It must not be easy for those who are not very accustomed to irony to deal with paradoxes. The hope is that one of the majority will have it. For just as the Meloni government found itself overseeing a groundbreaking exodus after promising zero landings, just as it found itself presiding over a groundbreaking exodus after repeatedly reiterating that it wanted to defend families, the Administration today finds itself grappling with a growing poverty rate that it has literally laid bare. many families are in crisis. Best regards to all “Family Days” and the so-called “traditional family”.

And the evidence is always the same: Giving birth to a child (or worse, giving birth to more than one child) is not a choice that everyone can easily make. While one in four children in Italy is at risk of poverty, 13.4 percent experience this risk every day. In the South, this rate reaches almost 16%. It is a trend that has not stopped growing for years and has recorded a new significant increase compared to 2021. When we talk about low birth rates, we should reflect on one simple fact: 20% of families with three or more children are in absolute poverty (in 2021, the rate was 18%).

Child poverty is a real epidemic affecting life expectancy, social deviance and the prospects of tomorrow’s citizens. It is no coincidence that the early school leaving rate in our country is two points higher than the European average (11.5% versus 9.6%). And it cannot be said that one in every five young people between the ages of 15 and 29 is actually “Neet”, that is, someone who does not study, does not work and is not involved in any educational course. When we look beyond our borders, this is also a sad national record.

When we look at the non-Italian population, the percentages increase: More than 33% of families consisting of foreign citizens but residing in Italy are in conditions of absolute poverty. Almost half of the children in these families are at risk of poverty and social exclusion. They will be the new Italians whether they want to or not. But like their parents, they are effectively invisible.

Paradox: Few people born in a country with a zero birth rate are at risk of poverty

To understand what these data really mean, I decided to knock on the door of the Roman volunteer association “Nonna Roma”. Here I met Isamar, who is almost 30 years old and has four children: 9, 7, 4 years old respectively, and he arrived at the latest a few months ago.

Isamar is Peruvian and has been living in Italy with her husband for almost four years. Both have a regular residence permit. He periodically visits volunteers to buy school and educational supplies, as well as food supplies.

His family is one of the many people living under extremely difficult conditions in our country. “I applied to this association because it costs money to educate my two children, and on top of that I have a little girl who needs nappies and baby food – she tells me that it is not easy to send two children to school. The things that cost the most are: if they have backpacks, there are always new things for them to study things are needed.”

Isamar was working as a caregiver. Then pregnancy forced her to work part time, 4 hours a day. Her husband is a construction worker and works “on call.” Whether your children can eat pencils or eat more protein meals per day depends on many factors: the request of the company they work for, the weather or the demands of the construction market. There are six suspended existences and four children who do not experience the same opportunities as their peers.

But Isamar tells me about a problem that is very common even among his Italian peers. “I have to organize myself because I have to take the kids to school in the morning and pick them up in the afternoon – he told me: If I get a job after 2.30pm that’s fine, but I can’t work any hours, otherwise who will stay with my kids?” . Evidence that contradicts our nation’s dramatic lack of free pre-kindergarten and early childhood services. It’s a trend that hasn’t reversed for years.

(Warehouse of the Rome association “Nonna Roma”, where parents can also buy school supplies and clothes for their children)

Alberto Campoilla, president of the Nonna Roma Association, explains to me: “It is paradoxical that in a country where birth difficulties are great, the few people born are in conditions of poverty.”

Italian families are among those asking for help from the association: “There is also a lot of demand for diapers, baby food, products for early childhood, as well as commonly used toys and clothes, but for that age group, these are in great demand.” “They are of little use because they don’t last long,” explains Campoilla. Then they ask us for pens and notebooks for the school term: 900 euros per year per school year are needed for each child, which not everyone has and these goods are often subject to tax”.

What has been proposed to reverse this trend, often described as “the government of families”, has so far consisted of slogans and spot initiatives. Such as the bonus provided to kindergartens in case there are no structures that can meet the needs of Italian families. Meanwhile, significant achievements are being reversed and VAT on nappies and early childhood products is being increased.

After all, children don’t vote. And in many cases it’s not even foreign citizens. Even if those who support our prosperity are the ones who decide whether we are doomed to an unstoppable decline. And the impression is that with this trend, instead of ridiculous “ethnic substitutions”, a few years from now we will find ourselves talking about a real desert.

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