“A change of attitude towards migrants and refugees is needed on the part of everyone, moving away from attitudes of defensiveness and fear, indifference and marginalisation – all typical of a throwaway culture – towards attitudes based on a culture of encounter, the only culture capable of building a better, more just and fraternal world.” Pope Francis
Tomorrow, June 20, the world will observe World Refugee Day. Catholics are called to care for the least of those among us and to welcome the stranger. On June 25,1982, Pope John Paul II described the problem of refugees in his letter to the High Commissioner of the United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR), as a “shameful wound of our time”.
In his Message for World Migration Day 2000 he said: “The Church…hears the suffering cry of all who are uprooted from their own land, of families forcefully separated, of those who, in the rapid changes of our day, are unable to find a stable home anywhere…at the same time, States with a relative abundance tend to tighten their borders under pressure from public opinion disturbed by the inconveniences that accompany the phenomenon of immigration. Society finds itself having to deal with the ‘clandestine’ men and women in illegal situations, without rights in a country that refuses to welcome them, victims of organised crime or of unscrupulous entrepreneurs.”
Annual figures from the UNHCR in 2014 showed that there were almost 60 million refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) around the globe then. It is clear that the numbers have increased significantly since then; added to these numbers are the millions of stateless persons – mainly war-affected populations.
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Human traffickers continue to exploit vulnerable men, women and children who are fleeing for their lives mainly by land and sea. Fear-mongering, stereotyping and inflammatory political rhetoric are adding to the mistreatment/dehumanisation of refugees. Images of those who have drowned or killed in the process should disturb our consciences enough to act.
Pope Francis constantly speaks out about the refugee crisis and leads the Church in its response to address the plight of those affected. As Donald Kerwin and Elizabeth Kilbride, Centre for Migration Studies, New York, note: “He has condemned the mistreatment of migrants and called for accountability from individuals, states and the international community. He has emphasised the importance of engagement and encounter with migrants, refugees and newcomers, as well as the tragedy and callousness of a culture of indifference. To the Holy Father, migrants are not so much a ‘problem,’ but a gift to be cherished and embraced, and an opportunity to create more just and faithful communities.”
In his encyclical, Laudato Si’, he links migration with climate change and poverty, stating: “There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. They are not recognised by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind, without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever. Sadly, there is widespread indifference to such suffering, which is even now taking place throughout our world. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.”
What can we do to affirm the dignity of those who suffer? We can: pray incessantly for the world to honour the humanity of refugees and asylum seekers; support the work of organisations such as Living Water Community, which has a Refugee and Asylum Seeker Ministry; promote local/international solidarity; and donate to international relief agencies such as CAFOD, Caritas, and Catholic Relief Services.
By acting on the social justice principle of solidarity, we can be instruments of peace, love and justice as we work to find durable solutions to the refugee crisis. As Ban Ki-moon, UN General Secretary said: “Refugees are people like anyone else, like you and me. They led ordinary lives before becoming displaced, and their biggest dream is to be able to live normally again. On this World Refugee Day, let us recall our common humanity, celebrate tolerance and diversity and open our hearts to refugees everywhere.”
I end with the words of the Holy Father in his 2014 message for World Day of Migrants and Refugees: “Migration can offer possibilities for a new evangelisation, open vistas for the growth of a new humanity foreshadowed in the Paschal mystery: a humanity for which every foreign country is a homeland and every homeland is a foreign country.”
