A group of asylum seekers and refugees in southern Italy are donating the little money they have to help the country’s earthquake survivors.
More than 70 asylum seekers and refugees living in Gioiosa Ionica are giving up their daily allowance. Every day, they receive 2 euros (about $2.30) meant for their personal expenses. Together, they will contribute a total of €187.5 (about $210) to the earthquake’s response fund.
Giovanni Maiolo, a coordinator of the Sprar di Gioiosa Ionica shelter, said it is the residents’ “small, symbolic gesture of solidarity” to the victims of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake.
Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to at least 247 people. Yet, the number of missing people cannot be confirmed given the thousands of tourists in the area.
“Pictures and videos of the earthquake made them think of the wars and disasters they fled from,” Maiolo said, according to the Huffington Post.
It also reported Centri Damasco, an organization that aids refugees, is willing to take in 100 people displaced by the quake.
Aside from housing and the donations, shelter residents are also helping to clear up the disaster. 50 asylum seekers from GUS, a charity that hosts asylum seekers, will be working in groups of 15 or 20, according to the publication.
“They said that Italy welcomed and helped them, and it was now their turn to help Italians,” GUS Coordinator Letizia Bellabarba told the news site.
These gestures seem minuscule compared to the rescue efforts involving thousands of people and millions of euros. But asylum seeker, Abdullai, is happy to do his part.
“I am a bit tired. But helping these people makes me feel very strong too,” he said, according to the Huffington Post. “This work is much more beautiful than a paid job, and I’ll come back as soon as possible.”
“We hope that the kind of initiatives help fight stereotypes and misconceptions about refugees and migrants,” Maiolo told the Thomas RushHourDaily Foundation.
