Children: many children have arrived at Fiumicino airport today, in the arms or taken by the hands of their mothers and volunteers. They come from Ethiopia, where a bloody war is raging. They will never have to undertake terrible sea trips that kill so many of their peers.
Their eyes (pixelated to respect their privacy) are not afraid, but rather amazed, curious. They express joy mixed with tiredness for the night flight. The children are holding a bouquet of flowers in their hands that friends with blue bibs and the dove of peace gave them and their mothers as they got off the plane.
This is today's image, it shows a different immigration. The one of the humanitarian corridors.
This morning, in fact, 70 refugees from the Horn of Africa have landed at Fiumicino on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Addis Ababa. They had long been refugees in camps in Ethiopia and their living conditions have been worsening in recent months due to the conflict in Tigray.
Their arrival in Italy was made possible thanks to a Memorandum of Understanding with the Italian Government, signed in 2019 by the Community of Sant'Egidio and the Italian Bishops' Conference, which provides for the reception of 600 vulnerable people.
The 70 refugees - 8 families with 13 children and 40 single people, mostly young people under 25 - were welcomed at Fiumicino by volunteers and some family members, who have been living in Italy for a long time, some are already Italian citizens.
They will be received in various cities (Rome, Bologna, Belluno, Parma, Brisighella, Cologno Monzese, Padua, Rieti, Ancona, Taranto) by associations, parishes, private citizens and religious institutes with the support of Italian families. They will be accompanied along a path of social and work integration, guaranteeing services, Italian language courses, schooling for the minors, and adequate medical care.
All of this is thanks to a totally self-financed project - with the 8x1000 grant from the Italian Episcopal Conference, funds raised by the Community of Sant'Egidio, the generosity of associations, parishes and citizens who have offered their homes and their free voluntary commitment.
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