81 Syrian refugees arrived at Fiumicino from Beirut this morning thanks to the "Humanitarian Corridors" project. They join the 200 who have already arrived in Italy since last February. By now, it is no longer just an experiment, but it is a concrete reality that allows people fleeing war and in "vulnerable conditions" (victims of persecution, families with children, single women, the elderly, the sick, and people with disabilities) to arrive, safely and legally, in Italy without risking their lives in the Mediterranean.
Among the 81 refugees who arrived, 30 are children. Many of them are in need of medical care, some are severely disabled, and 1 is elderly. Twenty-nine are Christians and the others are Muslims. The people who arrived today will be housed in Piedmont, Lombardy, Liguria, Tuscany, Lazio, Campania, Puglia, and, for the first time, in the Republic of San Marino, which joined (first after Italy) the Humanitarian Corridors project and will host a family from Homs (a couple with three young children).
The welcome briefing was attended by Marco Impagliazzo, President of the Community of Sant'Egidio; Paolo Naso, Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy and Tavola Valdese; Mario Giro, Deputy Foreign Minister; Domenico Manzione, Undersecretary of the Interior; and Daniela Rotondaro, Ambassador to Italy of the Republic of San Marino.Impagliazzo (Sant'Egidio) made a strong appeal for the model to be applied by other European countries. He argued that "We witness every day new tragedies at sea such as the deaths of so many innocent people, starting with children. We have shown, together with the Italian Protestant Churches, that an alternative is possible. It is urgent that other European states also adopt this system because, in addition to saving lives, it guarantees, thanks even to the controls carried out at departure, security for all citizens and makes integration into the civil and social fabric of the host country easier."
