Many migrants, mainly Afghans, transit Romania’s western city of Timisoara on their way to the West. The Orthodox Church and local organizations offer them help as winter draws near. His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan of Banat has constantly donated hundreds of kilograms of food for migrants.
The metropolitan said that he saw Romanians in the same situation in Rome, which made him aware: “We found our Romanians there, with a bag of a leu [Romanian currency]. I asked [one], “Where do you sleep?” He said, “My house is this bag. I had lunch here, tomorrow evening it will be in another neighbourhood… at night I will sleep under a bridge».”
“I saw what it means to be out of your country, not to have a job, not to have a piece of bread. I say that even these people do not think that they have gone because of a too good situation,” the Metropolitan of Banat noted, Adevarul reports.
He also mentioned that support for migrants prevents crime. However, Timisoara has witnessed several violent fights between migrants.
The hierarch sees this humanitarian support as an investment in the city’s safety. “Hunger has no law. You endure hunger for a day or two. What do you do after that? Break locks, break anything,” the metropolitan added.
“We must consider them with much leniency because we don’t solve underlying problems here. For example, several million refugees are living in tents in Turkey. You have seen on the island of Lesbos, in Greece, the European community offers significant sums of money to keep them there, because it is hoped that one day the problems in their countries will be calmed down and they will return there,” His Eminence Metropolitan Ioan added.
“If you ask a man what the most beautiful country in the world is, he will say that it is his own country,” Metropolitan Ioan concluded.
Social centres dedicated to migrants cannot cope, and many sleep in abandoned buildings in the city. They also receive help from the Muslim community, other religious communities, philanthropic associations, businessmen and ordinary people.
Orthodox parishes in Timisoara will continue to raise money from parishioners to support migrants and all those in need.
Photography courtesy of Press Alert
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