Fundraising by Pietro Arese

Hi, I'm Pietro and since two weeks I'm in Greece, as a volunteer of Operation Dove (nonviolent peace corps of the Pope John XXIII Community).

In two days it will be my birthday and this occasion can become more special if associated with a good cause. As a privileged citizen I have had everything in life, all too probably. Today I would like to dedicate your gift to those who, instead, live in dramatic situations. I left because I wanted to enter into the complexity of these people and because as a European citizen I feel directly responsible for the political choices of the closed camps that are detention facilities. Detaining and rejecting has little to do with reception. With the help of Brussels, the government in Athens is trying to reduce the number of landings to zero, blocking access by land and confining the refugees, making them invisible.

L. In one of the first meetings he told me "I thought we couldn't live any worse. Before at least someone could see us, today we don't exist, we are ghosts". I refuse to believe that this is the only possible solution to the migratory phenomenon. For a radical change we need collective responsibility, we can overturn this paradigm.

We, in our small way, try to give back humanity to these people that barbed wire, tents and undignified living conditions instead erase. We, by directly sharing our lives with the most fragile, try to build a future of peace and justice by giving voice to these people who ask not to be abandoned. Not everyone has to decide to leave, but a thought from your part is fundamental to send this project forward.

On this journey we need you, enormous challenges and wonderful horizons await us.

Thank you!