“They have arrived with their few belongings, full of fear and hope,” observes Dr Paolo Naso, as he watches 93 Syrian immigrants — 41 of them children — step off a plane that came from Beirut on 29 February.
Participants in a recent conference on the refugee crisis in Europe, hosted by the WCC, said they felt energized by the reports from a multitude of activities undertaken by churches from Lebanon to Finland through Serbia, Greece and Germany.
The first of what will be 1,000 refugees from camps in Lebanon, Morocco and Ethiopia are arriving this month in Italy through a “Humanitarian Corridors” project organized by the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy, the Sant’ Egidio religious community and the Italian government.
A coalition of Protestant and Catholic organizations has reached an agreement with the Italian government to provide travel and integration services for refugees from North Africa and the Middle East.
