Has Crime in Naples Increased with all the Refugees?

[sharonov]

I know that Naples has always been a gritty city; that's OK because I live in Chicago and have worked in our gritty areas. Someone told me that the refugee camps have become hotbeds of crime, and that robberies have increased a lot. Does anyone know if that's true?

 

[joe]

I don't have personal experience with the situation in Italy, but no one has answered you, so here are my two cents :

The dynamics of crime in Naples, as far as I know, are influenced by local Italian factors, and probably have very little to do with the refugees. Some of these illegal immigrants might be tempted to hook up with the local mafia in order to survive - and the mafia is certainly trying to encourage this when the opportunity arises (women trafficking, for example) - but most are grateful for the solidarity that Italy has shown, and are trying to look for menial jobs in order to survive. You can read a very recent article that puts the Naples crime scene in proportion (not a word about the refugees, if I recall) :
https://www.geekyexplorer.com/is-naples-safe-for-tourists/
Also, I suppose that as a tourist, you will be nowhere near the refugee camps - IAC these are mostly a godsend for some of the refugees, who barely survived the journey at sea.
My experience with the African refugees is that they are good people looking for a better life, and prefer to go about this in a low-key and careful manner.
From what I read, if Naples interests you, you should go, and just take the regular precautions that you might take anywhere..

 

[sharonov]

Thanks for your detailed reply, Joe. i had a feeling that my source, who mentioned armed robberies by African refugees, was either generalizing over maybe one incident or perhaps in the thrall of anti-immigrant "news" sources.

 

[Anne]

hi sharonov, I can't say if things have changed in the past two years or not, but my mom and I were in Naples for a week in 2015 and absolutely LOVED it. (In all its vibrant, gritty, teeming-with-life chaotic glory!) We didn't feel unsafe at all, even when wandering around at night, although we restricted our nighttime walks to the historic centre. But in the day, we got off the beaten path into some non-touristy neighbourhoods, and felt quite safe. We didn't feel a need to take any more precautions than we have in other large cities, like Rome or Paris, etc. I'd go back in a heartbeat!

 

[Karen Frerichs]

I was in Sicily last November, and although one of the people I was traveling with kept wondering "where all the refugees were", we saw only a few dayworkers walking silently along a remote road through fields, and a group outside a job center in Agrigento. All seemed normal, and there was absolutely nothing worrisome. I suspect most refugees are just trying to keep some semblance of a life for themselves, and do not want to attract attention.
No problems.

 

[BryanS]

As Joe mentions the refugees are mostly very grateful for a free place to live and are housed outside of major metro areas. The limited incidents reported by the Italian media are that - limited.

I would be more concerned in Chicago of being shot than anytime in Naples. True you may get your wallet stolen if you aren't aware of your surroundings but physical harm is very rare.

 

[Alpinista]

Can speak to Lucca and environs more than Naples, but will say that our Italian relatives and friends are very fearful and/or resentful of refugees. I have heard very little factual basis for the fears, although I have heard a great deal about the refugees giving very little thanks for the aid given. We see a lot of people loitering around the exits to food markets or around the payment kiosks in parking lots offering to carry groceries or assist with the parking machines -- which can be intimidating to some -- but that's about it. As noted above, I would treat Italian cities the same way I treat American cities -- be aware of your surroundings; be attentive to the people in close proximity to you; take whatever precautions you feel necessary to protect belongings.

 

[ellen]

While I can understand the fear and concern (something like a third of Americans feel the same way about immigrants to this country), the notion of being indignant that a refugee isn't sufficiently thankful seems hardhearted. These people have been forced from their homes against their will, they are living hand to mouth in fear at all times, they have no idea what the future holds for them and little ability to do anything about it.

It's an uncomfortable situation for everyone ... and it should be. God help us if we ever become comfortable with this.

As for Naples, there are no refugee camps in the area that I am aware of. Most of the holding areas are on Sicily, where the boats land. They try to keep them from heading north but many do anyway, heading toward Germany or even Sweden where there is more money and more resources available to them.

Naples does have a large and diverse immigrant population, many from India and Pakistan and others from Korea. It has a very different feel from other more homogeneous Italian cities.

 

[Alpinista]

Let me try to convey the feelings of our Italian friends and relatives while trying not to get personally involved in a situation for which I am only an observer. There would not be agreement with "against their will" nor with "living hand to mouth" since immigration is seen as a voluntary action and since there are very active social services being provided -- and this is where the issue of "sufficiently thankful" comes in. As an example, we have friends in Empoli who own small businesses directly across the street from an apartment building being used for immigrant housing. We hear from them that when food and clothing are delivered, the immigrants will not come down to the street to pick it up, but demand that it be carried up to them. I can't say anything as to the validity of the statements or the possible reasons for this, but the feeling of "ungrateful" is very strong. What I will say as a personal thought is that our home is in a small village with a slightly larger town (Borgo a Mozzano) serving as the shopping area. With the homogeneous and very static populations there (generations never leaving the area and all the names in the cemeteries being the same), the sight of African peddlers going through the streets and knocking on doors of isolated homes (ours being one of those) and Muslim women in shrouded clothing in the grocery stores is a little jarring to them. I live outside Washington, DC, and what is a normal day for me to see wide-ranging diversity everywhere from my neighborhood to the shopping malls seems somehow different when I'm seeing the same (growing) diversity in Italy. I sometimes think of my wife's older relatives telling us that the first black people they ever saw were the members of the 92nd Division (the Buffalo Soldiers) who liberated the Serchio Valley in WW II. I wonder if they ever saw another person of that race prior to the waves of immigration?

 

[ellen]

It is a complicated issue and it's vastly different living on the front lines, so to speak, vs. me sitting comfortably at my computer with nary a foreigner in sight, even though I grew up in a country built by immigrants. To your point, it must be far more jarring to those who've lived most of their lives with very few outsiders.

It's hard to parse my own thoughts on the various aspects of the problem. It's easy to feel for those forced out by civil war they had nothing to do with, perhaps less so for those who left peaceful homelands but suffered from limited opportunities.