Migrant deaths in Mediterranean an ‘open wound’ for humanity: Pope

VATICAN CITY – The number of

migrants dying in the Mediterranean

is an “open wound” for humanity, said Pope Francis on Sunday following a week marked by a string of deadly shipwrecks.

At his weekly Angelus prayer, the 86-year-old pontiff offered his prayers for the 41 people reported missing on Wednesday by four survivors who had been taken to safety on the Italian island of Lampedusa.

He recalled “with pain and shame” United Nations figures showing that more than 2,000 migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea since the start of 2023.

“It is an open wound in our humanity,” he told pilgrims gathered at St Peter’s Square. “I offer encouragement to the politicians and diplomats who are seeking to heal it, in a spirit of solidarity and brotherhood.”

He also hailed “the commitment of all those who work to prevent shipwrecks and rescue sailors”.

Pope Francis – who regularly urges better treatment of those who flee their homes for a better life elsewhere – had last week already warned against becoming “indifferent” to the deaths.

A spokesman for the UN migration agency, the International Organisation for Migration, said on Saturday that “at least 2,060” migrants have lost their lives in the Mediterranean since Jan 1.

Of those, more than 1,800 died in the Central Mediterranean, the route from North Africa to Italy and Malta, he said, more than twice as many as in the same period in 2022.

In the latest incident, two Tunisians, including a baby, died when their boat sank on Saturday shortly after leaving the shores of the North African country.

On Monday, judicial officials reported the deaths of 11 migrants in a shipwreck off Sfax, with dozens more missing.

The eastern Tunisian port city located about 130km from Lampedusa has emerged as a key migrant launchpad.

Meanwhile, at least 30 migrants were reported missing on Sunday following two shipwrecks off Lampedusa, following days of bad weather. AFP