ROME- After the eviction that climaxed this month at Baobab, the autonomous centre for refugees in the Eternal City, the Administration of Gian Paolo Tronca - Special Commissioner of Rome – is not maintaining the promise to reallocate the incoming migrants in alternative facilities, causing disappointment and anger among Baobab volunteers, volunteer sources say.

 Everything started on November 24, when police at 6.30 am made a raid on Baobab centre in order to check and identify the migrants hosted. “The raid,” the police commissioner said in a statement “was an operation part of the security measures for the upcoming Special Jubilee.”

 On that day, 24 out of 60 refugees were taken to a police station because they did not have any proof of identification. The police raid astonished public opinion, because it seemed like more of an anti-terrorism operation with special units, military forces and police dogs rather than ‘a regular check of migrants,' the sources added.

“Since June we have hosted more than 35 thousands migrants, refugees, people that were escaping from the war, from poverty and we gave them a shelter, a meal in order to continue their journey to France, Germany and other northern countries,” said one of the almost 500 volunteers that work tirelessly at Baobab.

 Indeed, according to a recent UNHCR report, the number of refugees in the world in 2015 has reached its highest number, roughly 60 million. Still according to the report, in Italy arrived by the sea in 2015 almost 150,200 refugees and the majority of them are from Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and lastly Syria.

 Despite that, the number of refugees accepted by Italy remains small if compared with other European countries. On average, in fact, Italy hosts one refugee for every thousand people. While Sweden hosts more than 11 refugees per thousand and even France reaches 3.5 per every thousand.

 Soon after the raid in November, the Capital Administration intimated the Baobab centre to close. According to a Court judgement, the centre needed to be moved out as soon as possible, returning it to the owner of the property.

 After have reached an agreement with Tronca’s Administration, on Dec. 6 the volunteers decided to leave autonomously the centre without any police enforcement. In exchange, Baobab demanded four measures to Tronca: to reallocate all the migrants/refugees in other facilities by December 15; to find and open a new structure similar to Baobab; to keep an info point unable to welcome and help migrants passing over Rome; the creation of a stockroom where to put all the donations (clothes, food, blankets and so forth).

 On the same day, the Capital Administration said in a note: “We have concluded the activities for the accommodation of the last guests. As guaranteed by the special commissioner of Rome, Francesco Paolo Tronca, the Administration is working to identify additional solutions for migrants in transit from the city and a delegation of Baobab volunteers will be received again on December 15 ".

 And, indeed, the Administration (surprisingly) did accommodate all the Baobab ‘guests’ on December 6. Some of them were brought to the structure of the Red Cross in Santa Maria del Soccorso, others on the Sisters of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on Via Tuscolana, but also a bunch of them opted to run away, scared of being sent back to their countries.  

 However, after the evacuation, things started to get complicated for the organization and the volunteers. “As expected what happened in the following days was a continuation of an emergency in which the Administration has just participated in the monitoring but the responsibility has been relied entirely on the management of volunteers” said Baobab in a recent post on their Facebook page. 

“We had to provide hot meals, clothes and an outdoor shelter to about 20 people a day, and to manage a much larger crowd in front of the gates of former Baobab centre, solely relying on a camper provided by MEDU organization for medical, legal assistance and travel logistics” continued the post.

 Sel Lazio and Sinistra Italiana were the only political organizations that have helped Baobab, providing some of their structures to host and shelter the incoming refugees for some nights. While the Administration, despite the second meeting scheduled for December 15, seemed to be repugnant at providing real solutions to the current migrants’ problem.

 Indeed, after 10 days from the moving out, the reallocation of refugees continued strenuously. “Out of 24 people who came at the closed gates on via Cupa (almost all Eritreans),”said Baobab in another post on Facebook “the Administration was only able to allocate seven of them, at Via del Frantoio with the Red Cross.”

 The volunteers had to take care of the remaining 17 without any help nor assistance from the Administration. 15 of them have been put in a gym of St. Lawrence; while two children have instead been taken at the organization A28 InterSos.

 Given that, the situation is clearly without any control from the Administration side.  An Administration that should, firstly, maintain its promises and, secondly, guarantee at least a decent staying for those people in transit. Which are the reasons underneath this phony support they are giving to Baobab? Why is there no structured plan to tackle the issue? What do they gain by lacking real commitment?

 In doing so, they are destroying a model of solidarity, which Italy has never been used to.  They are clipping the wings of a unique system of people helping other people in need, an intimate world of human beings which works every day, relentlessly, solely relying on an extraordinary heritage of solidarity and self-respect.