Italians begin campaigning to help immigrants.

When the photograph of 3-year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi lying dead on a beach in Bodrum, Türkiye, shook the world and stirred public conscience about the migrant crisis in Europe, in many major Italian cities, several organizations and individuals began campaigns to help migrants.

A high school teacher in Portogruaro, northern Italy, and several other immigrants were taken in by local residents. (Source: La Repubblica)

In the suburbs of Milan, a humanitarian organization called "Amici dei bambini" (Friends of Children) reported that in the past two days they had received more than 300 offers to foster immigrant children, and the number of Italian families nationwide who called their hotline to express their willingness to adopt immigrant children had reached over 2,000.

Diego Moretti, an official of the organization, told the newspaper La Repubblica that "After seeing Aylan's photo, many people searched for information online and contacted us offering to adopt immigrant children."

In Oristano, on the island of Sardinia, Paola Medde, a nurse, was shocked after seeing photos of Aylan. Using Facebook and Twitter, the mother of two appealed to the island's residents to extend a helping hand to immigrants, including children.

Medde herself affirmed her willingness to adopt a child seeking asylum in Italy. Many Italians responded positively to Medde's offer, including many mothers. In Turin, 40 families also registered with the city authorities to offer to shelter immigrants.

Meanwhile, many young Italians and students have responded to the call of the humanitarian organization "System for the Protection of Asylum Seekers and Migrants" (Sprar) and the Parma Center for Migrants to help North Africans and Middle Easterners fleeing war and poverty.

Sprar, who is currently helping 150 people of Syrian, Eritrean, Afghan, and Iraqi origin seek asylum in Italy, is asking young people and students in the city to help others their age find refuge in Italy.

Chiara Marchetti, who is in charge of this support project, told La Repubblica: "City residents as well as students interested in the project can help immigrants find accommodation in their homes, in dormitories, in the apartments they are currently living in. Many people have registered for this program and shown that they are willing to help those in such difficult circumstances."

Sprar will select a group of 20 young people and students to support the project, with a very clear objective: to facilitate the integration of immigrants into life in Parma.

In exchange for free accommodation in Italian homes, immigrants and asylum seekers in other countries must perform community service tasks such as caring for elderly people, volunteering in theaters, participating in neighborhood programs for children, and attending Italian language courses.

In Portogruaro, in the Veneto region of northern Italy, local residents have also facilitated the arrival of 54 new immigrants since July.

The authorities arranged for these people to stay in a school, and the people of the city not only helped them with food, clothing, and blankets, but also facilitated the formation of football teams, and then arranged for them to participate in local amateur tournaments.

Veneto currently hosts over 5,000 immigrants, and for the past two months, Luca Zaia, the region's president and a politician from the anti-immigrant Northern League party, has been firmly resisting the Italian government's request to accept more new asylum seekers.

Many local politicians also spoke out against this request, arguing that the concentration of too many immigrants could increase crime rates in the area, as well as negatively impact tourism, which is one of the region's biggest sources of revenue.

Despite rising anti-immigrant sentiment in many areas, including eastern Sicily, following the arrest of an Ivorian immigrant accused of murdering an elderly couple, and several incidents of anti-immigrant violence in residential areas of Rome, humanitarian movements are also beginning to emerge in many places. Meanwhile, Italian political circles remain divided and conflicted on this issue.

The Italian government insists it will do everything possible to provide humanitarian assistance to immigrants, while right-wing parties, especially the Northern League, in an effort to garner support from voters concerned about the deteriorating security situation, have consistently criticized Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and the ruling Democratic Party (Pd) on this issue.

Since the beginning of the year, Italy has rescued and taken in nearly 120,000 migrants from North Africa and the Middle East who arrived by sea from ships originating in Libya.

The Italian Interior Ministry estimates that the number of people entering Italy via this route this year could reach 200,000.

Last year, Italy received 170,000 people who crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Europe hoping to build a new life. This was an unprecedented number.

(According to Vietnam+)