Caritas Europa: Let solidarity conquer indifference and silence
On the occasion of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Caritas Europa reminds the European Union that the suffering of migrants could be avoided if EU leaders would agree to open more safe and legal channels to Europe.
“I fled the war in Syria with my family. We had no other choice than to pay smugglers and to embark on a small boat. It was so scary and dark. The boat sank and we ended up alone, swimming in the open sea. My father saved me from drowning, but he couldn’t save my mum and brothers – they died before we were rescued,” explains Amira, a refugee from Syria.
Like Amira, 1,004,356 migrants risked their lives in 2015 when fleeing war zones, poverty and hunger in the hope of finding a safe haven in Europe. 3,771 of them died due to the absence of safe and legal routes to reach Europe and because of Europe’s general indifference to the fate of other parts of the world.
In his message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis says: “Indifference and silence lead to complicity whenever we stand by as people are dying of suffocation, starvation, violence and shipwreck. Whether large or small in scale, these are always tragedies, even when a single human life is lost.”
Yet, easy solutions could be implemented to tackle deaths at sea. Hence, Caritas Europa calls for:
- Opening safe and legal channels of entry into the EU.
- Introducing a humanitarian visa, which is affordable and easily accessible via any EU embassy in countries of origin and transit.
- Lifting visa requirements when justified on humanitarian grounds.
- Facilitating family reunification for refugees and migrants, hence fostering integration in receiving countries.
