Santiago, Chile, Oct 17, 2017 / 23:26 pm
Last week in Santiago, government officials, representatives of the Catholic Church in Chile, and international organizations welcomed the first of 66 Syrian refugees who will be living in the country.
These 14 families, consisting of 34 adults and 32 children, traveled more than 20 hours from Lebanon and arrived as part of the Syrian Refugee Resettlement Program. The families will be making their homes in the Macul district in Santiago and Villa Alemana district in Valparaiso.
Present at the welcome were the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet; the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati; the regional UNHCR representative for southern Latin America, Michele Manca di Nissa; Interior Minister Mario Fernandez; the mayors of the host communities; representatives of the Syrian community in Chile; and the International Organization of Migration (IOM).
Bachelet said she hopes that the refugees will be able to "gradually let go of your fear, pain and uncertainty. We know that you have had trying times, and we want you to find in our country a land that welcomes you with friendship and good will so you can have a fresh start and raise your families in peace and security."