Refugees on Lesbos: The Pope brings a little hope

With his trip to Cyprus and Greece, the Pope again draws attention to the situation of refugees on the edge of Europe. Today he visits Lesbos, where the people are facing another hard winter.

For Christian Muyaka and his two young daughters, it is already the second winter that they have spent in the Kara Tepe refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesbos. They arrived here a good year ago. After all, they now have a container and no longer have to live in a tent.

In other respects, too, the living conditions have improved at least a little bit, says Christian: “When I arrived, the situation was difficult. But last year everything improved a little because we didn’t have any proper toilets at the beginning. Today it’s all over little better. “

Fire in Moria last year

The camp was made temporarily after the infamous Moria camp burned down over a year ago. Kara Tepe – also known under the name Mavrovouni – is located on a military site, right by the sea. Especially in winter it is stormy and wet here. Without a functioning heating system, the containers won’t be really comfortable either: Muyaka and his daughters wear their thick winter jackets and woolen hats inside too.

The family comes from the Congo. There they were in mortal danger, says Muyaka. That is why he and his wife wanted to go to Europe with the three children and ask for protection there.

But they were separated on the run. He doesn’t know what happened to his wife and baby. Whether they are still alive – and if so, where they are: “I haven’t had any contact so far. I have contacted the Red Cross here and given them all the information. But at the moment there is unfortunately no positive news.” He has to wait and hope that his family will be reunited soon.

“He gives us a little hope”

What gives him strength are his two daughters and his faith. Muyaka is Catholic and regularly attends church services. The fact that the Pope is now coming to Lesbos means a lot to him: “We are really very happy. This is very important for us, the refugees. Since we are also Catholic Christians, the visit here in the camp encourages us. It gives us a little.” Hope to look ahead. “

Almost 2200 people still live in Kara Tepe, up from 7000 at the beginning of the year. The government is bringing more and more refugees to the mainland after promising to relieve the Greek hotspot islands in the Aegean. Lesvos in particular has become a symbol of the refugee crisis in Greece.

Aid organizations write to Francis

That is why the Pope’s visit here is very symbolic, says Lefteris Papagiannakis of the Greek Refugee Council: “He represents more than a billion believers. He represents humanity in a way. His words are very political for us and I think for everyone. He uses words that are strong and easy to understand and that can make a difference. “

36 aid and non-governmental organizations have written an open letter to Francis: They want to talk to him about the difficult living conditions for refugees in Greece. The Pope had received the letter, it was said from the Vatican. Even if Francis will only spend a few hours on Lesbos, the hope that the people put in him are enormous.