Lives ‘regularly lost at sea’ as Christians migrate in north-west Africa

A BISHOP has highlighted the devastating impact of clandestine migration in Mauritania.

Bishop Victor Ndione, who has led Nouakchott Diocese in the north-west African country for two years, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) the country is often a “stop-off on the route for those who dream to be elsewhere.” 

But stressed these journeys are fraught with danger.

He said: “Often migrants try to leave Africa because they don’t have opportunities where they come from, or during their transit through Mauritania, because of a lack of education.”

He added: “In the course of clandestine emigration, lives are regularly lost at sea, and no one is happy about that.

“People have to be fairly desperate to ignore the dangers of being shipwrecked. In the parish of Nouadhibou we had a young man who was responsible for burying the dead people who washed ashore.

“One would think that he would be the first to recognise the risks of this form of emigration, but he was himself drowned while attempting this impossible adventure.

“That caused us a lot of sadness.”

The Church in Mauritania was established in December 1965.

Its only diocese is overseen by Bishop Ndione with help from a former bishop, two incardinated priests, and some 30 religious Sisters who minister to around 6,000 members, mostly from neighbouring countries such as Senegal, Gambia, Mali and Guinea Bissau.

Islam is the state religion and Bishop Ndione said that he and his clergy do not seek to convert others.

He added: “In Mauritania, there is no overt persecution from Islam, which is traditionally moderate and marked by Sufism. However, we are noticing the growth of Salafist Islam, which is infiltrating the country, and which does not look kindly on the Catholic Church or on moderate Muslims.”

But his overriding concern is the migrant nature of his Christian community and the pastoral teams who help support them receiving very little for their work.

He said: “All the priests are foreigners – most are missionaries and from one day to the next they could be recalled by their congregation. That’s also true for the religious Sisters.

“Although there were already very few of us, a female religious community has just closed in our diocese. It’s a real concern, definitely a difficulty. I regularly turn to the Lord of the harvest and ask him to send workers, and I ask people to pray for that.”

He added: “I compare myself to Sisyphus, who constantly begins again heaving the rock up the mountain – training community leaders, catechists, teachers and people to work with children, knowing perfectly well that they might not be there in six months.”

He said ACN helped the community rebuild a pastoral centre in Nouakchott capable of welcoming 200 people, where young people and couples come and gather, receive catechesis, prepare for marriage, and go on spiritual retreats.

He said: “That is something fundamentally important.”

He expressed his thanks for all support from ACN donors adding: “For all of that, we can only continue to express our gratitude and pray that ACN finds the funds to support our pastoral work and that of other churches in need.”

With thanks to Christophe Lafontaine