Catholic charity: Migrant arrivals by sea tripled in Italy in 2020

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Ripamonti pointed out that in addition to the increased number of arrivals by sea — mostly on the southern Italian island of Lampedusa — another 11,000 people were intercepted in the Mediterranean and brought back to Libya, and 1,400 people died trying to make the crossing in 2020.

During the peak of the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring of 2020, 168 countries officially closed their borders and 90 of them denied access to refugees.

“Although it was necessary to reshape our services, we never stopped accompanying the refugees most in difficulty,” Ripamonti said.

“Social distancing is not synonymous with indifference and it is not the opposite of closeness,” the Jesuit priest added.

Centro Astalli supported more than 17,000 people across Italy in 2020, providing meals at its soup kitchens, as well as food deliveries, medicine, and shelter. In Rome, the charity provided 54,417 meals.

Cardinal Antonio Tagle commended the charitable efforts of Centro Astalli and called its annual report “a testimony of humanity, of active love, of compassion.”

“We can see and touch their pains when they decided to leave their homeland due to violence, poverty, and ecological disasters. They can almost hear the cries of the families who separated themselves as they tried to escape from the dangers,” the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples said.

“The pandemic has worsened their situation, but thanks to the warmth, respect, and support provided by Centro Astalli, their dark journey has been bathed with light.”

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