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The city of Rome has awarded a new tender worth €400,000 to the “Refugees Welcome Italy” NGO for the “reception of migrants in the city.” The tender has generated “huge controversy” after it was revealed that under the proposal, families and individuals would accept migrants voluntarily into their homes, but receive no financial compensation.
Under the proposal, families will have to “bear the cost for food and accommodation,” according to Roma Today.
The funding will help the Refugees Welcome Italy NGO identify “families, mentors and social guardians” who are willing to take in the migrants for free and then assign them.
The program is expected to begin on Jan. 1 and will run until Dec. 31, 2028. The money will also be used to “promote paths of social inclusion and work autonomy.”
Remix News reported on the initial call for an operator earlier this month. Notably, the NGO was the only organization that applied for the tender.
As Remix News wrote, the city’s Department of Social Policies clarified that “social inclusion expenditures refer exclusively to interventions and measures aimed at service beneficiaries,” meaning migrants themselves.
“It follows that reimbursements to families cannot be attributed to this item or to any other type of expenditure and are therefore not eligible,” the department stated.
A number of conservative and right-wing parties have been attacking the proposal, calling it a “waste of resources.” The Italian Democratic Party defended the proposal, saying that “welcoming migrants into the family is an experience of great human, social, and cultural value.”
