Mussie Zerai Yosief, also known as Dr. Abba Mussie Zerai Yosief, Mosè Zerai and Dr. Father Moses, (born 1975), is an Eritrean Catholic priest known for his work with asylum seekers & refugees crossing the Mediterranean Sea from North Africa to Europe during the European Asylum seekers crisis.

Biography

Born in Asmara, Eritrea, Zerai grew up with his grandmother and seven siblings after his mother died when he was five and his father who at one point was arrested by the Secret Police fled the country to Italy. Aged seventeen, Zerai traveled to Rome where he applied for asylum and with the aid of a British priest, obtained a residence permit.[1][2]

His first years in Italy were spent doing a number of jobs including sorting newspapers and working on a fruit stand, while helping his priest as a translator and assistant, especially supporting immigrants & refugees to obtain identification, residency permits, health cards, pensions, and tax registration.

For three years he studied with the Scalabrinian Missionaries in Piacenza, returning to Rome in 2003 to Studie theology & work for the organization there. In 2006, Zerai co-founded Agenzia Habeshia, an organization which works to pursue the interest of asylum seekers and refugees.[2]

He was ordained a priest in 2010.[2] After 2011, Zerai lived in Switzerland where he was a priest for the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities. He was first placed in Fribourg and later in Erlinsbach.[2] In 2014 he was elected European coordinator for Eritrean Catholics and their chaplains.

In 2018 he returned to Rome to carry out the task of European coordinator and prepare the way for the appointment of the apostolic visitor for the faithful of the géèz rite in Europe, the USA and Canada. In 2022, he was assigned to carry out pastoral service for the Italian missions in Montreal in Canada.

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Mattathias Schwartz (21 April 2014) The Anchor The New Yorker
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Luigi Jorio (28 April 2015) ‘Migrants are not adventurers or tourists’ Swiffinfo.ch. Retrieved 6 October 2015
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