The Pope highlights the ‘dangerous migration route’ of Darien

Pope Francis today highlighted the “dangerous routes” on which migrants risk their lives, such as the one in the Darién jungle, that of Central America, the Sahara desert and, above all, the Mediterranean Sea, which “in the last decade has become a large cemetery”.

“Wars, poverty, the abuse of our common home and the continuous exploitation of its resources, which are the source of natural disasters, are also the causes that force thousands of people to leave their homeland in search of a future of peace and security,” he said in his traditional speech at the beginning of the year before the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

On their journey, they “put their lives at risk because of dangerous routes, such as the Sahara desert, the Darién jungle, on the border between Colombia and Panama; in Central America, in the north of Mexico, on the border with the United States and, above all, in the Mediterranean Sea.”

“Unfortunately, this last route has become a large cemetery in the last decade, with tragedies that continue to happen, also due to unscrupulous human traffickers. Let’s not forget that among the many victims, there are also many unaccompanied minors.

But the Mediterranean “should rather be a laboratory of peace, a place where different countries and realities meet on the basis of the common humanity we all share,” the pope said, quoting his own words from a trip he took to Marseille last September to close the Mediterranean meetings where the region’s bishops discussed migration.

“Faced with this enormous tragedy, we easily end up closing our hearts, burying ourselves behind the fear of ‘invasion’. We easily forget that these are people with faces and names and overlook the call of Mare Nostrum, which is to be a place of meeting and mutual enrichment of people, peoples and culture”, he added.

This does not mean, explained Francisco, “that migration must be regulated in order to receive, promote, monitor and integrate migrants, while respecting culture, sensitivity and the safety of the population that is in charge of reception and integration”.

Faced with this challenge, “no country can be left alone and none can think of solving the problem in isolation through more restrictive and repressive laws, sometimes approved under the pressure of fear or in search of electoral consensus,” he said.

In this context, “I welcome the European Union’s commitment to seeking a common solution through the adoption of the new Pact on Migration and Asylum, while highlighting some of its limitations, especially regarding the recognition of the right to asylum and the danger of arbitrary detention.”