The Archdiocese of Tangier, Morocco, offered assistance to some of the tens of thousands of migrants who returned to their native land after surging into the Spanish city of Ceuta.
“This migration crisis caught us completely by surprise and prevented us from responding adequately,” Archbishop Emilio Rocha Grande, O.F.M., said in an interview. “We therefore provided the most basic assistance we could—water and food—but only within the limits of our resources.”
Archbishop Rocha told Vatican News that Morocco is “not currently a poor country in the sense that people are dying of hunger. It is a country experiencing strong economic growth.”
At the same time, “many young people feel that the economic opportunities created by development remain out of their reach,” the prelate said. “The temptation to leave is very strong. Many believe that simply arriving in Europe will solve all their problems—that they will find work, housing, and a better future.”