A new humanitarian corridor with three Syrian refugee families arrived last night from Lebanon at Paris-Roissy airport, thanks to a new protocol signed in France by Sant'Egidio, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Semaines sociales de France.
The protocol will provide for identification, welcome, integration and inclusion in France of 300 refugees from Lebanon - originating from Iraq and Syria with priority given to the most vulnerable - over the next two years. The new protocol follows a first one, signed in 2017, which allowed 504 people to be welcomed in France.
The humanitarian corridors, that were awarded the Nansen Prize by the UNHCR in 2019, are a European civic and ecumenical initiative. They are a replicable model, recognised by the European Commission as a legal way to access forms of protection in the European Union.
The stories of those who have already arrived with the humanitarian corridors show that it is possible not only to save the life of people risking to fall into traffickers' hands, but also to realise paths of integration with the generosity of many Europeans - some have even offered their homes for hospitality- and their voluntary and free commitment.
First launched in Italy in 2016, the Humanitarian Corridors have allowed the reception of more than 3,500 people in Italy, France, Belgium and Andorra, coming from Syria, Iraq, Libya, Ethiopia and Lesvos.
