Rome (NEV), 1st March 2022– The Federation of Protestant Churches in Italy (FCEI) has announced a multi-faceted action plan to help the Ukrainian population.
“We are asking the government to continue to work in all settings for a cease-fire in Ukraine and to support diplomatic action for a negotiated resolution of the conflict,” declared Daniele Garrone, FCEI president. “The solution to the crisis lies not in weapons which have already produced so many victims but rather in respect for the sovereignty of peoples, reciprocal security and human rights”.
FCEI is therefore launching an extraordinary appeal* the purpose of which is to raise funds for refugee reception, protection and support primarily in Italy and Poland.
“We are delighted by the decision of the Italian government to open humanitarian protection channels,” goes on Garrone, “a safe route which guarantees adequate legal and social protection to all those who arrive in Italy. As Protestants, we feel that in this crisis too we must go the extra mile: in the coming weeks we shall organize humanitarian missions to Poland and intend to facilitate relocation of a quota of refugees to Italy. We will do this by using well-established reception networks for refugees arriving through our humanitarian corridors and by asking for the support of local churches, organisations and families who are in a position to offer longer-term hospitality. Through this commitment,” emphasises the FCEI president, “we also want to underline the requirement for shared European responsibility as regards management of refugees, as opposed to the principles of national self-interest which have so often characterized the debate on immigration along the Mediterranean route”.
Planning the first humanitarian mission to Poland in the coming days, the FCEI president reminds us of the need also to guarantee protection to non-Ukrainian refugees who are fleeing Ukraine and who are encountering serious difficulties in entering Poland. This is an intolerable form of discrimination and we call on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the European Union to fight against this”.
The first tranche of the action plan envisages a budget of around €200,000, to be collected through the extraordinary appeal and thanks to FCEI member churches.
* “Ukrainian Appeal”
BANK TRANSFERS:
Account name: Federazione delle Chiese Evangeliche in Italia – Via Firenze 38, 00184 Roma
Bank: Banca Unicredit – Via Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, 70, 00185 Roma
IBAN: IT 26 X 02008 05203 000104203419
PAYPAL:
