What could possibly go wrong? Celebrate diversity! Certainly all these migrants will become loyal, stable, productive Italian citizens, right? Jihad? Sharia? What are you, some kind of Islamophobe?
“Italy: Birthrates at Historic Lows, Migrants Approach Nine Per Cent of Population,” by Chris Tomlinson, Breitbart, December 31, 2019 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
According to new figures, Italy has seen a historically low birthrate in 2018, as the number of foreigners in the country has increased to nearly 9 per cent of the total population.
The new statistics, released by the Italian statistics agency Istat, reveal that the number of live births in 2018 totalled just 439,747, an 18,404 drop from the previous year and numbers that amount to the lowest birth rate since the unification of the country in the 1800s, Il Giornale reports.
As couples are having fewer children — just 1.32 per woman according to Istat — households are also becoming smaller across the country, with nearly one-third of all households being single individuals and just one-third being families with children.
The population of Italy is also becoming older on average, as life expectancy has increased to 80.8 years for men and 85.2 years for women.
The foreign population of Italy, however, has seen substantial growth in recent years and now accounts for 5,255,503 people — or 8.7 per cent of the total population of the country — increasing by 2.2 per cent in 2018. Net migration, however, declined slightly, from 188,330 in 2017 to 175,364 in 2018….
Spooky Ghost says
We’re at 17% migrants in Ireland… 🙁
eduardo odraude says
Diversity is not the problem. The problem is the suicidal kind of “diversity” that goes so far as to welcome a totalitarian monoculture (Islam) that gradually and brutally destroys diversity.
James Lincoln says
eduardo odraude,
Your points are well taken, my compliments.
Come to think of it, I’ve never seen muslims of an islamic republic holding up signs saying “Diversity is our Strength”…
gravenimage says
+1
Kepha says
As an ESOL teacher, a student of languages and history, and former diplomat who dealt with migration issues, I completely agree with Eduardo. A lot of immigrants want to fit in and get along in the host country. Give the law saome teeth, but also keep it sufficiently flexible.
David says
Amen…. Victim Voice Violence this is islam
Hugh Fitzgerald says
Fertility rates for the indigenous non-Muslims are much lower than for the Muslim migrants all over Europe. There is one Western country outside Europe — Israel — where the fertility rates of Jews are twice those in the OECD, and higher, too, this year, than that of Israeli Arabs. Israeli mothers need no encouragement to have babies; they know what is at stake. In Italy, Italian mothers ought to be encouraged to do the same. Do they want their own country to be conquered from within — demography being destiny — by Muslims, or will they have more children both for their own wellbeing and that of their country? Pro-natalist policies must be carefully crafted to apply to Italians, not Muslim migrants. Family allowances should be available only to those whose grandparents were Italian, and no longer available to economic migrants, almost all of whom are Muslims.
The generous welfare benefits that Muslim migrants now receive, such as free housing and family allowances, could be made available only to those migrants who fulfill work requirements. Governments can assign menial tasks, as garbage collection, street sweeping, clearing brush and litter from the side of highways, to these migrants.. Many Muslims will refuse these reasonable requests — how dare the Kuffar make us work! — and then should be deprived of all support. Some, perhaps many, will leave when Italy becomes distinctly less generous with benefits.
mortimer says
Partial agreement: the ‘fertility rate’ of native Italians is purportedly one of the lowest in Europe, but the Muslim fertility rate worldwide (though higher) is also dropping rapidly. As Muslim girls are educated and seek careers, rather than marriage, Muslim fertility rates will eventually be about the same as the Europeans’.
Meanwhile, cultural Marxists are continuing their attack on European culture, but will the Italians push back with the pope so determined to be a fellow traveller?
What will it take to convince the cultural Marxists that their Utopian dreams are nightmares?
James Lincoln says
mortimer says,
“As Muslim girls are educated and seek careers, rather than marriage, Muslim fertility rates will eventually be about the same as the Europeans”.
Fertility rates will drop somewhat, but never to the same low level as the native Europeans. They’ll always be “comfortably” above the fertility replacement rate of 2.1…
gravenimage says
Mortimer–with all respect–your claims that Muslim fertility rates are dropping to the level of Europeans and that Muslims are leaving Islam in droves so that they are not really a danger to us does not seem to hold up.
LB says
“Israeli mothers need no encouragement to have babies; they know what is at stake.”
Yep, and that’s because Israel is constantly under the tension of imminent warfare with its muslim neighbors. “Hard times create strong men” and also responsible women. Whereas in the liberal West, the women are taught all kinds of myths of “oppression”, “patriarchy”, “liberation” (from what exactly?), “gender pay gap”, “women need no men”, “my body my choice” etc etc.
It almost sounds deliberate if you think about it, as if someone is trying to destroy the Western (read: white Christian) civilization. Same with this sudden “immigration” of muslims and other 3rd worlders to the West (but never the other way around, I wonder why?). But I’m sure that’s just some conspiratorial mumbo jumbo.
Jedothek says
Another aspect of this story is that it may help to explain the otherwise baffling suicidal immigration policies of EU governments. They may be aiming at keeping the populations of their countries from decreasing.
Daniel Triplett says
That’s a selling point some leaders have used — bring in immigrants to maintain a steady workforce and tax base — because nearly twice as many natives die each day than are born. But this has backfired badly, since the only people immigrating are low and no-skill hijrah Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East. And the vast majority don’t work. They consume far more resources from the public trust than they ever contribute. They’re breaking the bank, causing rationing of resources and an even worse quality of life to the native senior citizens whose lives the government promised to improve.
PRCS says
Yup!
By coincidence, I ran across–and watched–this YouTube video last night.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQELHJx8Vf0
The End of the World as We Know It, with Mark Steyn
The interview concerned his now 10 year old book ‘America Alone‘.
Recorded on April 26, 2010
Mark Steyn, a writer, political commentator, and cultural critic, breaks down the numbers and explains why they spell doom for the Western world with Hoover fellow Peter Robinson on Uncommon Knowledge.
“The people Europe chose to import were Muslims.”
That situation has, of course, worsened since.
James Lincoln says
Daniel Triplett,
You are correct – this has tragically backfired, with no easy way out.
The elitist / leftist / marxist / globalist / Islamophiliacs will NOT admit their mistakes.
And any pushback by the “regular” citizens, e.g., Tommy Robinson, will be met by a “sharia compliant” police force.
gravenimage says
Yes–as though a dropping population of civilized people is enhanced by inviting in barbarians who wage violent Jihad and live on the dole.
Lookmann says
‘Fertility rates for the indigenous non-Muslims are much lower than for the Muslim migrants
all over Europe’
India, Israel too have the same problem.
No Muzzies Here says
Go visit the Coliseum and the Vatican while you can. Get used to halal pizza.
James Lincoln says
SNL Father Guido Sarducci will have to change his game to:
Find the pope in the halal pizza…
Lauren Hermann says
James,
That was a really good one! Sometimes you just have to laugh at the crazy situation. But never, never give up the fight.
European pagan says
They don’t want to have children because they don’t have enough money.
gravenimage says
Italy: Birthrates at historic lows, migrants now almost nine percent of the population
………………….
According to Pew and Brookings, Muslims make up about 2.5% of the population in Italy, or about one third of the foreign population there.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Italy
James Lincoln says
gravenimage,
I think that the 2.5% is a little bit low…
I went directly to the Pew Research Center website…
The Pew Research Center website puts the 2016 Muslim population of Italy at 4.8%.
Even a zero migration scenario projects the 2050 Muslim population of Italy at 8.3%. A medium migration scenario ups it to 12.4%.
https://www.pewforum.org/2017/11/29/europes-growing-muslim-population/
gravenimage says
All of these estimates may be low. Thanks.
Kepha says
I’m old enough to remember when, bak before Italy legalized abortion, some feminists in that country held a rally in which two pregnant women went into a room to abort their childen, and the crowd roared approval. In the American circles in which I was raised, this was hailed as “progressive”. The fact of the matter is that under the guidance of “progressives”, who have seized almost all of our media, educational, and cultural institutions, the Northern Atlantic world has been committing societal suicide. I have come to have a very negative view of our cultural, educational, academic, and legal elites.
gravenimage says
That does not surprise me, Kepha.
When I was first at UC Berkeley, I attended a women’s rights rally. I was shocked when one speaker asked how many women in the crowd had had an abortion, and when some raised their hands the crowd *cheered*. While I knew many considered “choice” a good thing, it had never occurred to me that anyone would actually cheer the abortion of a baby.
This in Italy is even worse, of course.