This morning, 37 people of Syrian origin, including 13 minors, arrived at Fiumicino airport on a flight from Beirut. On Friday 28 October another 29 refugees will arrive, also from Lebanon. They will be hosted and accommodated in different regions of Italy, from Piedmont to Sicily. The reception of the humanitarian corridors is carried out by the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, the Diaconia and the Waldensian Board. These are families and individuals from different Syrian cities such as Homs, Aleppo, Damascus, who in recent months have suffered a serious deterioration of their living conditions also due to the serious economic and social crisis that Lebanon is going through.

The families will also be welcomed by associations, parishes, communities and individual citizens throughout the country and will participate in an integration process: for minors through immediate enrolment in school and for adults, immediately with learning the Italian language and, once refugee status has been obtained, integration into the world of work. The humanitarian corridors, entirely self-financed (from Sant’Egidio’s fundraising and from the 8 per thousand of the Waldensian and Methodist Churches) and implemented thanks to a widespread reception network, represent a best practice that combines solidarity and security. From Lebanon alone, more than 2,300 people have arrived in Italy since 2016, thanks to the humanitarian corridors. More than 7,000 have arrived, in total, between Italy and other European countries, using the same system.