[World Council of Churches] Churches are expressing solidarity with refugees in Lampedusa, the Italian island on which thousands of migrants have arrived, overloading local resources.

The Italian Red Cross estimates the island hosted at least 10,000 newly arrived people Sept. 17-23, many of them coming by boat from Tunisia. The refugee center originally was built for just 400 people.

The Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy, which has been involved for years in reception and integration programs for migrants and asylum seekers, expressed concern about the situation. “We reiterate that the request for asylum is not a crime and cannot be managed with custodial measures,” the federation said in a statement.

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