Refugees yesterday wept at his feet, kissed his hand and begged for Pope Francis’ help at a Greek refugee camp on the front line of Europe’s refugee crisis, which has claimed hundreds of lives in the past year.
At a sprawling fenced complex on the Aegean island of Lesbos, adults and children broke down in tears, pleading for help after their onward journey to Europe was cut short by an EU decision to seal off a refugee route used by 1 million people fleeing conflict since early last year.
Francis, leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics, shook hands with hundreds of people as hundreds more were penned behind metal barriers at the Moria camp, which holds about 3,000 people.
“Freedom, freedom,” refugees chanted as the pope walked through the hillside facility in scorching sun. Some women ululated.
Earlier, Greek state television reported Francis was planning to take 10 refugees back with him to the Vatican, eight of them Syrians. Their names were taken from a lot this week.
“This is a gift from God,” state broadcaster ERT quoted a woman named Nour as saying.
A Vatican spokesman said he had no immediate comment on the television report, suggesting reporters “should follow the day’s events as they unfold.”
“I want to tell you, you are not alone,” Francis said in a scripted speech.
“As people of faith, we wish to join our voices to speak out on your behalf. Do not lose hope,” he said, flanked by Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, and Greek Archbishop Ieronymos.
On at least three occasions, adults fell to the feet of the pontiff, weeping and begging for help. One woman wearing a crucifix broke through a police cordon and flung herself at Francis’ feet.
Francis has often defended refugees and urged Catholic parishes in Europe to host them. His first trip after becoming pontiff in 2013 was to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, which, like Lesbos, has received thousands of refugees.
Hundreds of people have died making the short, but precarious, crossing from Turkey to the Lesbos shores in inflatable dinghies in the past year, and the island is full of unmarked graves.
“This is a trip that is a bit different than the others... This is a trip marked by sadness,” Francis told reporters on the plane taking him to Lesbos.
“We are going to encounter the greatest humanitarian catastrophe since World War II. We will see many people who are suffering, who do not know where to go, who had to flee. We are also going to a cemetery, the sea. So many people died there... This is what is in my heart as I make this trip,” he said.
Aid organizations have described conditions at Moria, a disused army camp, as appalling.
“This is like Guantanamo. We just want to leave,” said Ahmed, a 29-year-old from Mosul, Iraq.
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