Rome (NEV), February 28, 2019 – The “dublinates” are migrants sent back to Italy from other European countries according to the Dublin Regulation, which requires that the country of first entry is to take charge of the request of a person arrived on the European territory . The Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy (FCEI) and the Lutheran Evangelical Church in Italy (CELI) have been collaborating since 2017 to support these people both from the reception point of view and from the socio-legal point of view.
For David Herewood this path ended with a return to Africa, specifically in Ghana. Daniela Barbuscia, head of the CELI Lutheran Diaconate, tells the story of this boy who arrived in Italy in 2003.

“David, now forty, comes from Monrovia (Liberia). In the journey that in August 2003 took him to Trapani, he lost his only brother – says Barbuscia -. He then worked in Palermo as a garage operator  but, due to the termination of the garage activity, he found himself in great difficulty. Moreover, in 2007, David suffered from a car accident that, for some time, almost completely compromised his physical autonomy. Following these problems, David moved to Germany where, thanks to the support of the German Lutheran Evangelical Church, he was on his way to integration when the approval of the Dublin Regulation, obliged him to return to Italy. On October 16, 2017 – continues Barbuscia – together with the pastor of Naples, Thiele Kirsten, we went to the police headquarters in Caserta where we presented an application for the renewal of the residence permit. In the meantime, we started working on the ‘Back home’ project”.

The project started its realization a few days ago when Barbuscia accompanied to the airport David who took a flight to Ghana, a country where what remains of his family is now living: “The program we envisaged for him includes the purchase of a car to be used as a taxi and, later, with a small capital saved, it will hopefully be possible to open a farm where to mainly rear pigs and chickens. All this will allow David to start an activity with the perspective of an effective autonomy and a more serene life. We are happy and grateful for this achieved goal! – concluded Barbuscia -. Thanks also to the collaboration of the Ispra-Varese, Genoa, Merano and Torre Annunziata communities, which supported the project “.