Pope Francis today expressed his sorrow for the migrants who lost their lives last Wednesday in the English Channel, for those stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland and for those who die in the Mediterranean, rejecting “any kind of instrumentalization” of immigration. .
“I feel pain (for those who died in the English Channel, for those on the border with Belarus, including many children, for those who drowned in the Mediterranean,” the pope said in a speech in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday.
The shipwreck that claimed the lives of at least 27 people is the worst tragedy in the English Channel since the beginning of the year.
“Let’s think about how many migrants are exposed to very serious dangers these days and how many are losing their lives at our borders. “I reiterate my call to those who can contribute to resolving these issues, especially to the political and military authorities, that understanding and dialogue ultimately prevail over instrumentalization,” the pope added.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church also recalled the tragedy of those trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. “Those repatriated to North Africa are being held captive by traffickers. “They turn them into slaves, sell women, torture men,” he said, adding: “To those immigrants in such crisis situations, I offer my prayers and say from the bottom of my heart, know that I am by your side.”
A European Intergovernmental Conference on Migration kicked off this afternoon in Calais, France, with the participation of Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium. Britain was excluded due to the diplomatic crisis with France.
The aim is to intensify the fight against the traffickers’ networks in the English Channel.
“There are too many dead” and “we can not accept that other people will die,” said French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanen, welcoming his guests, the ministers of Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium responsible for immigration. as well as the Commissioner for Home Affairs and the directors of the European services Europol and Frontex.
The long-absent British Home Secretary Pretty Patel announced via Twitter that she would hold talks with her European counterparts next week “to avoid further tragedies in the Channel”. She added that she has already started today, talking to her Dutch counterpart, Ankie Breckers Knowles. Patel was excluded from the Calais summit on the occasion of a letter posted on Twitter by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, asking Paris to take back migrants arriving in Britain from France and to organize joint police patrols on the north coast. of France.
“Our policy is clear: these ships must stop. We can not do it alone. We need the cooperation of the French “, commented earlier the British Minister of Health, Sajid Javid, in an interview with Sky News.
“The relationship with the United Kingdom is not easy, but it is necessary, our geographical location forces us to work together,” admitted Gerald Darmanen of Calais.
About 40 protesters had gathered outside Calais town hall, chanting slogans against the French minister, such as “Darmanen, murderer, you have blood on your hands.”
“These borders have been killing for a very long time” and “Open the borders” were written on their posters by the gathered people.
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