First Batch of Syrian Refugees Flown to Italy

إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية W460

The first batch of Syrian refugees left Lebanon to Italy early on Tuesday as part of a humanitarian mission sponsored by an ecumenical partnership between Italian Christian organizations, reports said.

One hundred Syrian refugees, mostly women and children, were flown out from Lebanon through the Rafic Hariri International Airport as part of a project organized by Sant'Egidio Catholic community, the Federation of Evangelical Churches and the Valdese Evangelical Church.

The project has emerged as part of a humanitarian corridor for those fleeing the war torn country.

Reports said that another batch comprising of some seventy refugees are to be flown to Italy in another three weeks.

The program is aimed at the most vulnerable members of asylum-seeking groups -- from single mothers to pregnant women, handicapped people and sick children -- and should see 1,000 people of various nationalities brought to safety in Italy over the next two years, Sant'Egidio says.

Two offices, in Beirut and Tangier in Morocco, were opened before Christmas to begin selecting candidates, with some 80 families already waiting in the Lebanese capital for a passage to Italy.

There are plans for a third office to be opened in Ethiopia in six months if the program is successful, reports say.

Comments 1
Thumb Dimyl452 03 May 2016, 10:42

1000 people within 2 years? wow that's so much relief from the millions and millions of refugees...