EXCLUSIVE - 'Let down by the Pope on Lesbos': Christian brother and sister told they would be rescued by Holy Father then left behind over EU deal to send migrants to TurkeyA Christian brother and sister from Syria say they have been 'let down' by the Pope after he left them behind in a Lesbos refugee camp despite promises they would be given a new life in Italy.
Roula and Malek Abo say they were two of the lucky 'chosen 12' refugees selected by the Vatican to be taken from the desperate camp and housed in Rome.
But what seemed like the chance of a lifetime was cruelly snatched away when they were told the following day they couldn't go. Instead three Muslim families were taken.
Roula, 22, and her brother arrived on Lesbos on April 1 – ten days after the controversial EU deal to return all asylum seekers arriving to Greece from Turkey.
Their application for asylum is being process and they are waiting to learn if they will be sent back to Turkey.
Stuck on Lesbos, Roula told MailOnline: 'If they can do this for 12 people they can do it for more.
'If you have promised to take people back to Italy will something like registration papers stand in your way?'
Future: Roula, a Christian Syrian, and her brother were they had been selected to go to Rome with the Pope but were let down the following day and are now stuck on Lesbos
Dreams dashed: The siblings, who fled Qamishli, Syria, were not among the chosen 12, because they arrived on Lesbos ten days after the controversial EU deal to return failed asylum seekers to Greece from Turkey
Neither Community Sant'Egidio, the charity which organised the trip, or the Vatican would explain the selection process over which migrants were picked.
Spokesman Massimiliano Signifredi called the incident 'regrettable' - adding: 'The problem here is the three Syrians arrived after the March 20 deadline. They arrived just after the agreement between the European Union and Turkey.
Mr Signifredi said: 'Our staff went to Lesbos and spoke with the people who were selected. But everything was decided by the Vatican.
'The question why the Pope took only Muslims is difficult to understand and he was suffering, I think, because he wanted to do something also for Christians as the chief of the Catholic Church. But he couldn't because there is this international agreement [with the EU].'
The Vatican declined to comment.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3550138/Betrayed-Pope-Lesbos-Christian-brother-sister-desperately-disappointed-told-rescued-Holy-Father-left-red-tape.html
