Anti-Mafia, Migrant Rights, and Community Economic Development in Western Sicily

Headlines in the international media have celebrated the decline of the Sicilian mafia and the immigrant-led revitalization of its birthplace, the city of Palermo, in the twenty-first century. “From mafia city to a haven for refugees: Palermo moves on from its criminal past,” declared The Guardian in 2015. As European politicians and media fretted over a new “migration crisis” that year, with a sharp rise in illegal crossings of the Mediterranean Sea, the mood in Palermo appeared different. “The center of Sicily’s biggest city was emptied by the mafia. Now it’s being reclaimed by migrants,” repeated Quartz (2016); and the The Guardian (2017) again heralded “The resurrection of Palermo: From mafia battlefield to cultural capital.”