ETHIOPIA: Human Traffickers Stop Risking People’s lives, Bishops

The Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia
have asked Human traffickers and their agents to stop risking young people’s
lives by smuggling the youth to cross boarders as an option for a better life
abroad.

 

In their statement, the Bishops strongly
condemned the killings of young Christian Ethiopian migrants in Libya and pleaded
with brokers of human trafficking business to stop tricking the youth to leave
their country through illegal means.  

 

“To those young persons who are
still planning to migrate from their country, even though it is your right to
move from one country to another, we ask you not to travel without making sure
that your country of destination provides you protection or fall in the traps
of the human traffickers and travel without the necessary legal documents,”
read the statement adding that “Moreover, we ask the youth to consider the
option of working and prospering in your own country and drop the idea of
migrating to another country where there is no safety.”

 

At the Press Conference H.E
Berhaneyesus Cardinal Souraphiel, C.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa,
President of CBCE informed the journalists about the condolence message from
the Holy Father, Pope Francis to His Holiness Abune Mathias, the Patriarch of
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church.

 

Cardinal Berhaneyesus  also said that the Catholic Church has been
praying for the souls of the deceased migrants that they may rest in peace and to
all the bereaved family members to obtain consolation from God our Father. 

 

There have been prayers in all
the parishes throughout the country from the moment the sad news of killings was
heard. The Catholic Church in Ethiopia celebrated Holy Mass on April 24, 2015 Friday
Morning for all deceased migrant Ethiopians at the Nativity Catholic Cathedral in
the presence of all Catholic Bishops of the conference presided by His Eminence
Cardinal Berhaneyesus, C.M.

 

Similarly, the Ethiopian
Inter-religious council, in a joint statement from all its member religious denominations
condemned the atrocious acts of killing innocent young Ethiopians. Also on that
 occasion His Eminence Cardinal
Berhaneyesus, C.M., said that the departed children of Ethiopia will be
remembered always as martyrs. The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
His Holiness Patriarch Matthias said,  “We
should all unanimously condemn this terrorist act. 

 

The President of the Ethiopian
Islamic Supreme Council Sheik Mohammed Amin said that such act goes against the
teaching of Islam. “The Holy Quran instructs us to respect and protect human
life, moreover, the Prophet Mohamed has said we should respect Ethiopia for the
great favor she did to his first followers, he did not say Muslims, Christians,
White or Black. What was done to young Christian Ethiopians in Libya was
against that.” 

 

The Ethiopian Peoples’
Representative Council has declared a 3 days national mourning period which was
ending on 24 April, 2015. On April 22 a Mass rally was organized in Addis Ababa
where residents of the City in their thousands raised their voice against the
killings of Ethiopian Migrants.

 

The Bishops called on the young
people of Ethiopia to consider exploring all the available opportunities of
development in their own country, before deciding to take on migration as an
option for a better life abroad. “We ask the youth to consider the option of
working and prospering in your own country and abandon the idea of migrating to
another country where there is no safety,” said the Bishops in their statement.