Mediterranean Hope – Newsletter December 2016

Humanitarian corridors. One year after the launch of the project, 500 people have been welcomed in INEV

Rome (NEV), 30 November 2016 – With the fifth arrival of Syrian citizens from Lebanon scheduled for 1st and 2nd of December 2016, the number of people arriving safely in Italy via the “humanitarian corridor” project will amount to 500. The project was created by the Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI), the Waldensian Executive Board and the Community of Sant’Egidio. This result was reached in less than a year from the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the promoters and the Ministries of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.  Read more…

The Odyssey of November 3rd – Chronicle of a Shipwreckby Tommaso Tamburello, volunteer at the MH’s Observatory in Lampedusa

December, 5th, 10.30 AM. It was raining while taking place, inside the church of San Gerlando, the commemoration for the victims of the shipwreck occurred between November 2nd and 3rd off the Libyan coast. The migrants who perished had set off from Tripoli on a risky boat and sailed with stormy sea. They were 147 men, women and children, mostly from Cameroon, Guinea, Ivory Coast and Mali. Only 27 of them survived.  Read more…

Beaucoup de personnes! by Ivana De Stasi, Mediterranean Hope staff at the House of Cultures of Scicli

Scicli, Ragusa (NEV), 14 December 2016 – I hear my name being called, I turn around. It’s Eric. Besides my name, he can’t say anything else except “beaucoup, beaucoup des personnes!” I try to ask him what happened, but nothing, this time he can’t even speak. He gesticulates with his large hands as if to emphasise the fact that something big has happened, it involves many people, but it is unclear where and why. He takes me by the arm and drags me outside the Casa delle Culture (House of Cultures).  Read more… (in Italian)

Medical Hope: A Healthcare Project Daniela Grill – Riforma

In addition to MH’s Humanitarian Corridors which have been carried out by FCEI, the Tavola Valdese and the Community of Sant’Egidio, another project will complement the aid provided to those who have been living in refugee camps or cannot afford a suitable medical care.  Read more…