Her name is Life. She was born under the bombs in Gaza. She fled in the arms of her father and mother and is now in Cyprus, in the refugee camp of Pournara. She is one of the youngest guests of the meals and parties organised in these days in the refugee camps by a group of Sant'Egidio on a ‘winter mission’ in the Mediterranean island. About twenty people - Italians, Germans and ‘new Europeans’, some of whom have come to Europe via the humanitarian corridors - there since the beginning of 2025.
Their arrival has coincided with the reopening of the large tent of the ‘Friendship Restaurant’. It is an unmistakable sign of hope: in fact, for several days, Christmas meals were organised to welcome all 400 refugees from Pournara. As everywhere else in the world, there were red tablecloths, tasty and plentiful food, a family atmosphere and personalised gifts for everyone.
In the following days, the ‘mission’ reached the two other camps on the island - in addition to Pournara, the initial reception centre, there is also Kofinou for previously registered families - around 500 people - and Limnes for those awaiting repatriation. Food and gifts were distributed, and there were parties and games for the children.
The number of refugees has not increased since last year; indeed, the number of asylum applications - around 6500 - has fallen by 50% compared to two years ago. Most of them, around 4,300, are Syrian refugees. The others are Congolese, Cameroonians, Somalis, Sudanese, Iranians and Iraqis.
This year, Christmas for All also entered the gates of the Nicosia prison, where some 70 women of various nationalities - Congolese, Russian, Belarusian, Iranian and from various Asian countries - are detained for administrative reasons, mostly irregularities in identification documents. Songs, dances and the arrival of Father Christmas brought a smile back to the faces of these very young girls, yet with eyes full of suffering.
Sant'Egidio's missions in Cyprus, which have been taking place regularly since December 2021, immediately after Pope Francis' visit, are also aimed at helping people exercise their right to resettlement. To date, some 160 people have been able to reach a stable destination in Europe thanks to the humanitarian corridors.
