A report conducted by Italy's Astalli Refugee Center (the Italian chapter of the Jesuit Refugee Service) notes stark differences in how refugees who arrived over the Mediterranean and refugees from Ukraine were treated in 2022.
The report was presented on April 13 by the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference (CEI), Cardinal and Archbishop of Bologna, Matteo Zuppi, and by Father Camillo Ripamonti, president of the Jesuit Center.
"Two parallel realities"
The report said some 105,000 minors arrived to Italy by sea in 2022, including around 13,400 unaccompanied minors.
Overall, the country's national shelter and welcome system registered a total of 107,700 people last year.
Meanwhile around 170,000 people arrived from Ukraine, the majority of whom were hosted by other Ukrainians already living in Italy, the report said, adding that only around 20% stayed in national public shelters.
"Unfortunately, the experience of the Ukrainian crisis was not enough to start a profound reflection on the reception and integration of refugees," the report said. "On the contrary, on many occasions at the Astalli Center, it seemed as if there were two parallel realities: one for Ukrainians and another one for everyone else.
In reality, all of these people are facing the exact same situation. Afghans, Syrians, Somalis, and Nigerians are among the main nationalities of refugees who are brought to the different chapters of the Astalli Center spread out through the territory: they too are fleeing war and persecution".
"We have made it increasingly harder for those who flee"
The report said the government could have used the situation with Ukrainian refugees to create better conditions for all people fleeing to Italy. Instead, it said, the government continued its fight against NGOs facilitating rescues at sea.
Even the victims of the Cutro shipwreck did not bring about a more humane political reaction, despite the request by civil society for a change in policy, the report said.
"I cannot hide my strong disappointment for this additional measure," Ripamonti said in reference to Italy's newly declared state of emergency.
He added that "in 2022 not only have we not managed to create alternatives, on the contrary, we have made it increasingly harder for those who flee."