“Restrictions in European migratory policies force desperate people to go for deadly routes”: this has been stated today by Caritas Europe and the Jesuits’ Refugee Service Europe (Jrs Europe), as they commented on the European plan for control of immigration, that is being discussed in Brussels over these days. The two organisations ask European politicians “to change their restrictive approach to migration”, because “deterrent policies, including the agreement with Turkey, do not stop people who are trying to reach our countries. On the contrary, they extend their sufferings and push people into the hands of traffickers, who will find more and more dangerous routes”. According to the latest figures, over 1,000 migrants died in the Mediterranean Sea in less than a week, about 10 thousand since 2014. “Their desperate attempt at reaching the EU – the two Catholic organisations point out – shows how tragic and terrifying the situation is”.

Caritas Europe and JRS say they are “bewildered by the endless sufferings of so many women, men and children”. “Like Pope Francis – states Jorge Nuño Mayer, secretary general of Caritas Europe –, Caritas dreams of a Europe that can acknowledge the migrants’ necessary contribution to our societies, committed to respecting the dignity of every human being”. Jean-Marie Carrière, regional director of JRS Europe, points out that “Europe has the power to save and protect people. Taking measures that offer people safe routes to get to Europe without risking their lives is all down to political willingness. The time has come to put in practice the Refugee Convention that Europe signed after the Second World War and find our fundamental values again”.

Caritas Europe and JRS Europe ask the EU and the member states, therefore, to “open safe, legal channels to get into the EU”; introduce “a humanitarian visa” that can be easily obtained in the European embassies of the countries these people come from and pass through; promote family reunions; “extend humanitarian entry programmes”; “work harder for more rehoming”; “issue prerequisites for visas if justified on humanitarian grounds”.