ICC Note: Migrants are leaving Africa in droves headed through Libya across the Mediterranean Sea for Europe. Among the number are Christians who have fled their homes because of religious persecution, particularly, violence and threats they have experienced because they have converted from Islam to Christianity. And many are dying in Mediterranean waters – record numbers. These are just a few stories of Christian survivors.
5/4/15 Lampedusa, Italy (World Watch Monitor) – Among the record numbers of migrants from Africa and Asia who are dying in European waters, many are fleeing war and poverty, but there also is a religious dimension: some of the migrants are Christians, unable to freely practice their faith in their home countries.
At least 1,750 people have died in the Mediterranean Sea already this year, more than 20 times the number at this stage last year.
The Mediterranean has become a “giant reflecting pool, exposing the unrelenting evil and despair that is loose in our world,” Thomas Albinson, President of the US-based International Association for Refugees, recently wrote. “Trace the steps of those on the boats, and you will find your way back to wars, failed states, persecution, oppression and hopelessness.”
More than 5,800 were rescued from overladen boats over the weekend, and nearly 900 desperate souls landed on Italy’s shores just yesterday (4 May), reports the BBC. There, some of them likely met Enos Nolli.
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