Ten Afghans arrived in Rome from the Greek island of Lesbos last week. They are the first refugees to arrive in Italy via a humanitarian corridor after the COVID-19 lockdown.
The ten refugees arrived in Rome on Thursday, after
long months of waiting due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among those who arrived in Rome are a family with
the two parents and two children, a young newly married couple, a widow
with two children and a young
single man. All
were given COVID-19 tests at Rome's Fiumicino airport on arrival but
will also undergo quarantine as an additional precaution.
The ten people are all Afghan nationals, as
is the case with the vast majority of refugees on the island of Lesbos. The Greek island has been overwhelmed by refugee and migrant arrivals, the local camp -- Moria -- is extremely overcrowded, living conditions are poor.
'A big hope and joy'
"There was a very long wait for
these families and it seemed like everything was closed but instead the
corridors are reopening. This is a big hope and joy,"
Sant'Egidio founder
Andrea Riccardi said upon their arrival.
"The first humanitarian corridor after the lockdown," a statement issued
by Sant'Egidio said, "was made possible thanks to invaluable synergy
between the Italian authorities and their Greek counterparts, especially
between the Italian interior ministry through Department Chief Michele
di Bari and the Greek immigration and asylum ministry."
Hosting migrants via humanitarian corridors
The ten Afghans are the last group of refugees brought to Italy from the Greek
island of Lesbos by an initiative launched by Pope Francis through the
Office of Papal Charities and the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio.
A total of 67 people have arrived in Italy from Lesbos through several
trips via the "Pope corridors." The first 12 had arrived on the
same plane as the pope on April 16, 2016.
The "Pope corridor" is one of several humanitarian corridors in Italy. Humanitarian corridors allow private organizations -- such as religious charities -- to host refugees in Italy and thus sponsor their relocation from conflict-ridden countries (such as Libya) and overcrowded
camps (such as Moria on the Greek island of Lesbos).
Several other European countries have copied this Italian model. All in all, humanitarian corridor projects have brought over 3,000 refugees to Europe thus far.