Since the end of the Second World War, global migration has become increasingly constrained through tougher immigration policies. This has seen long queues of applicants waiting for visas whilst fundamental human rights are increasingly disregarded, giving rise to increasing numbers of irregular and undocumented immigrants.

On Saturday 16 April, Pope Francis flew to the Greek island of Lesbos. In recent weeks, this island has become a place of confinement for thousands of people seeking refugee from what has now escalated into genocide in Syria and in other parts of the Middle East. For the international media, Lesbos and the island of Lampedusa off the coast of Sicily, represent how Europe deals with forced migration.

Pope Francis is no doubt a strategist of images and symbols. A visit of the Pope, though pastoral in nature and purpose, always carries a political impact, in the sense that it draws the attention of the whole world, and challenges it. Continue reading →