THE VATICAN, March 17, 2018 (WAFA) – Pope Francis received UNRWA‘s Commissioner-General, Pierre Krähenbühl, on Friday in the Vatican, where they discussed the plight of Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

The Commissioner-General expressed to Pope Francis his worries over the lack of horizon, in particular for youth, and the need for the world to confirm that the rights of Palestine refugees and their future matter.

The Pope, who has visited a refugee camp in Bethlehem, expressed deep respect for the work and commitment of UNRWA. Krähenbühl presented a message from one of the Agency‘s students, Majd, 14 years old, who wrote and sent a video message to Pope Francis, conveying the importance she attaches to her education and the fear of seeing her school close because of UNRWA‘s dramatic funding crisis. The Pope expressed admiration for the courage of young refugee boys and girls.

“I was deeply honored and humbled by the opportunity to highlight the dedication and dignity of Palestine Refugee students during my meeting with Pope Francis,” said the Commisisoner-General, adding: “The risks of any interruption of education services were discussed and the need to respect the humanity and aspirations of UNRWA students.”

As the Agency‘s pursues global efforts to overcome its unprecedented crisis, Pope Francis provided strong words of encouragement to UNRWA. He also expressed his genuine concern for the situation of Palestine refugees and his commitment to the search of a just and lasting peace based on the two state-solution.

M.N