97 refugees who were evacuated from detention camps in Libya are now in Rome. Among them, some are children and others are facing serious health conditions. Many of them were victims of torture and mistreatment.
Coming from several African countries, as well as Syria and Palestine, they will be settled in various Italian cities because of the groundwork of humanitarian organizations.
The idea is to bring about 1,500 people in need of international aid to Italy within three years.
VALENTINA SETTA
Representative, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Italy)
You are the first, we hope, of a long list of runners who will arrive here and, for my part, I can only wish you, from the bottom of my heart, a better future.
This has been made possible because of several institutions, including the Community of Sant'Egidio, the UN and the Italian government.
CHIARA CARDOLETTI
UNHCR Representative (Italy, Holy See and San Marino)
This is a very important initiative. You know better than me that living in Libya is difficult. So it is a great thrill to know that this flight has been accomplished, that you are safe and sound and that a very nice future awaits you in this country.
Pope Francis has spoken publicly on several occasions about the situation in Libya, referencing these specific detention camps.
POPE FRANCIS
Once again, I call on the international community to keep its promises to seek common, concrete, and lasting solutions for managing the migratory flows from Libya and throughout the Mediterranean. How those who are turned away suffer! There are true concentration camps there.
According to a United Nations report, between 2022 and 2023, more than 670,000 migrants from more than 41 countries are in Libya, many of them trapped in detention camps.
CA
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