139 refugees arrived at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport in Fiumicino on a charter flight from Tripoli organised by UNHCR. Among them 39 women and 69 minors, some of whom born in Libya, where they have lived with their families in highly difficult conditions for a long time. They entered Italy under a protocol between the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, UNHCR, Arci and the Community of Sant'Egidio, signed in December 2023, which has so far allowed the safe arrival of 592 people.
Coming from different African countries, the refugees will be welcomed in different Italian regions by the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Arci and through the national reception system SAI, and immediately started towards integration, according to the consolidated model of humanitarian corridors: minors, thanks to schooling, and adults, thanks to learning the Italian language and integration into the world of work.
The humanitarian corridors, entirely self-financed, are a civil society initiative that shows that safety from sea voyages - and therefore from human traffickers - can be combined with reception and integration. An internationally recognised best practice that can become a model for states and the entire European Union. Even at a time marked by the proliferation of conflicts, they are a concrete response for vulnerable individuals and families who have the right to be protected and who must be offered hope for the future. In total, with the humanitarian corridors, some 8,000 refugees have arrived in Europe since February 2016.
