Pope to revisit Lesbos on upcoming trip to Greece

When Pope Francis last visited the Greek island of Lesbos, he told reporters on the flight home that he had been moved to tears by the stories he heard from families fleeing war in Iraq and Syria.

It was 16 April, 2016, a defining day of Francis' papacy with a visit to the island that hosted thousands of refugees and migrants crossing into the European Union.

The pontiff, now 84, is set to return to the region next week, and has added a stop on Lesbos to a busy itinerary in Cyprus and Greece, predominantly Orthodox Christian countries where papal visits are extremely rare.

During his previous visit to Lesbos, the pontiff visited the notoriously squalid Moria refugee camp, which burnt down in September 2020, leaving nearly 12,000 people in need of emergency housing as winter approached.

Preparations are now under way to receive the pope at a new facility in the Mavrovouni area, which is still housing those left homeless by the fire, plus newer arrivals.

Christian Tango Muyaka, a 30-year-old asylum seeker from Congo who is Catholic, was chosen along with two daughters to participate in the service the pope will hold at the camp.

He was separated from his wife and youngest daughter a year ago on the Turkish coast when they scrambled to board a boat bound for Greece.

He has had no news on what may have happened to them, but says the Pope's visit will give migrants like him "hope, some comfort" and will help to strengthen their faith.

There are around 2,200 migrants and asylum seekers at the camp about a week before the pope's arrival, significantly fewer than when he visited Moria, according to the deputy commander of Mavrovouni camp.

Most are from Afghanistan and many others from various African countries, according to Dimitris Vafeas.

The vast overcrowding of Moria was eased as several other European countries agreed to take in some of the most vulnerable among the camp's residents in the aftermath of the fire, notably unaccompanied minors and some vulnerable families.

At the same time, the Greek government speeded up asylum procedures to move people off the islands.

"I think... he will see calm faces. I don't dare to say happy faces, but calm for sure he will see," Vafeas says.

Costas Moutzouris is the governor for the North Aegean region that includes Lesbos.

He says that while locals are honoured by the pope's visit, there's a concern that he might actually attract more migrants to come.

Under a 2016 deal reached between the European Union and Turkey, migrants arriving on Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast must remain on those islands until their asylum applications have been processed, after which they can either move to the mainland or be deported.

The deal, designed to stop a mass movement of asylum-seekers that saw around a million people crossing into the EU in 2015, blocked people on the islands, leading to massive overcrowding and appalling conditions.

Greece has hardened its stance on migration, anxious to avoid a repetition of the 2015 refugee crisis and alarmed by Turkey's actions last year, when the government announced its borders to Europe were open and sent thousands of migrants to the Greek border.

It has increased patrols along land and sea borders and toughened legislation on asylum and the action of aid groups.

It has also been broadly accused by rights groups and migrants of carrying out illegal summary deportations, rounding up the new arrivals, putting them on life rafts and pushing them back into Turkish waters without allowing them to apply for asylum.

The government vehemently denies engaging in the practice known as pushbacks, despite increasing indications to the contrary.

It does, however, say it robustly protects its borders and denies entry to those attempting to cross illegally.

IMAGE: AP