Unaccompanied minors greet pope at Greek c
Date
4/16/2016 10:07:32 AM
(MENAFN- The Peninsula) A little girl stands next to a placard reading "We are Yazidi people Need Help Help Help" on April 16 2016 at the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island ofLesbos prior the arrival of Pope Francis. AFP PHOTO POOL / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE
Lesbos Greece: Pope Francis received an emotional welcome Saturday on the Greek island of Lesbos during a visit aimed at showing solidarity with migrants fleeing war and poverty a small group of whom he hopes to bring back to the Vatican.
The pontiff's landmark visit comes amid controvery over a deal last month to end Europe's refugee crisis by sending all irregular migrants who land in Greece back to Turkey.
A group of unaccompanied minors greeted Pope Francis and the leaders of the world's Orthodox Christians and the Church of Greece as they arrived at the Moria migrant detention center on the Greek island of Lesbos.
The teenage boys who have made the perilous journeys from their homelands to Greece alone were lined up at the entrance shaking the religious leaders' hands. Some of them were holding a Syrian flag.
The three leaders then moved on to greet women and young children who stood behind a low metal barrier. The pope patriarch and archbishop shook their hands and patted some of the children on the cheek while some of the gathered refugees snapped pictures of the pontiff on mobile phones.
The religious leaders' visit to the island which has seen the majority of the arrivals of migrants heading into Europe is a highly symbolic one. It comes shortly after the European Union began deporting new arrivals back to Turkey under a controversial deal meant to stem the refugee flow.
AP