German Protestant church leaders urge more European aid for refugees

The heads of two German Protestant churches and the moderator of the country’s Reformed Alliance say the situation for refugees on the border between Greece and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is intolerable and more European aid is needed.

They have committed to more help from Germany’s Protestant churches.

The presidents of the Evangelical Church in Rhineland, Manfred Rekowski, and of the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau, Dr Volker Jung, as well as Reformed Alliance moderator Martin Engels renewed their call for more European help in Idomeni, the location of a camp on the Greek border where more than 14,000 migrants and refugees are living in very difficult conditions.

“Such circumstances should not exist in Europe,” the church leaders said in a joint statement on 12 April, likening the asylum application process to a “lottery” as there are hardly any possibilities open, leaving little trust in Greek authorities.

The three church leaders, along with representatives from the Greek Evangelical Church, visited the refugee camp at Idomeni, a small village in Greece bordering the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. They were horrified by the conditions, which they said fall far short of humanitarian standards.

In Idomeni, people currently endure “pitiful circumstances” in fields close to the border. Forty percent of them are children, many of them under the age of 14.

“Idomeni must not remain like this,” the church leaders said, stressing that people seeking protection should have speedy access to relocation programmes in Idomeni.

This will make it easier for applicants to enter an asylum determination procedure in other European countries.

Rekowski, Jung and Engels said it is especially important for the European Union to enable women travelling alone and women with children to have fast access to relocation programmes.

In particular they asked the federal government in Germany to make speedy family reunification possible for separated families without undue bureaucracy.

Rekowski and Jung announced further financial support for the refugee work of churches and church institutions in Greece to bolster local humanitarian assistance and support for family reunification.