Libya: Christian migrants seek religious solace in Tripoli

M/S Mass at Saint Francis Catholic Church, Tripoli
M/S Migrants attending mass
M/S Migrants attending mass
M/S Migrants attending mass
M/S Priest at the altar
SOT, Father George Bugeja, coadjutor bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli (Italian): “The situation of the Christian community, Catholic community in our church is divided between two communities practically, a group of Philippines and a group of Africans.”
M/S Christians receiving sacramental bread
SOT, Father George Bugeja, coadjutor bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli (Italian): "Sometimes someone comes asking for a visa, to help to get the visa they go to the Vatican”. *LOOSE TRANSLATION*
M/S Migrants in church singing
M/S Migrants in church singing
M/S Migrants at Saint Francis church courtyard
SOT, Michey Olusiahna, migrant from Nigeria: "They asked me for my passport, I gave them my passport, they said do you have visa, I said yes, are you a resident, I said yes, they said ok, they said they want to check my documents in the system."
SOT, Michey Olusiahna, migrant from Nigeria: "So when George gave me the 15,000 Dinars I paid and they asked 35,000 Dinars and I don't have it, I don't have it, so I called my wife and we sell a lot of things from my home, we sell Plasma TV, we sell the air conditioner, we sell a lot of things, we raised another 10,000 Dinars, with my brother helping me."
M/S Migrants at Saint Francis church courtyard
M/S Olusiahna crying
M/S Migrants outside church
SOT, Michey Olusiahna, migrant from Nigeria: "Where black people are living, so they want to go there in the midnight, cover their face and go and rob the, you know, and take them, collect their money like they collected money from me."
M/S Migrants outside church
SCRIPT
The Saint Francis Catholic Church in Tripoli is offering something of a sanctuary for Christian migrants as they remain stranded in the war-torn country.
Footage filmed on Saturday shows migrants as they attended mass as well as gathered in the courtyard of Saint Francis church afterwards.
Michey Olusiahna, a migrant from Nigeria who is also a member of the church, told his story of being kidnapped and tortured by Libyan militias who asked for 11,000 euro ransom from his family.
Saint Francis church offers regular teaching of catechism for children and adults, psychosocial support for migrants and hosts offices of several international organisations, through which the community may ask for help.
Father George Bugeja, who caters for the spiritual needs of Catholics in Tripoli, was appointed coadjutor bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Tripoli by Pope Francis and received his episcopal ordination in 2015.
Tripoli has a Christian Catholic population of 6,000 people, primarily non-Libyans, from migrant backgrounds.