Challenges and Thoughts on Humanitarian Corridors

Roma (NEV), December 22 nd 2020 – yesterday the conclusive meeting of the PPI project took place, the participants were the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy and Oxfam. Financed by the AMIF program of the European Commission, the Private Sponsorship for Integration Project (PPI) aims at granting that migrants arriving in Italy and France through humanitarian corridors are accompanied in the process of social, cultural and economimc integration. This is done through a diverse range of pre- departure and post-arrival activities. The debate, that took place online with more than 40 people, was moderated by Maria Grazia Krawczyk from Oxfam Italy, with an introduction about “The PPI Private Sponsorship for Integration Project”, managed by Zanobi Tosi from Oxfam Italy. The FCEI operator Silvia Turati focused on “pre-departure: how a humanitarian corridor is built, a tale from the field”. She intervened from Lebanon, the country where the beneficiaries of humanitarian corridors, mostly of Syrian origin, depart from. “Managing expectations” was the focus of Giulia Gori, also from the FCEI. To tackle this specificity, since 2016 FCEI offers ad hoc tools and paths of support to migrants, as psychological support from the Metanoia center, offering meetings before the departure to Italy.
Miria Lanini from Oxfam Italy talked about how to “Prepare the hosting territory”, while the “Challenges on the accompanying path of participants” were at the center of the talk of Jacopo Braghini, Oxfam Italy with: “The point of view of participants: the bet of change”.
Last but not least the young Suleiman Suleiman, one of the protagonists of the journey and the experience of humanitarian corridors, gave witness. Syrian artist and student, that arrived in Italy thank to the humanitarian corridors, after spending some time in Vittoria (Sicily), he currently lives and studies in Rome. His dream is to continue his artistic activity and learn how to tattoo. Replying to the question “what do you recommend to people in contact with refugees?” he answered: “getting to know the person”.