ITALY: Young migrants receive support
Don Bosco Center in Naples provides safety, help to access services
ITALY
(MissionNewswire) The Don Bosco Center in Naples, Italy, is working to support young migrants who come to Italy looking for safety and better opportunities. Youth come to the country, most without parents, and land in the south before they make their way north in Italy and to the rest of Europe.
The Don Bosco Center is part of the Salesians for Social APS network and is the main point of contact for unaccompanied foreign minors who transit from Campania. The center has a reception community and a project aimed at promoting social and employment inclusion for those who are of age.
In six years, Father Giovanni Vanni, director, has seen nearly 800 youth arrive from as many as 37 different countries. “Many come from Tunisia, but in the last two years, the majority have come from Egypt. They follow a detailed itinerary from the start. They depart from Tobruk, which is the closest Libyan port to the border. While waiting for the boat, they are crammed into a shed. They do not suffer violence, but they are not free to leave. The average age has dropped too. A few days ago, we received a 14-year-old.”
Fr. Vanni continued, “Naples is the first big city coming from the south. Those who disembark only know that they have to go north, otherwise they rely on word of mouth. Naples has become even more famous after the city’s soccer team became champions. These young people immediately try to raise money for the trip. They work for cash, usually in the fields, then get on a train or bus. The problem is that no one seems to see them. They travel at night, rarely does anyone bother to ask them who they are or where they are going.”
Minors arrive at the docks and first look for food. The Caritas canteen feeds them and entrusts them to Fr. Vanni, who hosts them in the La Zattera community. Fr. Vanni explained, “Before coming to us, they loiter for a few days at the point of arrival, no one noticing or carrying about them. That is until maybe some policeman notices them and calls us. Sometimes it is other young people who are already in our community who report them to us.”
Many settle into the center and once they come of age, they enter the integration project. The Don Bosco Center provides a home and supports them at the beginning of their journey as adults. Salesians help with their documentation, connecting with rental apartments and finding a doctor and medical care. Salesians also help them access Italian language lessons, which helps their integration. In addition, Salesians work to find what the youth are good at and encourage them to enter school to build on those skills.
Father Francesco Preite, president of Salesians for Social APS, said, “The migrants we welcome are young people who have struggled in life. Precisely for this reason, they are at the center of our social and educational action that requires the involvement of a community made up of people, associations, institutions and companies. This community collectively is capable of giving dignity to young people and of enhancing the potential present in each of them.”
In addition to helping migrants and refugees, Salesian programs across Italy help youth who are unable to attend school and others who drop out to work at the few jobs available to them. A growing number of children work as laborers on farms and others have turned to the sex trade to help support their families. Those in poverty often live without adequate shelter, hot water, regular meals and health care.
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Sources:
ANS Photo (usage permissions and guidelines must be requested from ANS)
Salesian Missions – Italy
World Bank – Italy
