A member of the Tunisia’s national guard stops a fishing boat in the sea bordering Tunisia and Libya as they check vessels for illegal migrants trying to reach Europe, Tuesday, May 5, 2015. / Credit: FETHI BELAID/AFP/Getty Images
EWTN News, Oct 24, 2025 / 10:14 am (CNA).
The sinking of yet another migrant boat off the coast of Tunisia must spur leaders in Europe and Africa to address the root causes of migration that compel innocent people to embark on often deadly journeys, Archbishop Nicolas Lhernould of Tunis said.
In an interview with SIR — the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference — published Oct. 24, Lhernould said the Oct. 22 sinking of a migrant boat off the coast of Tunisia that killed 40 people, including several infants, cannot be viewed as just “one more shipwreck” but as a loss of “unique people” whose “lives were extinguished.”
“As Pope Francis has said, we must never get used to these things,” the French-born prelate said.
“Unfortunately, shipwrecks have been recurring for years, and this one has had a very high number of victims. But these are not just statistics: They are men, women, and children.”
According to the Associated Press, investigators were still working to determine the cause of the shipwreck. The Tunisian Coast Guard nevertheless rescued 30 survivors who were reportedly attempting to reach Europe.
The migrants hailed from sub-Saharan Africa, AP reported.
Lhernould told SIR that many of those arriving in Tunisia on their way to Europe “have already crossed the Sahara Desert, which has now become the world’s largest cemetery.”
“The reasons driving people to leave are many: poverty, insecurity, lack of prospects,” he said. “Some leave out of desperation, others out of naivety, because someone promises them a better future that does not exist.”
While relieved that rescuers had saved 30 people, Lhernould lamented the pain and fear felt by those who embarked on such a dangerous journey in search of a better life.
“The tragedy is that these departures happen completely clandestinely, and we only become aware of them after the tragedy has occurred. It is painful because no one should be forced to risk their life for a hope that is often just a mirage,” he said.
Acknowledging that the political issues European institutions face in addressing the migrant crisis are “complex,” the archbishop said the situation must be rooted in “the unconditional respect for the human person.”
“It is not enough to be moved by tragedies,” Lhernould said. “We must address the causes that push people to leave, with sincere collaboration between the North and South.”
“We also need to listen to the fears of European public opinion,” he added.
“Only in this way can fear be transformed into a human and rational relationship, oriented toward the common good. Managing the emergency is not enough; we must build a shared future.”
