Refugees forced to flee their homes often end up in a desert of humanity, said Pope Francis on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of a Jesuit-run refugee center in Rome.
“The last 40 years of human history have also not been a linear progression: the number of people forced to flee their homelands continues to grow,” he wrote in the letter dated 7 November.
“Many of you have had to flee from living conditions comparable to those of slavery, where at the base is a concept of the human person deprived of his or her dignity and treated as an object.”
“You know how terrible and despicable war can be, you know what it means to live without freedom and rights, you watch helplessly as your land dries up, your water becomes polluted, and you have no other option but to set out towards a safe place where you can realize your dreams and aspirations, where you can use your talents and skills.”
“Unfortunately, in many cases, setting out has not been a true liberation. All too often you come up against a desert of humanity, with an indifference that has become global and that dries up relations between people.”
The Astalli Center, run by the Jesuit Refugee Service.