Katerina Sakellaropoulou, President of the Hellenic Republic, was received by the Community of Sant'Egidio in Trastevere. Following a visit to the Santa Maria in Trastevere Basilica, where she was welcomed by the parish priest don Marco Gnavi, the president went to an Italian language and culture school run by Sant'Egidio and attended over the years by thousands of immigrants in a spirit of welcome and integration.
There she met some families who had arrived from Greece, mostly from the island of Lesbos, through Humanitarian Corridors as part of an agreement between Sant'Egidio and the Italian state in collaboration with Greek authorities for 300 vulnerable refugees. Some Afghans, who had arrived in Rome in the past weeks and were welcomed by the Community, were also present.
Today's visit ended with a meeting at Sant'Egidio with Community leaders. Topics discussed included the need for an urgent response in Europe to the growing poverty of the most vulnerable population groups caused by the pandemic and the need to take action on the phenomenon of immigration, affecting all the EU countries. The value of Humanitarian Corridors was emphasised in order to save refugees from human traffickers
Finally, the importance of the commitment to peace in the Mediterranean area and in the Near East emerged, with particular attention to the social and humanitarian emergencies caused by the Afghan crisis.
