2015-08-28 16:35:00

Caritas Europa: migrants’ deaths are a “catastrophe”


(Vatican Radio) Caritas Europa issued a statement on Friday (28th Aug)  saying that “the migrants are not a threat to the EU but our policies are a threat to them.” The statement came in response to the news that hundreds of migrants were missing and feared dead  after two boats capsized on Thursday (27th Aug) off the coast of Libya, and over 70 migrants were found dead in an Austrian truck on the same day.

Caritas Europa’s Asylum and Migration Officer is Marie Tempesta. She  said the latest deaths involving migrants  were a “catastrophe”, and reiterated Pope Francis’ words that the Mediterranean could not become a “vast cemetery.” She spoke to Claire Gilbody Dickerson on the migrant crisis.

Interview with Marie Tempesta, Caritas Europa’s Asylum and Migration Officer:

Tempesta said that Caritas was calling for a review of the EU rules on migration, because she said only a few countries were shouldering  the burden of the migrant crisis, something “totally not in accordance with the EU’s principle of solidarity.”

The Caritas migration expert said that the EU commission was calling for resettlement and rescue operations as part of the EU migration agenda, which she described as “good”, but she said the proposed 20,000 resettlement places were “not enough”, and Caritas was calling for more.

Stressing how “really important” it is for the EU to help refugees and asylum seekers, Tempesta said that these people “are traumatized by conflicts in their home countries and should be able to come to Europe and ask for asylum without risking their lives in the Mediterranean.”

When asked what Caritas thought the coming months would be like, Tempesta said they were “not optimistic about the future” because with “desperate” migrants arriving during the winter the situation will worsen given the much less favorable weather conditions.

She said in conclusion that Caritas and other NGOs are “trying their best”, though the response from EU members was “not enough” to tackle the crisis.

 








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