Bill O’Keefe, Catholic Relief Services’ vice president for government relations and advocacy, in December toured C.R.S. and Caritas Internationalis efforts to respond to the continuing refugee crisis in Europe in Greece, Serbia and Macedonia. O’Keefe was astonished by the sight of thousands of people stepping out of rail cars at Europe’s southern borders, walking a half mile toward Serbia and beginning a long journey north to what many hope will be a refuge in Germany and other northern European states. It’s an “overwhelming” spectacle, he said. Though some migration experts had hoped the onset of winter might stem the tide of people in flight, the flow of refugees out of Syria and other zones of suffering in the Middle East shows no signs of letting up. Back in Syria, O’Keefe said, the suffering has only grown worse as a new Russian air offensive joins a Syrian army advance on rebel positions around the war-ruined Aleppo, once prosperous and Syria’s most populous city. Turkish officials worry that a final offensive on Aleppo might drive an additional 300,000 into flight.
Syrian Suffering
Show Comments (
)
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.
The latest from america
Nothing in my life has been as freeing as the realization that not everyone is going to love, like or approve of me.
As hundreds of Catholic content creators descend on Rome for the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, it’s worth asking: What’s the best way to evangelize online?
The editors of 'America' have been opining on what you should read for over a century. Some of their suggestions have aged better than others.
On Tuesday, Pope Leo XIV addressed a crowd of digital missionaries and Catholic influencers about the responsibilities and challenges of their ministry.