ROME, MARCH 3, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The outcome of the revolution wave in the Arab world is far from settled, but in the meantime, calls for support are coming in for the young protestors themselves, and refugees caught in the crossfire.
“If millions of Muslim young people who today cry out against injustices felt the solidarity of the West and were not discriminated against, they would become very important and useful partners and next door neighbors for the future of Europe,” one Iranian Muslim theologian told Vatican Radio.
Shahrzad Housmand is a professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University. “We ask the Western world and men of faith to help the leaders of the protest in Arab countries to direct it to a democratic change,” he said.
The theologian suggested that such support is in the best interests of the West, “because the dictatorships favor fundamentalist violence. Today young people — who constitute half of the Arab world — are tired of the narrow religious vision, injustice and oppression that humiliates their human dignity.”
Housmand’s opinion was echoed by Paolo Branca, professor of Arabic and Islamic languages at the Catholic University of Milan.
“[I]t will be important to give a positive outlet to these protests, because problems that are not solved risk becoming gangrenous,” he said.
He told Vatican Radio that the revolts started off on the right foot, in that their objective is not religious extremism.
Humanitarian problem
Regardless of the far-reaching outcomes, others are trying to solve the issues of today. ZENIT reported Tuesday about the plight of Eritreans stuck in Libya.
Father Mussie Zerai, an Eritrean priest who directs a Rome-based NGO for African migrants, clarified the predicament they and others are suffering.
“There is almost a hunt for the African foreigner,” he said, explaining that the Moammar Gadhafi government found mercenaries among those imprisoned. “They were constrained by the military to take up arms. Whoever refused was killed.”
But after the speech in which Gadhafi pointed at foreigners as agitators, they were beaten by supporters of the regime. Hence, on one hand they are being attacked by pro-Gadhafi supporters, and on the other hand, attacked by the opposition who consider them mercenaries.
In the crossfire, Father Zerai, said, several people have been killed. The Church, meanwhile, is trying to cope as best as possible.
As for the specific group of some 2,000 Eritreans in Tripoli, only 54 of whom have documents to leave for Italy, Bishop Giovanni Innocenzo Martinelli is reiterating his previous appeal.
“The 54 Eritrean refugees who have legal documents will leave in about a week’s time, at least this is what the Italian authorities guaranteed to me,” he said. “These 54 are fortunate because they have the documents that allow them to leave, but what about all the others? I don’t know if Italy could make a further effort and receive another 100 Eritreans and then, perhaps, distribute them in Europe.”
The apostolic vicar spoke of “problems on the health front” for the Eritreans. “In particular there are mothers with very small children, who are in need of milk and medical care. There is a nun who is looking after these situations.”
Bishop Martinelli urged nations other than Italy to come forward with aid.
“[T]he problem is that there is no office to which they can turn to obtain identity documents. The UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) has closed its Tripoli office. The situation is shameful,” he said. “[W]here are the rights of man? How can it be said that the rights of man are respected when we then trample on them with our ‘politeness.’ I understand that not all who want to come to Europe can be received, but at least those most hit by adversity should be received.”
