Pope Francis yesterday visited Lampedusa to pay tribute to those who had died in trying to cross the Mediterranean from North Africa to seek a better life. He cast a wreath into the sea in memory of the thousands of lives that the sea has claimed.
The Pope also said mass, and denounced “the globalization of indifference” that greets migrants who risk their lives.
Francis decided last week to visit Lampedusa as his first pastoral visit outside of Rome, spurred by a particularly deadly crossing in which a dozen migrants lost their lives. Despite the spur-of-the-moment decision, the island came through, building a makeshift altar out of recycled wood from shipwrecked migrants boats.
Francis greeted newly arrived migrants, and during Mass on the island's sports field, thanked the residents for welcoming so many men and women over the years. He prayed for those who died trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.
The tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa, a treeless, strip of rock nine kilometers (four miles) long, is closer to Africa than the Italian mainland and is the main port of entry into Europe for African migrants smuggled by boat from Libya or Tunisia. At one point a couple of years back when the islands was inundated with thousands of people fleeing from Tunisia, its mayor had jibed that the island should become part of Malta because Italy was not helping with the problem.
President George Abela also spoke out yesterday. He said that we must remember that everyone is human, regardless of their skin colour. Speakign during an activity to announce a missionary group project, President Abela urged peopleto respect everyone’s dignity irrespective of their skin colour.
“We must look at everyone as human beings, respecting their dignity, irrespective of their skin colour,” Dr Abela said. “Nothing must impede this fundamental right.”
He insisted “we must look beyond our Grand Harbour” adding that you learn to appreciate what you have because most of us living in Malta have everything they need. “We must prioritise because we are spoilt,” he said.
How right they both are. Last week, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that Malta would consider pushing boats back to their port of origin. Many have already gone on record saying that push back policies will result in the deaths of many people.
In our leading article last week, we said that we should never lose sight of what makes us human. Compassion and kindness are what these people need.
It is easy to talk about numbers, logistics and burden. But what we should be talking about is the human tragedy that leads to boat crossings. It is death, famine and persecution in Africa that leads to the phenomenon. And not all those who leave their homes even make it to the boats. Once on the boats – we know the story. People are piled into makeshift vessels and pushed out to sea in the hope of a better life. As we know all too well, not all of them make it.
Francis, whose ancestors immigrated to Argentina from Italy, has a special place in his heart for refugees: As archbishop of Buenos Aires, he denounced the exploitation of migrants as "slavery" and said those who did nothing to help them were complicit by their silence.
He repeated that message on in Lampedusa, denouncing smugglers who take advantage of the poverty of migrants to enrich themselves. While thanking the work of Lampedusans and volunteers who care for the newly arrived migrants, he challenged everyone to take responsibility for the migrants' desperation, urging them not to have "anesthesia of the heart."