“Humanitarian corridors not only aim to bring refugees to Italy and other European countries and rescue them from situations of uncertainty, danger and endless waiting; they are also working on integration,” he said.

The Catholic charity Sant’Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches and the Waldensian Church spearheaded Italy’s ecumenical humanitarian transfer initiative, which has brought more than 6,000 people to Europe, Francis was told.

Families from Syria, Afghanistan, Rwanda and Ukraine were in the Vatican auditorium to meet the pope.

“It was important for me to come here to show the world that humanitarian corridors are one of the most beautiful things this world has to offer for people who “deserve safety and dignity,” Oliver Chris I. Kabalisa, a 22-year-old from Rwanda, said. “Because as refugees we don’t leave our country because we want to, but because we are forced, we are forced.”

Afghan refugee Nazani Shakvulla said women in her country are suffering, banned from education, work and travel, and need help from the Vatican and charitable organizations “to support the humanitarian corridors and find a way to evacuate or a way to find ways for girls to end up in Afghanistan. education.”

Follow AP’s coverage of global migration at https://apnews.com/hub/migration