World Refugee Day 2016 Statement

The refugee situation: it’s all about European core values!

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, Caritas Europa reminds the European Union and its Member States that there are solutions to Europe’s current solidarity crisis. There is no need to put the lives of migrants and refugees at risk and to unnecessarily prolong their suffering. Caritas continues to believe that Europe’s founding values of dignity, equality and respect for human rights are not just hollow words, but make more sense now than ever.
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Photo: Caritas Europa

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“Our older brother was kidnapped by ISIS and we have no news from him. Our situation became unbearable, so we decided to leave Afghanistan on foot and we have travelled a month and a half to get to Greece. Unfortunately during the trip in Iran we lost our father and we don't know where he is. To get from Turkey to Greece we had to pay 1,000 euros per person to the smugglers for a 5 hour ride, not knowing if we would survive the trip. We hope that our father and our brother are alive and that we can all gather in a safer place. It wasn't a trip. It was a killer trip”, explained Mujdah and Mohebullah, 15 and 8 year-old sister and brother from Afghanistan.

According to the United Nations, since 2014 at least 10,000 people have lost their lives in attempting to reach a safe haven in Europe. The EU restrictive policies prevent people from entering Europe safely, hence resulting in unbearable death tolls. The further externalisation of EU asylum and migration policies through agreements with non-EU countries clearly shows the lack of solidarity with the people fleeing war and persecution.

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