The Southern Report, presented in Bari by Utilitalia and Svimez, analyzes the economic and employment impact of the Utility sector (environmental, water and energy) in Southern Italy, with particular attention to investments deriving from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
by Guido Santangelo – A day like many others, then I meet two elderly people who give me a box with some typical Cilento figs prepared by them. The lady with a smile on her lips adds, we went to collect them and took care of them with so much love to go back in time and we also thought of you. It was exciting for me, for the kind thought and then because it made me remember the times when the harvesting and care of figs was widespread. Then you could see many grates with figs drying in the sun near the country houses that served as storage. These houses were a personal heritage, but today they represent a historical heritage of the area and it is a shame to see them reduced to ruins and abandoned. The Cilento farmers, unforgettable people with sweat running down their faces marked by work, but so genuine and kind to remember and admire. Taking care of the fig trees was just a part of their day because they did so much else, from taking care of the vegetable garden to grazing animals and caring for and educating their children. The work of a farmer was hard and unprofitable, but the family and the quality of the products satisfied their simple expectations. But what was understood was a clear message, I work hard and then see the fruits over time, sometimes you saw them discouraged, but then the closeness of other farmers and the humanity that reigned rewarded them. Many and perhaps too many have emigrated to provide a better future for their children and lead a more comfortable and dignified life. Emigration was a plague that still weighs on Cilento, but it is surprising that this territory is not given centrality and protagonism. We too, says the gentleman, were forced to emigrate, leave our dearest loved ones and give up our sacrifices and leave, emigrate to Germany.
We stayed for fifteen years and then we decided to return to our homeland, our children did not return because they wanted to follow a different path, working and building a different future for themselves and their children. There were many who made this choice and did not regret it, unfortunately Cilento today, as then, does not offer much to young people, who represent the future of an area. And then they add that the situation has changed due to the reduction in the birth rate and the increase in the emigration of young people, therefore an even greater impoverishment. In practice, these gentlemen anticipated what I then read a few days later in the latest Svimez report. The Svimez report he speaks of very bad prospects, very serious for Campania and for the entire south, he even spoke of a medieval situation. According to the report, emigration will increase and it will be above all those who have invested in education who will emigrate, this is something that gives food for thought. Female unemployment is the highest compared to the whole of Europe, one in two graduates will be forced to emigrate. Youth emigration is an urgent issue that impoverishes the territory and its future. Certainly, in light of these data, some considerations are made by those who have to invest in the territory and look to the future of their children. It is therefore necessary to make productive investments not only in agriculture and tourism, but to attract industrial investments to bet on the future.
link to the svimez pdf report: https://lnx.svimez.info/svimez/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/rapporto_2023_indice.pdf
