There is a subject that is hit or miss….meaning that they become the focus of attention when there is little else to write about…..

Here in the US it is a subject that conjures up images of rape, plunder and welfare fraud….at least to some……and the off chance that there is a major terror cell waiting for entry into the country.

There are tales from the EU and first destination countries of all the “problems” these people are causing…..and of course like anything else it is used to poo-poo on the idea of a resettlement of any refugees because they ALL will be a problem waiting to happen.

But all the negativity has overlooked at least one aspect of the refugees that is a positive note.

Domenico Lucano, mayor of Riace, sees the flow of refugees in Italy as an opportunity.

As the continuous influx of refugees is seen as a cause for concern for many European nations, which are employing strict border controls to stop the unprecedented flow of people, one community in the southern Italian region of Calabria has taken a different perspective of the matter.

The village of Riace had seen its population drop from 2,500 to 400 since the 1990s, when people moved to northern Italy for better economic opportunities.

Domenico Lucano, Mayor of Riace, saw the flow of refugees in Italy as an opportunity. “We have been welcoming refugees with open arms for the past 15 years. [They have] saved our village,” Lucano explained.

The resourceful mayor first acted on this opportunity in 1998, when a boat with 218 Kurdish refugees on their way to Greece got stranded on a beach in Riace. This is when Lucano first proposed that the refugees should stay in the village and take over the homes and apartments that had been left vacant by the migrating former residents of the town.

Source: Refugees revive fading Italian villages – Al Jazeera English

I am not saying that all opinions are wrong or inaccurate just that there are some positive aspects from allowing refugees to relocate.