Presentation of the book by Egidio Pasuch "The Black Ghosts of Marcinelle - history - and stories - of Belluno emigration to Belgium" published by Bellunesi nel mondo.
In the post-World War II period, thousands of people from Belluno (as well as many other Venetians and Friulians) were driven by hunger and misery to Belgium. Belgium was the first country to reopen its borders to Italian emigration due to the need to replace local workers (who no longer accepted those inhumane working conditions) and war prisoners, in the depths of the coal mines, which were essential and in high demand to support post-war reconstruction.
Marcinelle marked the history of Belgium but also of mining work and emigration to that country. The mines in Belgium were gradually closed. But the wounds of those dramas were never healed. Even today, some remember Belgium by the name of the Black Country, or the homeland of Cain, due to the xenophobia to which many Italians were subjected.
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