Priest known as guardian angel of refugees says migrants' rights are being abused

By Fredrick Nzwili

NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) -- As the church marked the World Day of Migrants and Refugees Sept. 24, a priest who rescues migrants stuck at sea questioned the policy of both the nations from which they come and those they're trying to reach. Migrants attempting to reach Europe suffer serious human rights abuses, he said.

Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean priest from the Diocese of Asmara said the movement of the refugees across the Mediterranean Sea was still high, but states were barring them, despite their precarious situations.

"The states are not welcoming them. Indeed, the European Union is trying to close the gap with bilateral agreements with governments in North Africa, such as Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Libya," Father Zerai said, but it's not enough, he stressed.

Father Zerai, who lives in Europe and is known as the guardian angel of refugees, or the migrant priest, said that "the human rights of refugees in these (coastal African) countries are trampled on every day, but the European Union pretends not to see and not hear."

"Africa does not have enough will and political unity to defend the dignity and integrity of its children forced to die in the desert and at sea," said Father Zerai, a co-founder of Habeshia Agency, a global humanitarian organization that works with asylum-seekers and refugees.

The migrants fleeing persecution, war and more recently climate change in their countries, have been embarking on long and difficult journeys across the Sahara Desert to the North African seacoast.

Many of them are youth fleeing repression and compulsory military conscription in Eritrea or are from Somalia where extreme poverty, political instability and insecurity has forced them out. In Sudan, more are fleeing the ongoing armed conflict. Countries, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Mali, among others, account for some refugees.

The stretch of the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and Italy is one of the main migratory routes to Europe. In 2021, the central Mediterranean route continued to be the most used path to Europe as 67,724 migrants were detected on this route. This was a 90% increase from the previous year. A higher rate of arrivals from Libya made it the main country of departure, while more departures from Tunisian and Turkish shores also contributed to the increased migratory pressure on this route.

The 2023 numbers will certainly be higher, with nearly 126,000 migrants having arrived in Italy so far this year -- almost double the figure by the same time in 2022.

From the shores of the Mediterranean, the refugees have been setting off on horrific sea voyages using small boats known as pirogues, or narrow canoes.

Observers are warning the desert treks and the sea voyages have become more deadly. Along the desert, armed gangs or militias have been capturing, robbing and killing the migrants, while at the sea, the motorized and often-overloaded boats have been sinking, with many of them losing their lives. In June, a fishing boat capsized and sank near the coast of Greece killing at least 78 migrants.

According to the International Organization for Migration, more than 1,800 people have died this year, double last year's total, on the central Mediterranean route -- the world's deadliest.

Many of the migrants headed for the treacherous route reportedly died in the flood disaster in Libya Sept. 10. Although the exact number remains unknown, the World Health Organization said at least 400 of the refugees had lost their lives in the disaster caused by Tropical Storm Daniel.

Before embarking on the dangerous Mediterranean crossings, migrants find temporary bases in Libya. The country is at the moment hosting over 700,000 migrants, many of whom would like to reach Europe, according to the United Nations.

"Naturally, many migrants who lived in the disaster areas are double victims," said Father Zerai.

First of all "no one takes them into consideration -- they are misjudged in receiving the news, as in distribution of aid," and if they die, they are not counted in official statistics, the priest said, as he expressed his solidarity with the population affected by natural disasters in Libya and expressed his condolences to the families of the victims.

Secondly, according to the priest, people from the sub-Saharan region are often victims of racism in North African countries.

"This is why I consider refugees residing in the areas affected by natural disasters in the two North African countries as double victims," he said.

Meanwhile, refugee agency officials say that climate change is creating a new kind of migrants. Since last year, close to 120,000 refugees from the Horn of Africa countries have crossed into Kenya, according to Geoffrey Shikuku of Jesuit Refugee Service Kenya.

"That's a unique way of displacement. Previously, it has mainly been war forcing people to cross borders," said Shikuku.


Also, he explained that the global decline in funding for refugee programs was triggering new movements, with some of them moving to countries where they can get better treatment or where funding is better. Some also migrate for other reasons.

"You know of the law that has been passed in Uganda around the LGBTQI. We have those arriving in Kakuma Camp," Shikuku said, referring to one of the world's toughest anti-LGBTQ laws that was enacted in May and includes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality," drawing Western condemnation.

However, as the perilous migrations continue, human rights groups and relief agencies have been urging countries to address the root causes including conflict, poverty and unemployment. The groups also urged investments in sustainable development and supporting countries of origin to establish legal ways of migration.

"Many are fleeing war and political, ethnic and religious persecution. Then there are the dictatorships and poverty that cause exodus. The world's response is inadequate and late. Africa especially must take a greater effort to better protect her children, and give them more rights and freedom," Father Zerai told OSV News.

In his message for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, observed Sept. 24, Pope Francis talked about the root causes of migration.

"Migrants flee because of poverty, fear or desperation," he said. "We need to make every effort to halt the arms race, economic colonialism, the plundering of other people's resources and the devastation of our common home."