Francesco pastors among migrants in Sicily, one refugee at a time

Early morning, October 3rd, 2013: All seems calm on the small island of Lampedusa, in the south of Sicily. Yet, a few miles off the shores, a major disaster is taking place. A ship transporting over five hundred migrants from Africa to Europe has capsized. The tragedy claims 368 lives.

The 2013 Lampedusa Shipwreck is one of the major disasters that has taken place in the Mediterranean Sea in recent history. The Strait of Sicily is indeed a perilous passage for migrants and asylum seekers coming from Asia and Africa to Europe.

Migration is a serious challenge for the Italian authorities, in particular since the 2011 Arab Spring, as thousands of people tried to flee the chaos.

Aurora rescues refugees in dangerous conditions on the Mediterranean Sea

Yet, it is also a great opportunity for the church to serve and shine the light of Christ to these people. Francesco and Tina Luzzolini are a Christian couple who decided to dedicate their lives to doing just that. They run a day centre for refugees and migrants in Ragusa, in the southeast of Sicily.

Refugees

***Francesco Luzzolini, reaching out to migrants, most of whom have a Muslim background, does not sound like an attractive vocation. What brought you to this choice?***

“It all began with a short-term missionary trip that my wife and I made to Yemen in 2003. During that time, we received a heart from the Lord for the Arab people. In the following years, we tried to understand how we could reach these people.

Eventually, we became convinced that we would work among refugees. But at the time, there were not so many coming to Europe. The Arab Spring had not yet happened. Later on, we realised that our choice was a prophetic one.

Refugee in Sicily longs to have a Bible

We went to study at a seminary in Switzerland and then to study Arabic in Egypt so that we could be equipped to help the refugees.

Initially, we thought that we would remain in the Arab world in order to serve these people, but finally we came to realise that the Lord was leading us to Sicily. This was confirmed when our visa in Egypt was not extended in October 2010, just a few months before the beginning of the Arab Spring.

We returned to Germany, where I grew up as a child, and the doors to Sicily finally opened in August 2012.”

***How did you know that Ragusa would be the place where you would operate? Did you know people there?***

“No, initially, we didn't even know where to go in Sicily. Ragusa opened up quickly, and soon after, the Lampedusa shipwreck took place, and things began to change dramatically in Italy.”

Ex-Muslim Sarmad had to flee because of his faith: 'Pray for peace in refugee's heart'

***In which sense?***

“This shipwreck put the Italian government under pressure. At the time, the so-called Bossi-Fini law criminalised anyone who was found helping migrants in the sea, even in the case of a shipwreck. Several fishermen who had helped these people were denounced. Obviously, this was an immoral situation, and finally, the accusations were dropped.

But the government could not hold to that law anymore. Then the so-called Operazione Mare nostrum Operation' Our Sea', in reference to the way the Romans called the Mediterranean Sea, ed., just twenty-five kilometres away from the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.