ROME, 10 August 2021, (TON): One thousand refugees from Lebanon will be granted access to Italy over the next two years through humanitarian corridors thanks to a new protocol signed by the Italian government, Catholic NGO the Community of Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Italian Evangelical Churches and the Waldensian Table of Italy.

The protocol was signed in Rome on the first anniversary of the explosion at the Port of Beirut, on Aug. 4, 2020, in which 217 people were killed and 7,000 injured.

The blast displaced 300,000 people, caused widespread destruction and devastation, damaging buildings up to 20km away, and worsened the country’s already difficult economic situation.

Humanitarian corridors such as the ones promoted by the Community of Sant’Egidio are considered a model of best practice at an international level and were emulated in similar projects in France, Belgium, Andorra and San Marino.

The agreement was signed by Marco Impagliazzo, president of the Community of Sant’Egidio; Luca Maria Negro, president of the Federation of Italian Evangelical Churches; Alessandra Trotta, moderator of the Waldensian Table; Luigi Maria Vignali, director-general for migration policies at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; and Prefect Michele di Bari, chief of the department for civil liberties and immigration at the Ministry of Interior.

The 1,000 people being granted access to Italy from Lebanon will be selected by the NGOs participating in the program among those in refugee camps who are experiencing a particularly difficult situation. Once in Italy, they will be granted the status of refugees and given social assistance.