A new police operation was carried out at the Baobab Experience Center in Rome in October 1.

The center is engaged in the acceptance and support to migrants in transit in Rome, and depends on the help of many volunteers.

In June 2016, a similar raid occurred, resulting in the eviction of the migrants then at the facility.

'Migration is a fact'

Police forces have evicted and identified the migrants staying at the facility, after approval for the raid was given by the City Council. Some representatives of the Democratic Party and Sinistra Italiana were at the scene and actively opposed, unsuccessfully, what happened. Now the Democratic Party promises to support migrants in distress by offering shelter in their facilities.

Despite this commitment, "Politics has been unable to get any results," says Andrea Costa, the volunteer coordinator at the center. "We take note that the City Council, after voting down a motion of the opposition asking for the Boabab evictions, has repented that decision and come on site. But now we need to find a solution, because migration is a fact that cannot be downgraded to a tool of struggle between opposing political factions."

Without a place to go

The operation was carried out despite the fact that there where no alternative place to house the evicted migrants and many of them were in vulnerable states. A pregnant woman suffered a panic attack during the police action.

There were only four places in Rome for migrants at the time of the evictions. For this reason, the Democratic Party promised to host the migrants in its facilities at Parioli and San Lorenzo.

On October 3, the volunteers held a press conference to explain initiatives going forward. They maintained that support for migrants will continue with the distribution of food and blankets in the streets around the Baobab Center.

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