122 refugees arrive in Italy from Libya thanks to humanitarian corridors.
By Pierfrancesco Loreto
On Thursday, the 11th of December, 122 refugees arrived at Fiumicino International Airport in Rome on a flight from Tripoli organised by UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency.
The migrants are mainly from Sudan, South Sudan, and Eritrea. Among them are 31 women and 62 minors.
Their arrival in Italy has been made possible by an agreement between the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, UNHCR, ARCI, and the Community of Sant’Egidio. That accord, signed in December 2023, has so far helped 659 people escape harsh living conditions.
The beneficiaries of these humanitarian corridors are people forced to flee their countries due to wars and outbreaks of violence and who are temporarily based in Libya, where they have been living in vulnerable conditions.
Some of them are children, women victims of trafficking, survivors of torture, and patients with severe health conditions.
The refugees will be staying in different Italian regions, in accommodations provided by the Community of Sant’Egidio (53 people), ARCI (30 people), and the Reception and Integration System (39 people).
What are humanitarian corridors?
Humanitarian corridors are the result of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, the Tavola Valdese, and the Italian Government. They are self-funded by the organisations that champion them, which are responsible for providing volunteers on site who engage directly with refugees in relevant countries.
Afterwards, they compile a list of potential beneficiaries, which is handed over to the Italian Consular Authorities. At a later date, they will issue Humanitarian Visas with Limited Territorial Validity under the Home Office’s supervision. As a result, those visas will be valid only on Italian soil.
As soon as refugees arrive in Italy, they can apply for asylum and are hosted in houses and facilities paid for by the Community of Sant’Egidio’s partners. The Community itself provides Italian language classes, supports them in registering their children for school, and helps them with their job search, making integration in Italy easier.
Under this scheme, just over 8,300 people have safely arrived in Italy since February 2016.
But much still needs to be done, as pointed out by Filippo Ungaro, UNHCR spokesman for Italy: “In the world there are about 2.8 million refugees, and only 8% of them have been resettled,” he told a press conference at Fiumicino Airport.
“Humanitarian corridors and evacuations are secure ways to get to safe countries. Italian institutions and organisations are giving the correct answers, and we hope the Italian model will serve as an example for many other countries,” he added.
