On the evening of February 14, 150 migrants arrived in Italy through a humanitarian corridor from Libya. Now they will be distributed to reception projects in the country.
150 migrants arrived at Pratica di Mare military airport south of Rome through a humanitarian corridor from Libya on Wednesday (February 14). They were greeted by Caritas Italiana, representatives from the Italian government and the United Nations within the framework of an agreement between the executive and Italian Bishops' Conference to open new channels for entering Italy safely.
It was the second humanitarian evacuation from the North African country after the one on December 22.
Visas for 150 people
Caritas Italiana asked the foreign ministry to issue entry visas for 150 people in order to launch the operation. It publicly thanks the foreign and interior ministries and UNHCR, which ensured the successful outcome of the evacuation, as well as the diocesan Caritas organizations in Rome, Aversa, Benevento and Palestrina, "which allowed Caritas Italiana to perform all the activities linked to the disembarkation," it said.
Reception projects
The migrants will now be integrated into reception projects at the local level. "This operation is a further step on the path undertaken by the Italian Church in the promotion and implementation of legal and safe channels for entry," Caritas Italiana director don Francesco Soddu said. "More people will arrive from Ethiopia in two weeks' time under the same humanitarian corridor programme in further demonstration of the fact that it is only by opening up legal channels of entry that migration can be managed."