Thanks to a humanitarian corridors project, on Wednesday, 37 Syrian nationals including 13 minors arrived in Rome on a flight from Beirut. On October 28, another 29 refugees are due to arrive from Lebanon.
On Wednesday, October 26, 37 Syrian nationals, including 13 minors, arrived in Rome on a flight from Beirut. Today, October 28, 29 refugees are due to land from Lebanon.
The new arrivals will be hosted in several regions of Italy ranging from Piedmont in the north to Sicily in the south.
The humanitarian corridors are being implemented thanks to reception provided by the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, and the Waldensian Evangelical Church.
Families and individuals from Homs, Aleppo, and Damascus
The Syrians arriving in Italy include both families and individuals from cities including Homs, Aleppo, and Damascus that had been living in Lebanese refugee camps. Their living conditions had been getting worse in the last year, partly due to the serious economic and social crisis Lebanon is experiencing.
The families will be hosted by associations, parishes, communities, and individual citizens across all of Italy.
They will take part in an integration program that for minors involves immediate enrolment in schools, and for adults consists of Italian language classes and, once refugee status is obtained, assistance with inclusion in the world of work.
Humanitarian corridors bring 7,000 refugees to Italy and Europe
Humanitarian corridors, which have been entirely self-funded through fundraising and the voluntary tax donation system in Italy --where you can choose to donate to various religious or social welfare organizations, are implemented thanks to a wide network, and considered a sort of 'best practice' uniting solidarity and security.
Since 2016, over 2,300 people who had been living in Lebanon have arrived in Italy thanks to humanitarian corridors.
Over 7,000 refugees have benefitted from humanitarian corridors across the whole of Europe.