TEL AVIV, Israel, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- More than 1,000 Eritreans gathered in a park in Tel Aviv Saturday to hold a memorial service for asylum-seekers who died on their way to Europe.
Christian and Muslim leaders from Tel Aviv's Eritrean community spoke at the event at Lewinsky Park Saturday morning, The Jerusalem Post reported.
The service was to honor the 300 migrants, mostly from Eritrea and Somalia, who died when their boat capsized Oct. 3 off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa.
"Our brothers and sisters died a horrific death trying to reach safety. Our brothers and sisters, just like us in Israel, were fleeing a dictatorship that enslaves, persecutes and tortures its citizens. Just like us, they were hoping to live free and dignified lives," said one of the speakers at the event.
