Pope Francis calls attempts to “repel” migrants a “grave sin”

For Francis, Most of the shipwreck victims could have been savedwhich is why he called for solidarity in a prayer for those who died at sea or were “abandoned in the desert.”

“It must be said clearly: There are those who systematically work by all means to repel migrants.“And this, when done with conscience and responsibility, is a grave sin,” the Pope insisted.

“Some deserts, unfortunately, also become migrant cemeteries. Often, these are not “natural” deaths here either. No. Sometimes they are taken to the desert and abandoned there,” he added.

Francisco, a fervent defender of migrants, did not mention any countrybut his statements can be interpreted as a reference to current events, especially in Europe and Mexico.

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In mid-2023, dozens of sub-Saharan migrants were rescued by Libyan guards, who claimed to have been expelled and abandoned by Tunisian authorities in a desert area on the border between the two countries. Images of Thirsty men and women wandering in the desert they went around the world.

In May 2024, the European Union acknowledged “a difficult situation” after the publication of a journalistic investigation that revealed that Tens of thousands of migrants had been arrested and abandoned in the middle of the desert in Morocco, Tunisia and Mauritania, with financial support from the EU.

The EU recently adopted a reform of its asylum and migration policyin order to tighten arrival controls and speed up the return of migrants who do not obtain the right to asylum.

The 87-year-old Pope once again called the Mediterranean Sea “cemetery“.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us unite our hearts and efforts, so that the seas and deserts may become not cemeteries but places where God can open paths to freedom and fraternity. https://t.co/LUERD47RX5

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) August 28, 2024

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“The tragedy is that many, most of these dead, could have been saved,” he stressed.

According to him, the solution to the migratory flow does not lie in “more restrictive laws” or in “the militarization of the borders,” but in the Expansion of “safe and legal access routes”.

In 2023, more than 3 thousand migrants were reported missing after try to cross the Mediterraneanaccording to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).