Homeless migrants at a camp in Rome have been violating the night-time curfew "against their will," according to Baobab Experience. The migrant aid organization called on local authorities to find permanent housing for the migrants.
Italy has experienced a surge in migrant arrivals since the start of the year. In the first half of 2020, four times as many migrants traveled there, compared to the same period last year. Reception centers are overcrowded, adding to fears about the spread of the coronavirus. Many of the migrants living in Italy are in desperate situations, sleeping rough, without hope of finding a job or housing.
Italian police have cleared out a migrant camp managed by the Baobab Experience organization near the Tiburtina train station in Rome. According to the organization, the was the 34th eviction carried out by police in Rome.
Many migrants in Italy told us they are struggling right now. Italy is one of the worst-hit countries in the ongoing global crisis with the novel coronavirus, and most Italian government departments and many volunteer services are now closed because of quarantine measures. Our latest "Fact check" video explains where migrants and refugees in need can still get help.
The organization Baobab Experience is calling on the Italian health ministry to make sure that homeless people -- both Italians and migrants -- are given shelter amid the coronavirus emergency. This, they say, is in the interest of public health.
The Baobab Experience association in Rome is appealing to the local government to take measures to protect migrants and the homeless from the coronavirus. The Greens party is asking on a national level that refugees not be forgotten in this emergency, while the liberal Radicals are asking for the suspension of all admittances to repatriation centers.
The outgoing interior minister closed Italy's refugee camps and its ports. But even with Matteo Salvini out of government, asylum-seekers are still trapped in a cycle of homelessness, harassment and frustration.
A center for migrants and the homeless will be set up in Rome's Tiburtina station neighborhood to provide information on housing and meals. Assistance will be provided by the Baobab association, the municipality has said.
#WelcomingEurope is a European Citizens' Initiative (ECI) demanding a ban on the criminalization of solidarity with migrants in member states, support for European citizens who want to offer safety to people fleeing persecution, and the guarantee of effective access to justice to all victims of exploitation and abuse.
A migrant reception centre in Naples has opened its doors to families and the homeless during the cold snap. Meanwhile, Baobab Experience in Rome has asked for help for migrants in transit affected by the snow and ice.
About 2,000 migrants were stopped at the Baobab Experience humanitarian center for migrants at Rome's Tiburtina train station between April and October 2017. Associations working for migrant rights say that access to asylum and relocation procedures is difficult in the capital.
Volunteers from the Italian environmental organization Legambiente and migrants living in a camp near the Tiburtina train station in Rome came together in an event called 'Clean the World' on Sunday. They cleaned up rubbish in the camp as well in the surrounding streets and areas. The initiative was part of a nation-wide awareness campaign in Italy.