These are the words of Fr. Giovanni La Manna president of the centre for emigrants and refugees at Astalli where some of our Sisters do voluntary work.
HUMAN RIGHTS FOR REFUGEES: A FANTASY
These are the words of Fr. Giovanni La Manna president of the centre for emigrants and refugees at Astalli where some of our Sisters do voluntary work.
In 2012, 175,000 people sought asylum in Italy. Men and women who flee from war torn regions and seek haven in a “safe” country. Eventhough life in Italy is what they want, unfortunately it is uncertain.
Italy does not provide adequate welcoming facilities. Suffice it to say that a family with children, even babies who arrive in big towns may have to wait for months for a bed.
Even if a refugee has obtained qualifications in his own country,
when he arrives in Italy he is obliged to repeat his secondary education.
Even today many of those who were guaranteed international protection reside illegally in certain quarters; not to mention an inefficient bureaucracy which complicates the simplest tasks even the issuing of a resident permit.
One refugee out of every three has been subjected to torture in his own country but this is not an important issue for the Italian legal system. This provides no right for assistance and no access to a process of integration.
Many live in the street
Without any meaningful human support
Without hope…
When the suffering becomes unbearable
They lose their reason
There are cases like Samiro’s, who not having slept for days, attempted suicide in the Astalli centre; or that of Mada, a refugee from Ghana who acts stupidly assuming guilt for an offence for which he is both instigator and victim. For many refugees, human rights, in Italy are a fantasy – a dream but it is not enough to make complaints. One needs a political will to give meaning to the word ‘protection’. It is urgent that some sector of society become conscious of the fact and no longer remain indifferent to the suffering of humanity “on pilgrimage”.