Pope Francis to transfer migrants to Italy from Cyprus after visit

·

Pope Francis is arranging to transfer a number of migrants to Italy from Cyprus, ahead of his visit next week.

Cypriot government spokesman Marios Pelekanos has confirmed the Vatican is now making arrangements with Cypriot authorities.

There are no specifics yet as to how many migrants will leave the island or about the logistics of their trip. 

The pope made headlines in 2016 when he brought a dozen Syrian Muslims back with him aboard his return flight to Rome from Lesbos.

Cyprus is currently seeking European Union approval to stop processing asylum claims from migrants amid a surge of new arrivals.

They also ask the EU to relocate a number of asylum seekers in Cyprus to other member countries of the bloc and strike agreements with third countries to take back their citizens who have had their asylum applications rejected.

Cypriot authorities say in just the first ten months of this yer, migrant arrivals were up 38% compared to all of 2020.

Of the 10,868 new arrivals, 9,270 illegally crossed a United Nations-controlled buffer zone from the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north to seek asylum in the internationally recognized south.

Asylum seekers comprise 4% of the population in the island’s south — four times the average of other EU front-line states.

Migrants say conditions at a reception camp just outside the Cypriot capital Nicosia are deteriorating since it currently houses nearly double its maximum capacity of 1,200 people.

Schadrach Mvunze from the Democratic Republic of Congo said what he and others at the camp want is somewhere where they can live in peace, whether it’s in Cyprus or elsewhere.

“Cyprus has welcomed us … If they are unable to welcome us, they can also even send us perhaps to France, to Canada, to England,” Mvunze told The Associated Press, which visited the camp on Thursday. “They can scatter us all over Europe to make us more comfortable.”

Nigerian Daniel Idu who crossed from the breakaway north to apply for international protection in the south said all he asks is a chance to lift his aging mother and young son out of grinding poverty.

“If I have the opportunity to meet with the pope, I will ask for just one thing and that is to settle here and probably have a better job to support my family,” he said.

Source: Associated Press

Advertisement

Share:

KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TGH

By subscribing you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Advertisement

Latest News

How Maih Porfyri’s career pivot took her from fashion to the Paralympics

Maih Porfyri had only been in her job for a few months before she was whisked away on a trip to Paris to cover the Paralympic Games.

My partner doesn’t speak Greek – Can we still raise bilingual kids?

You can absolutely raise bilingual children, even if only one parent speaks Greek. Across the world, countless families do so successfully.

Joint bank accounts: Who gets the money?

All people named in a joint account are privy to the money by Law. Most of us have opened accounts at various bank branches.

Vergina considered among the world’s most mysterious destinations

Featured alongside global wonders, Vergina earns its place through a mystery that has eluded scholars for centuries.

Gender in Modern Greek: Dr Angeliki Alvanoudi to give online seminar

The aim of the seminar is to examine the role of Greek gendered terms in sustaining social gender ideologies that reinforce sexism.

You May Also Like

Iconic Olympic Airways jet on display at Greece’s Elliniko

A vintage Boeing plane belonging to Greece’s former national carrier Olympic Airways is now on show in Glyfada region of Attika, in Greece.

GCM seminar to focus on Asia Minor refugees and the remaking of Greek left

Historian Dr. Kostis Karpozilos will be delivering an online lecture entitled "The Asia Minor Refugees and the Remaking of the Greek Left".

Diasporic visibility in Sydney’s post-war Greek areas to be explored in seminar

Professor George Kouvaros from UNSW will present a lecture 'Diasporic Visibility in Sydney’s Post-War Greek Neighbourhoods' on Thursday.