**5. Humanitarian Corridors: From Fear to Empathy**

For the Christian organizations, the central concepts are charity, philanthropy, volunteering, and the notion of civil society (Bernardo 2019). They o ffer a very concrete, doctrinally embedded vision of how the problem of migration should be perceived. Faith-based hospitality is rooted in the theological arguments concerning the dignity and sacredness of every human being and commitment to follow the example of Christ (Wilson 2011), whose teachings introduced the revolutionary change in the

perception of the relationship towards "the other", transcending the "rule of law" towards the "rule of love". As Leszek Kołakowski points out, Jesus' teachings were the challenge to the world from which the new universe has emerged. The essence of transformation that he proposed was love. The key issue, though, was that this transformation was not imposed from the position of the one holding power. His message was based on the force that changes the soul and makes it ready to follow the certain path (Kołakowski 2014). Love and compassion hold the center and require a fullness of commitment (Lederach 2014).

As such, Christ's calling "I was a stranger and you took me in" (Mt, 25, 35) is moral encouragemen<sup>t</sup> for the voluntary "reaction of heart", but also the call for responsibility for a transforming of the world that became the pattern for activities addressed towards those displaced ones. Yet in the Christian approach, not only the teachings but also the story of Jesus himself is the fundamental point of reference emphasized by the fact the entirety of Jesus's personal experience is one of a refugee (Montville 2016). "Jesus lived in a war zone under foreign military occupation in a period of civil war and violent insurgency against the foreign occupier and the domestic leaders who cooperated with the occupying forces. He and his family were refugees, according to the definition of the 1951 Convention on Refugees; they fled genocide, as described in the 1948 Convention for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide" (Cusimano Love 2015).

In the documents of numerous European Christian Churches referring to the migration issue "God is a God on the move whom we can meet in the stranger". They underline the necessity of building the "culture of welcome" and the "culture of encounter" in the spirit of solidarity and universal community based on human fraternity in spite of all the di fficulties that opening to others entails. Christian cosmopolitanism can be perceived as an alternative to overly-protectionist visions of the nation-state in addition to the abstract accounts of liberal cosmopolitanism that calls for borderless states (Bretherton 2010). At the same time, the religiously rooted concept of just peace critiques, complements, and supplements the liberal peace (Omer 2015). Contrary to reducing the hospitality only to charity (Baker 2011), just peace criteria include a participatory process, the right relationships, restoration, reconciliation, and sustainability (Cusimano Love 2015). In the area of migration, just peace means, first of all, the relational and transformative dimension aimed at building the new reality both for the hosted ones and the hosts.

The establishment of "deep, serious and intense bonds between those who organize the project and the beneficiaries" (Rolando 2018) has been one the priorities of Humanitarian Corridors. The project has served as the ground-breaking solution proposed by a group of Christian actors to deal with the migration problem after its drastic increase in 2015. The concept of Humanitarian Corridors, which became the exemplification of religious engagemen<sup>t</sup> first in the relation with the Italian government, and later some other European countries, constituted not only some legal option directed at those putting their lives at risk while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. It also showed the small-scale, ye<sup>t</sup> epochal alternative, towards the governments and the societies struggling to respond to this axiological and normative challenge to solve the "duty dilemma". As such, Humanitarian Corridors became both ethically and politically acceptable ways to reconcile between the political–cultural demand to protect the population and moral obligation to reach out to "the other".

Three crucial actors were engaged in the introduction and realization of the project: The Waldensian Church, the Federation of Protestant Church, and the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio. The concept and procedures consisted of a few stages. The main role for the start of the project was played by Waldensian Church, which made available the capital for the initial phase of the project based on the "eight per thousand", which means 0.8% of the annual tax received from the state of Italy. Later, the original sponsors were joined by others, including private individuals, societies, cooperatives, labor unions, and other religious communities that consisted of particularly Jewish and Asian communities (Rolando 2018). What was created was a big solidarity net and a peculiar form of "ecumenism in action" (Bernardo 2019).

The legal mechanism of the project is based on Article 25 of the Schengen regulations, which allows a state to release humanitarian visas in order to allow the vulnerable people to be exceptionally granted access to the country. After the mechanism was developed conceptually, it was proposed to the Italian Ministry of Foreign and International A ffairs. As a result, the memorandum of understanding was signed in December 2015 and renewed in November 2017. It envisaged bringing into Italy up to 1000 asylum seekers per cycle in a safe and legal fashion.

Three main objectives were aimed for in the project. Firstly, it was making the arrival to Italy safe and legal. Secondly, it helped the refugees to overcome trauma that all of them experienced in a majority of forms. At this stage, it was also important to make them understand how they might imagine their new lives in Italy. Thirdly, it helped them to find a job and eventually to become independent. In the process, two standards were applied, which were avoiding the concentration of the newcomers in one location and engaging the local communities to take part in the reception. Those accompanying the refugees are thus not professional social workers, but usually volunteers concentrated around the church or the parish (Rolando 2018).

One of the actors that has participated within the project and soon has become the "face" of the initiative is Community of Sant'Egidio. In this way it followed its 50-year-long tradition of developing the unique model of lay vocation (Johnston 2008). Through its original interpretation of the Christian message, an innovative and e ffective community constitutes one of the most compelling examples of transcending existing visions and practices in the area of religious engagement. Established in 1968 by a group of high school students under the leadership of Andrea Riccardi with the purpose to practically perform the premises of the Second Vatican Council, it refers to five pillars: Prayer, evangelization, solidarity with the poor, ecumenism, and dialogue (Community of Sant'Egidio 2020).

The essence of Community's goals is expressed in the 3P concept, meaning prayer, poor, and peace. Following this framework, Community has become one of the most well-known bodies advocating for the poor and marginalized ones, but also the successful mediator and facilitator in the area of religious peacemaking. As such, Community has been engaged in numerous global campaigns dealing with AIDS or the death-penalty, and also in coordinating the World Day of Prayer for Peace in Assisi, initiated by John Paul II in 1986, which brings yearly representatives of numerous di fferent religions. Even though the members carry out their work of service on a strictly volunteer basis, and they use virtually no paid sta ff, Community has been able to make a substantial di fference in the places where it operates. On the local scale, this means running soup kitchens and small group homes for the elderly and AIDS patients, and providing numerous services to immigrants and refugees. On the larger scale, it means advocacy on a number of issues such as the rights of the elderly and immigrants or the global campaign against the death penalty (Johnston 2008).

Community has been well-known for successfully brokering the peace negotiations that led to ending the bloody war in Mozambique (Albright 2007) as well as in numerous other conflicts over the last decades. In fact though these activities have been perceived through the lens of service to the poor. Andrea Riccardi emphasizes that Community's orientation towards faith and evangelical inspiration are at the heart of its existence, and its main and fundamental identity is "first and foremost a Christian community" (Riccardi 2013). Known as the "U.N. of Trastevere", Community of Sant'Egidio's self-understanding has relatively little to do with diplomatic work: "Rather, Sant'Edigio is primarily a community of lay people who try to live the gospel through a life of prayer and service to the poor" (Johnston 2008).

While encounter and dialogue are the main aspects of the concept of religious engagement, they are also the essence of the Sant'Egidio's theoretical and practical alignment. Encounter means to "encounter with real people" and dialogue "is ingrained in the DNA of the Community". Peace is achieved through dialogue, search for common good, mediation, and agreement, which are the determinants of developing human relationships (Riccardi 2013). Equally important is not just bearing "witness" to the moral or religious value of peace, but acting in practice to achieve it. Present only in the sphere of hopes and dreams, peace may be practically achieved when its vision is internalized. This

capacity to dream in reality should be perceived as one of the main Community's sources of success. What it entails is transformation of perception of reality in such a way that the inability to envision the peaceful, undivided future is altered with the new hopeful alternative that reaches beyond the existing options (Riccardi 2013; Johnston 2008).

The constituting framework organizing Community's universal vision based on the hope for change is a vision of overcoming indi fference and building a more human world where there will be a place for everyone (Pope Francis 2017). The core of the image of a peaceful, just world is fundamentally expressed in the vision of "the other". Being the central focus in the spirituality of Community's perception of the other has been significantly shaped by the theological influence of one of the most important theologians of the XX century and the participant of the Second Vatican Council French theologian Yves Congar. According to Congar, the key moral test for Christians who would be engaged in the world is their attitude towards "the other". In his perception, true dialogue, which is the foundation for the church's relations to the world, depends on the ability to accept "the other" as other, and the willingness to be open to what "the other" can teach us (Johnston 2008). Thus, the notion of dialogue is not the normative concept, but the base for the members of the Community to practically, on a daily basis, open themselves up to developing relations of friendship with those encountered ones. This particular concept of true opening to "the other", building the real, direct relations based on patient communication has become the unique instrument worked out the Community known as "diplomacy of friendship" (Giro 2000).

"To be holy is the world" has been the essence of Community's spirituality and practice (Johnston 2008). Based on the conviction that responsibility and ability to act rely upon ordinary people, the citizens, Community is orienting itself towards the demanding, innovative initiatives through which it creates its own, specific mode of "knowledge" utilized in numerous projects realized both in Italy and abroad. Deeply rooted in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council and the influence made by Ives Congar, it strongly refers to his vision of constructing the Church through new, di fferent forms of fulfilling the Gospel without betraying its truth and its tradition, the forms of holiness less opposed to the earthly life. As such, it operates towards recognizing the reality beyond the existing constraints. This mode brings together some elements of visionary idealism but, at the same time, pragmatism based of the experience gained during the years of its multidimensional service to "the other" based on the premise that no people are strangers, especially not those experiencing su ffering (Johnston 2008; Riccardi 2013).

Community has been engaged in helping migrants since the 1970s when they started to be a significant component of the Italian society. Since then, the two main objectives have been organizing practical support in receiving and integrating migrants. In 1982, Community organized the first language course for immigrants, perceiving the knowledge of Italian as the "access key" to integration. Soon, the branches of the School of Language and Culture were established in numerous Italian and European cities, creating this way the "high-impact generators of inclusion". At the end of 1980s, the movement called the People of Peace was established, which is supported by the Community as the place for creating the culture of "peaceful and sympathetic citizenship" among the people of di fferent ethnic and religious origins.

Since 2015, over 2400 refugees were safely relocated in Italy with the support of local organizations, parishes, and the people of good will (Del Re 2019). Even though the scale of the Humanitarian Corridors project is not big, and definitely not su fficient compared to the scale of needs, it was a "small step to remove the brick from the wall" (Gois and Falchi 2017) that did create first the "domino e ffect" and later the "spill over e ffect". Following Italy, the agreements on establishing the Humanitarian Corridors were signed in the subsequent years with France, Belgium, and Germany (PAP 2019). Later, the pattern was transferred into the global discourse, becoming the "show case" in terms of new solutions for asylum seekers. As such, the project was discussed as one of the proposals for the Global Compact on Refugees, which was a non-binding international agreemen<sup>t</sup> that was adopted by more than 180 states in December 2018. The document, which was approved after two years of extensive consultations led

by UNHCR with Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts, is to serve as a framework for more equitable responsibility-sharing. It not only recognizes that a sustainable solution to the problem cannot be achieved without international cooperation. In fact, it calls for the transformation of the image of refugees, showing their presence as an advantage to the communities that host them (United Nations 2018). In the statement at Global Refugee Forum one year later, Emanuela Del Re, Minister of International Cooperation for Italy, pointed out that "Italy has never lost the sense of its moral responsibility towards women and men in need" and that "Every person counts". She also stressed that Italy proposed the model of Humanitarian Corridors at the European Parliament as a pattern to become a European practice in the form of European Humanitarian Corridors (Del Re 2019). In 2019, Humanitarian Corridors, as the complementary pathway to existing third country resettlement programs, has been recognized by UNHCR as a "ground-breaking cross-border initiative". As such, UNHCR has named the project as regional winner of the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award (Patisson 2019). The agency praised the scheme as a "lifeline for those at greatest risk" and an urgently needed pathway for protection (Higgins 2019).

The Italian case of cooperation between the religious and faith-based actors can be perceived as an example of the intense effective synergy that has been established between the Italian governmen<sup>t</sup> and the organizations of the Italian civil society. Looking from the perspective of gains on the side of the government, the long-time cooperation between civil society actors and the governmen<sup>t</sup> has made it possible for Italy to take a leading role at the international level, moving from rule-taking to rule-making (Marchetti 2018).

The concept of Humanitarian Corridors constituted the visionary, engaged response to probably the most dramatic and most pressing humanitarian issues of the last decades. In this process, thanks to the religious perspective, the important innovation has been proposed. This innovation, based on knowledge coming from encounter and dialogue, served both as the purpose and as the instrument of relational and transformative approaches to problem of migration. The project of Humanitarian Corridors shows that religious contribution should be recognized at many different levels which, to a certain extent, serves as the role-model of what religious and faith-based organization can offer as the "added value". As a type of "bottom up" project, fully organized and financed by the civil society, it created the solidarity net that became the message to the politicians and to the societies raising their knowledge of "the other" and the sense of empathy which is the condition of proper functioning of the society. This way, the receiving societies and the governments become themselves the beneficiaries of the project, not only at the intercultural, cognitive, and communication level, but also through the prism of "emotional capacity" and "ethical imagination", contributing to development of civic participation, engagement, and responsibility (Safjan 2018).
