Pope says migration across Mediterranean must be addressed humanely

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Pope Francis said Friday that tragedies and challenges of migration which turned the Mediterranean into a "cemetery" need to be humanely addressed across the region.

The pope met local religious members involved in the care of seafarers, migrants and refugees at the Monument to the Heroes and Victims of the Sea as he traveled to southern France for a two-day visit in the port city of Marseille, according to the Vatican News.

Francis said in a speech on migrant deaths that those who lost their lives in the Mediterranean Sea are not mere numbers but people with faces and names fleeing conflicts, poverty and environmental disasters.

"Let us not get used to considering shipwrecks as news stories, and deaths at sea as numbers: no, they are names and surnames, they are faces and stories, they are broken lives and shattered dreams," he said.

The pope said it is the duty of humanity and civilization to address the tragedies of migration.

"We cannot be resigned to seeing human beings treated as bargaining chips, imprisoned and tortured in atrocious ways; we can no longer watch the drama of shipwrecks, caused by the cruel trafficking and the fanaticism of indifference,” he said.

The pontiff expressed hope that Europe may address the current challenges posed by migration in the Mediterranean in a spirit of solidarity breaking down walls and building bridges, the report added.