bangladeshi community would socialize. The ban on cricket is another way of her trying to limit the rights of the city’s immigrant population. 

Cisint’s anti-immigrant sentiment is indicative of a larger trend that plagues many parts of Italy. The phenomenon is especially pronounced in areas like Monfalcone, with substantial immigrant populations. With a rapidly shrinking workforce of domestic origin, Italy has become increasingly reliant on immigrant labor, as seen in Monfalcone’s shipyard, to sustain production and drive economic growth. To match this demand, immigrants are coming to Italy in abundance. Monfalcone’s large foreign population is only continuing to grow; two-thirds of the city’s newborns are children of immigrants, with the majority being born to Bangladeshi families. Nationwide, Italy’s immigration population totaled 5.3 million as of January 2024, accounting for approximately 9 percent of the country’s population. 

However, xenophobic attitudes have made discourse around immigration policies extremely contentious. Hateful views towards foreigners hinder comprehensive immigration policies, deteriorate working conditions, and lead to the constant discrimination of immigrants. The hostility poses significant risks for Italy’s future: Italy’s economy has already struggled with its shrinking workforce, and immigration is its saving grace. The country can no longer suffer any more decreases in productivity; Italy needs to recognize its dependence on immigrants and impose reforms on its immigration policies and practices in order to maintain its current economic productivity. Through specific policy changes, the country can become much more welcoming to its immigrant population. Without these advancements, though, Italy risks losing this vital group of workers, and with them, its economic productivity. 

For the past thirty years, the birth rate in Italy has declined while the general population has gotten older. The implications of these two circumstances have caused a steady decrease in the Italian working population, endangering the long-term health of the nation’s economy. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right populist political party Fratelli d’Italia, has warned that the country is “destined to disappear” unless measures are taken to address the rapidly aging and diminishing population. Contributing factors to this decline are increased emigration, specifically among younger generations and families, low employment rates for women, and limited immigration.

Part of these demographic challenges stems from former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s policies during the ventennio fascista, the twenty-year period of fascist rule in Italy that lasted from 1922 to 1943. Under Mussolini’s regime, he increased Italy’s population from 40 million to 60 million by discouraging emigration and promoting policies like paid maternity leave. Mussolini’s economic fascism helped to recover the Italian economy after World War I, but was not sustainable; it failed to create a stable economic system for the country in the long term and further accentuated the effects of the Great Depression. Mussolini’s plans also came at the cost of Italy’s democracy. Modern-day Italy is still wary of similar economic plans, including Mussolini’s population expansion policies, due to their association with fascism. Yet, this reluctance is harming the country’s ability to grow its domestic population and economy. The lack of childcare subsidies discourages couples from having children. Minimal funding for preschools often forces mothers to stay home with their children, further driving down the employment rate for women and exacerbating Italy’s low employment levels.

Italy’s shrinking population is already impacting its productivity, as the country faces the lowest employment rate in the European Union at 66.3% and the quickest-declining workforce, projected to decrease by 19% between 2023 and 2040–trends that carry significant repercussions on Italy’s economy. Between 2013 and 2022, the country had an average real gross domestic product growth (GDP) rate of 0.7%, significantly lower than the Euro Area’s average of 1.4%. With pressures on its population size, Italy will require an estimated additional 280,000 foreign workers annually until 2050. Monfalcone also struggled with population challenges, but the influx of foreign workers has helped to reverse the effects of a shrinking population; with the arrival of more immigrants, the city’s population has actually grown in recent years. 

Currently, there are 2.4 million foreign workers in Italy, about 10.3 percent of the entire working population. Immigrants mainly work in key economic sectors such as agriculture, tourism, and construction, accounting for the largest contributions to Italy’s GDP. A loss of even a portion of this workforce would have drastic effects on the efficiency and production of the nation. At the shipyard in Monfalcone, it would take five years to build one ship without immigrant workers, as opposed to two or three years with them. The Italian government needs to recognize its reliance on immigrant workers, and if it fails to do so, devastating drops in productivity will be inevitable. The economy will be severely harmed, potentially irreversibly. As Prime Minister Meloni has warned, the country is at risk of disappearing. 

However, while immigrant labor is essential to help counteract this danger to the country’s future, foreign workers often face harsh working conditions upon arrival. Some are promised citizenship or job contracts before they migrate, but employers are not legally required to make good on their promises by hiring them after their arrival in Italy. Additionally, achieving citizenship in Italy is a ten-year-long process, a daunting time frame for many, but especially remittance workers who work to send money to their families on the other side of the world. Many of the Bangladeshi workers in Monfalcone work and save money to move their families to Italy with them, a practice that Cisint has advocated to restrict. Limited quotas for visas and citizenship further complicate the issue, creating a system that encourages additional exploitation and neglect of migrant workers’ protections and safety measures. 

In the summer of 2024, the dehumanizing conditions for immigrant workers in Italy were put on full display in the case of Satnam Singh, a migrant fruit picker from India. While working on a farm near Rome, Singh’s arm was cut off in a work-related accident. Instead of taking him to the hospital, his boss took him home, leaving him with his arm in a fruit basket. Singh, who had been working past his seasonal contract under unfair labor policies, died due to his injury. He lacked protections, like health insurance, that would have helped save his life on this occasion. Instances like Singh’s unfortunate passing underscore the systemic neglect and exploitation of immigrant workers. Despite the crucial role that labor migration plays in the Italian economy, immigrant workers routinely experience degradation and discrimination from Italian authorities and employers.

Yet, this prejudiced treatment of foreign workers is bolstered by ethno-nationalist rhetoric from high-powered politicians. Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrgida asserts that Italians are at risk of “ethnic replacement” by foreigners, encouraging many to be hostile to immigrants. Monfalcone Mayor Anna Maria Cisint has echoed a similar sentiment in an attempt to justify her efforts to suppress cultural differences by banning cricket. By claiming that she is trying to “protect” the Christian values of Monfalcone, Cisint and her supporters are attempting to argue they are not xenophobic, but rather pro-Italian. When asked about the cricket ban, Cisint said that she was protecting Italian history from “being erased.”  Regarding the influx of immigrant workers into the city, Cisint worries that “everything is changing for the worse.” The Bangladeshi cricket players realize her hostility, with one explaining, “Cricket has come to symbolize a cultural threat.” 

Since her start in office in 2016, Mayor Cisint has followed a brutal anti-Islamic program. In addition to the ban on cricket and removal of the city’s benches, she has also banned burkinis, a common swimsuit worn by Muslim women at the city’s beach. Most strikingly, Cisint led the shutdown of the city’s two Islamic centers on the basis that they violated urban planning laws that designated the buildings for commercial use and not worship use. She cited photographs of the buildings being filled past capacity to support her claim that the Islamic centers were not safe for the community. However, these closures have forced Muslims in Monfalcone to find other places to worship and pray; many have resorted to holding religious services in parking lots. The closing of these two Islamic centers follows a pattern throughout Italy; Fratelli d’Italia, Prime Minister Meloni’s political party, has encouraged the closure of hundreds of other Islamic centers. This fear of foreigners fuels anti-immigrant sentiment in the country and directly reflects on immigration policy decisions. 

Italy’s treatment towards immigrants continues to estrange this population from the country. Its policies are at odds with Italy's dependence on foreign workers to maintain productivity. Already, many of these workers aim to leave Italy after they receive European citizenship. Masum Ahmed, a shipyard worker in Monfalcone, has watched as many of his Bangladeshi friends have left the city to work in England, hoping to escape the discrimination against them in Italy. Ahmed has lived in Monfalcone since 2003 and received Italian citizenship in 2016, but still is not welcomed within the community. Similarly, Meheli, a 19-year-old resident of Monfalcone, has promised “to leave this town as soon as (she) can.” Even though Meheli was born in Italy, is fluent in Italian, and has adapted to Western culture, she is still seen as an outsider in the community; because of her ethnicity, she frequently becomes a target for heckling while walking down the street. She feels unsafe in her own city. 

As a vital component of Italy’s workforce, immigrant workers must be supported more. Some advancements have already been completed in this direction: under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s administration, which generally opposes immigration, the number of work visas for non-EU workers has increased. Italian leaders are starting to realize that continued economic stability within the country is reliant on non-Italian workers. This shift in viewpoint is necessary, but more needs to be done. 

While not all immigrants to Italy are Muslim, the increase in immigration into Europe and the spread of Islamic beliefs are highly correlated. In Monfalcone, for example, most of the Bangladeshi immigrants are Muslim. In accordance with this trend, Italian policy has to adapt to be more welcoming to Islamic culture in order to keep its large immigrant population. In a nation struggling with an increasingly smaller workforce, Italy does not have the privilege of excluding a large group of immigrant workers because of their religious beliefs. Italy needs to recognize Islam as an official religion, helping to alleviate religious tensions in the country and offering more protection to Muslims. Enacting laws to protect Islamic centers would better help integrate foreigners into the country. Even without altering the immigration system, these policy changes would help to make Italy more welcoming to immigrants. These adjustments are necessary if Italy wants to prevent a disruption in its economic productivity from an exodus of foreign workers. But most importantly, they would also be major steps in recognizing the rights and freedoms of immigrants in Italy. By increasing religious freedom within the country, Italy would lessen some of the stigma around foreigners, at least legally. Hopefully, this legitimization would then trickle down to the citizen level and increase the overall acceptance of immigrants in Italy. 

Yet, islamophobia has been rising throughout Europe. In a survey conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), an independent EU body that ensures human rights within member states, about 1 in 2 Muslims living within the EU have experienced racial discrimination, an increase from about 2 in 5 in 2016. Other forms of discrimination that impact the lives of Muslims in Europe interfere with their housing, careers, education, and religious clothing. This rise in islamophobia has increased in correlation with the growth of the Muslim population in Europe. To combat this alarming rise in prejudices, the FRA has advised European countries to implement sanctions for religious discrimination and to “tackle racism in all areas of life.” Italy has a responsibility to counter islamophobia by implementing policies that protect its Muslim population. Certifying Islam as an official religion in Italy would help immensely in the integration of immigrants into Italian society. This decision would help to legitimize the religion and culture, while also creating specific protections for all Muslims in Italy.

Still, these changes will be hard to implement. The ban on cricket in Monfalcone has demonstrated that the country wishes to move in the opposite direction. However, if the country chooses to follow along the path of cultural repression, hateful policies could send Italy into an economic flatline in the not-so-distant future. Yet, there is still hope within the country’s immigrant population. In Monfalcone, a group of Bangladeshi cricket players have formed the Monfalcone Tigers, an official cricket club under the Italian National Olympic Committee. While the team has to travel to a nearby town to practice, they are still optimistic about the future of the sport and immigrant populations in Italy. In advance of Monfalcone’s municipal elections in March, Sani Bhuiyan, a member of the Monfalcone Tigers, has announced he will run for city councilor, hoping to represent the immigrant population and fight for their equality. His fight echoes the integrity of cricket; Fabio Marabini, president of the Italian Cricket Federation, has called cricket “the father of the very concept of fair play.” Italy has much to learn from this game if it wants to avoid its own disappearance.