Made in Italy

I have been to Italy last week. The Roman Empire in a decade was still great with cultural assets and decent dishes in cities, lush vineyards and the fragrance of olives. The Vatican Museum was crowded with people but I was envious of it because it seemed to represent the power of a popular tourist country.

It was a perfect travel for a tourist because I was not a victim of a pickpocket. Somehow, however, I oddly sensed the difference. Was it because of the whimsical weather like the U.K. because of unusual weather different from a strong sunshine in June? After returning home, I had a jet lag for a while.

I found the clue while I happened to read a book. The “2033 Future World History (The original title is Atlante dei futuri del mondo, migrazioni, agricoltura, acqua e clima. 2033)” published earlier this year defines Europe in a word: “an old continent.” Yes, it was. Italy, no, Europe, was old.

I got that impression not just because of cultural assets under repair and maintenance. It was true that many buildings were covered by fence screens in Rome and Florence. But you have to embrace it because one has to repair them if they are old, and fix them if they have a problem. I wanted to see them but could tolerate it because I loved them.

The problem was people. Wherever I went, I saw many immigrants. Those from Africa, India, and the Middle East dominated streets. Most of them were young. Meanwhile, “original” Italians were weirdly older than middle age. It was no exception in small villages like Assisi and Cinque Terre.

It was not my perception alone. According to the book, the population of Europe used to account for 20 percent of the global population in the 1950 but falls to eight percent in 2030. The share of those aged 65 or older will rise from 17 percent in 2010 to 25 percent in 2030. What is interesting is that Italy and France will see some population growth. This is because they have more inflow than outflow of people.

I do not want to underestimate immigration. Immigrants should have their share of difficulties after leaving their country for a living. An Ethiopian refugee with whom I had a short conversation seemed shabby but was a nice young man. He was a street vendor but confident and kind.

The problem is the attitude of the original. Even refugees are the members of their society. They should not let these people waste time on the street. Europe has difficulties in finding young labor forces. It should educate refugees regardless of their country of origin and their skin color. Then, they would not harm society at least, even if they would wire money to their home country. Korea is no exception. It should not stick to “Made in” but prepare for the “Made by” world. An old Korea sounds somewhat sad.