The Archbishop of the Principality of Andorra is appealing to the international community
to support Jordan in its effort to provide hospitality and basic needs to Syrian
refugees.
Archbishop Joan Enric Vives i Sicilia of Urgell, and ex officio
Co-Prince of Andorra made the appeal after a visit to Syrian refugees in Jordan. He
is part of a delegation of bishops from Europe and North America on pilgrimage in
the Holy Land in an effort to express solidarity and bring support to Christian communities
across Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories.
A visit organised by
the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales with a mandate from the Holy
See.
Speaking to Vatican Radio’s Tracey McClure, bishop Vives says recent events
such as the recognition of Palestine as an Observer State at the United Nations has
given much hope to the Palestinian people.
Listen to the interview…
Bishop
Vives speaks of the difficulties of Syrian refugees in Jordan, a nation that has been
offering shelter to refugees for the past 50 years.
He says first the Palestinians
arrived, then the Iraqi refugees and now the Syrian refugees.
He says they
are faced with many challenges including basic needs such as food and water, a proper
roof over their heads, and ultimately education.
The governement is preoccupied
because so many people are arriving in such a short space of time.
Bishop Vives
recounts that at a meeting with a member of the Royal Family of Jordan he discovered
that they have counted 250.000 people coming into the country from Syria since May,
which means with summed with other refugees there are some 600,000 refugees.
He
calls on the international community to help the government of Jordan in this crisis
situation.