Europe's migrant crisis dominates pope's Cyprus-Greece trip

2 years ago 248

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis’ travel to Cyprus and Greece is drafting caller attraction to the plight of migrants connected Europe’s borders and the disconnect betwixt Francis’ Gospel-driven telephone for countries to invited and integrate them and front-line governments that are progressively unwilling oregon incapable to fto them in.

The eastbound Mediterranean land federation of Cyprus has seen specified a spike successful migrant arrivals this twelvemonth — a 38% summation successful the archetypal 10 months compared to each of past twelvemonth — that it has formally asked the European Commission to fto it halt processing asylum claims altogether.

Francis is expected to rise the migration question — and Cyprus’ astir half-century part — erstwhile helium arrives successful Nicosia connected Thursday connected the archetypal limb of his five-day trip. The sojourn volition besides instrumentality him backmost to Lesbos, wherever successful 2016 helium made headlines erstwhile helium brought a twelve Syrian migrants location with him from a exile campy connected the Greek island.

Francis is arranging a akin transportation this clip around: Around 50 migrants successful Cyprus person been identified for transportation to Italy, though they won't articulation him connected the level location but volition beryllium resettled successful coming weeks, Cypriot officials say. And the Vatican hasn’t ruled retired that immoderate much migrants from Lesbos mightiness beryllium relocated to Italy arsenic good pursuing Francis’ visit.

“It was similar a gift,” said 1 of the Syrian migrants who travel to Italy aft Francis’ 2016 sojourn to Lesbos, Malak Abo. Now, Abo works astatine a donation halfway tally by the Catholic Sant’Egidio foundation radical successful Rome that helped facilitate his 2016 transfer.

In divided Nicosia, Francis volition instantly travel face-to-face with the world of the island's taste cleave, which is besides helping to substance its migration influx. Francis volition beryllium staying successful the Vatican nunciature, oregon embassy, which is located successful the U.N.-controlled buffer portion that divides the land betwixt the Greek Cypriot southbound and the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north.

Cyprus was divided successful 1974 erstwhile Turkey invaded pursuing a coup by supporters of national with Greece. Only Turkey recognizes the Turkish Cypriot declaration of independency successful the north. U.N.-led efforts to resume reunification talks are proceeding astatine a snails-pace amid a Greek Cypriot rejection of Turkish Cypriot telephone for a two-state deal.

Around 80% of each migrants successful Cyprus archetypal get successful the northbound and past transverse the porous U.N. greenish enactment to question asylum successful the internationally recognized south, which is simply a subordinate of the European Union. The Cypriot authorities claims that Turkey systematically sends asylum-seekers to the breakaway northbound truthful that they past unit the island’s confederate government.

Among the imaginable candidates for transportation to Italy aft the pope’s sojourn are Grace Enjei and Daniel Ejuba, 2 Cameroonian asylum-seekers who crossed from the northbound astir six months agone and got stuck successful the buffer zone, wherever they person been surviving successful a bluish structure ever since.

“If assistance tin travel from anywhere, I volition drawback it,” Enjei said connected the eve of Francis’ arrival. “And if I’m fixed the accidental to like, marque a choice, of course, anyplace successful Europe volition beryllium OK.”

She and Ejuba paid hundreds of euros to idiosyncratic successful the northbound who showed them the mode to transverse done the U.N. enactment six months ago. They would look deportation if they returned to the north, but person been blocked from crossing into the southbound amid Cyprus’ crackdown connected migrants, which has precocious included a 27.5 million-euro ($31.8 million) woody with Israel to instal a camera strategy to show the 180-kilometer-long (110-mile-long) buffer zone.

Despite the precarious beingness they are surviving successful a structure connected the U.N. greenish line, Grace says remaining successful confederate Cameroon wasn't an option: Her location was burned down and random shootings and unit made her fly for the bush seeking safety.

“I don’t regret leaving home. I don’t,” she said. “Even successful my contiguous situation, I inactive don’t regret it.”

Francis has made the plight of migrants a hallmark of his papacy, making his archetypal travel extracurricular Rome arsenic pope to the land of Lampedusa, the destination of prime for Libyan-based migrant smugglers. He has since prayed astatine the U.S.-Mexican border, toured a exile campy successful Bethlehem and met with Rohingya refugees who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh.

In a connection this week marking the International Organization of Migration’s 70th anniversary, Francis insisted that refugees are radical deserving of dignity and denounced however their desperation is exploited, a connection helium has repeated successful notation to the standoff astatine the EU’s borderline with Belarus.

“The statement connected migration is not truly astir migrants,” Francis said. “Even much regrettable is the information that migrants are progressively being utilized arsenic bargaining chips, arsenic pawns connected a chessboard, victims of governmental rivalries.”

Francis is besides gathering with the Orthodox leaders successful some Cyprus and Greece, arsenic good arsenic the tiny section Catholic communities successful each country.

The sojourn comes amid caller pandemic question bans crossed overmuch of the satellite acknowledgment to the omicron variant archetypal detected successful South Africa.

The pope, who turns 85 this period and has lone portion of 1 lung, is afloat vaccinated but mostly eschews look masks. Asked what if immoderate precautions had been taken to support him and others during the trip, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said “prudence” arsenic good arsenic prevailing wellness walk requirements that are successful spot successful astir of Europe.

Asked if the pope and Vatican delegation had received booster shots, Bruni said “I would presume” anyone traveling connected the papal level who wanted 1 could get one.

Cyprus has successful caller weeks seen a spike successful regular COVID-19 infections astatine a complaint hovering supra 0.5% which has prompted authorities to mandate mask-wearing and play investigating for schoolkids implicit 6 arsenic good arsenic to cancel each schoolhouse Christmas events.

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Menelaos Hadjicostis reported from Nicosia, Cyprus.

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