The borders between Africa and Europe and between South America and North America were the scene of two tragedies recently in which dozens of migrants died after simply leaving their countries to escape from violence and poverty.

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On Monday 27 June, fifty migrants were found dead of asphyxiation in a truck in Texas near the US-Mexico border. They were Mexicans, Guatemalans and Hondurans.

On Friday 24 June, 23 migrants − 37 according to local NGOs − died when they tried to cross the border from Morocco into Melilla, a Spanish enclave. They were repelled by Moroccan border police, two of whom were killed in the clash. They were young people from Senegal, Sudan and Central African Republic.

They are not simply numbers or statistics because they are people with families, with stories and with future plans, people who were denied dignity and rights.

Independent investigation

Pope Francis said, “I was saddened by the news of the tragedies of the migrants in Texas and in Melilla. Let us pray together for these brothers and sisters who died while pursuing their hope for a better life. May God open our hearts so that tragedies like these may never happen again.”

The Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, through a statement by its Secretary General, Fr Manuel Barrios Prieto, called for the identification of the victims and the return of their remains to their families, as well as an independent and reliable investigation into what happened during this tragic episode in Melilla. nador melila

They are not invaders

For their part, the Spanish bishops, through the Episcopal Subcommission for Migration and Human Mobility, regret the loss of human lives and pray for the wounded. They called for the competent authorities to assist in clarifying the facts and to take appropriate measures so that this does not happen again.

They went on to say that “because of the different interpretations given to these violent events, we invite you to contextualise them from a humanitarian perspective. While we understand the necessary regulation of migratory flows, we must consider the critical situation of misery for thousands of sub-Saharan migrants who are crowded together on the other side of the Spanish border. They are not ‘invaders’. They are only human beings trying to reach Europe to escape from active wars (57 in the world, 30 in Africa) and famine. This has all been aggravated by the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and the drought and plagues caused by climate change.”

The Teresian Association endorses these statements and the message issued by the Social Sector of the TA in Spain calling for clarification of the facts, for an end to the criminalisation of migrants, and for a change in policies so that these tragedies can be avoided in the future.

 

TA Info.
TA translators team.

  

Published in Newsclicdedito