The Umbrian municipality of Polino with just 200 residents welcomed a Palestinian family of 10, who had fled Gaza just days before. However, they miss their home already - before even unpacking.
The 10 members of the Palestinian family had fled Gaza, arriving in Polino in the afternoon of Sunday, March 24.
The 'Aiutiamoli a vivere' foundation had helped them find their new home and has been assisting them after their landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport from Cairo, Egypt.
"We left the worst situation possible behind there, an incredible war with thousands of victims every day," said Safwat Alkahlout, one member of the family. He travelled to Italy with his wife Eman, his mother-in-law Fatima, and the couple's seven children, aged between 11 and 23.
"There is a significant humanitarian crisis, with a severe lack of food and medicines", the 51-year-old journalist added.
Crisis in Gaza
Their new home in Polino was made available by the municipal administration, with Mayor Remigio Venanzi welcoming the large family personally. But in a perfect world, the family says they never would have needed to leave their home country in the first place:
"I am happy to be in Italy now and to have taken all my family with me. Going to Italy was a dream for my children. But now that we are safe, we have another dream -- that the war may end as soon as possible," Alkahlout added.
"We want to go back to our land and to reunite with the friends and family we left there. My job is waiting for me, as well as a home to rebuild", he stressed. "It is necessary to have the courage to say that the Palestinians have the right to live alongside the Israelis with their independent state."