Rome Newsroom, Apr 20, 2021 / 12:00 pm
Refugees and migrants who worked in the restaurant and hotel industries were hit hard by job losses in 2020 due to the lockdown restrictions in Italy, according to a Catholic charity that works to provide social services to migrants.
Centro Astalli, the Italian branch of the Jesuit Refugee Service, reported April 20 that many refugees who have lived in Italy for years in total autonomy returned to the charity with worries about unemployment, paying bills, monthly rent, and schooling for their children.
At the same time, the number of migrants arriving in Italy by sea tripled last year, with more than 34,000 migrants arriving by sea in 2020, up from 11,000 arrivals the previous year, while the number of legal asylum applications in Italy decreased to 28,000 applicants.
Fr. Camillo Ripamonti, the president of the organization, said that while the migrants it serves have faced hardships in Italy, these are often not the worst that they have endured.