Stephanie Sammartino McPherson - The Global Refugee Crisis: Fleeing Conflict and Violence

Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church, greeted refugees during his 2016 visit to the Moria refugee camp in Lesbos, Greece. The camp houses about fifty-five hundred refugees, most of whom are from the Middle Eastern nations of Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

The Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos had changed within days. The walls were freshly whitewashed. The sewer system had been replaced. And the camps residents were moved so the camp, which housed thousands of people, would not appear overcrowded.

But nothing could mask the desperation of the people who lined up in the middle of the camp on April 16, 2016. Many people carried signs that read, We Want Freedom, and Please help. Some were crying. Several children had drawn pictures. In one picture, children were drowning in the ocean. In another, the sun was crying.

Three religious leaders, including Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church, had come to Lesbos to draw the worlds attention to the refugee crisis. Since summer 2015, hundreds of thousands of refugees, fleeing war and persecution in Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, had journeyed to Turkey and then braved the Mediterranean Sea in small boats to get to Lesbos. Thousands died in the attempt. Those who reached shore could make an official request for asylum, or political protection that guaranteed they would not be deported (sent back) to their country of origin. But processing the applications takes time. While the refugees waited, they lived in run-down, congested camps. Many feared being sent back to their homelands.

The three religious leaders greeted the camp dwellers warmly. I want to tell you that you are not alone, Pope Francis told the residents of Moria. This is the message I want to leave you with today: do not lose hope! When the pope left Lesbos, he brought three Muslim families to live in Italy. Compared to the millions of refugees in the Middle East and Africa, it was a small gesture. But the pope hoped his action would set an example for the world. As the crisis persisted, he continued to support refugees. In a 2018 address, Pope Francis called for people around the world to show compassion for refugees and immigrants and to make the effort to assure refugees and migrants, to everyone, a peaceful future.

We Did Not Want to Participate in the Killing of Our Brothers

Like many Syrians, Nour Essa and her husband, Hasan Zaheda, became homeless because of the civil war in their country. Their house outside the capital city of Damascus was bombed, and Hasan felt pressure to join the Syrian army. We did not want to participate in the killing of our brothers, Essa said. Their only choice was to flee Syria.

They crossed the border into Turkey to the north with their two-year-old son, Riad. From there, they took a small, cramped boat to Lesbos, where they registered and found shelter in a refugee camp. To their dismay, they learned that the Greek government had just agreed to send most refugees back to Turkey. The couple had spent almost all their money getting to Turkey and didnt know what to do.

One day, without warning, a woman from the Community of SantEgidioa Catholic movement of laypersons (people who are not ordained) founded in Romeapproached them with a startling proposal. Would you like to leave this place for Italy tomorrow? Daniela Pompei asked them. You would be on the same plane as the Pope. You have to decide right now. For them the offer was a miracle.

One year later, the family was living in Rome in an apartment provided by SantEgidio. Nour Essa was studying at a university and working at a pediatric (childrens) hospital. Her husband, a landscape architect, found jobs in a warehouse. Riad attended nursery school, and his mother had new hope. Now I dream about a normal childhood for my son, she said.

Youth volunteers with SantEgidio head out in Turin, Italy, to distribute hot meals and blankets to homeless people in the city. The organization, which has about fifty thousand volunteers in seventy countries, also helps refugees.