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Posts Tagged ‘migration’
Pope: migration invites us to focus on unity of humanity
Monday, November 9th, 2009During the 6th World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees at the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI said the phenomenon of migration “has assumed immense importance,” noting how “the economic divide between poor countries and industrialized countries is growing ever wider.”
Many people, he said, “are forced to abandon their own lands and communities of origin; willing to accept work in conditions that in no way accord with human dignity,”
“Many migrants abandon their countries to flee from humanly unacceptable living conditions, yet without finding elsewhere the welcome they were hoping for. Faced with situations of such complexity, how can we not stop and reflect on the consequences of a society founded exclusively on material growth?”
“True development,” the Pope continued, “always has the characteristic of solidarity. … It is necessary to find adequate responses to the great social changes taking place, clearly bearing in mind that there can be no effective development if we do not support encounter among peoples, dialogue between cultures and respect for legitimate differences. From this point of view,” he added, “why not consider the current worldwide phenomenon of migration as a situation favorable to understanding between peoples, and to the building of peace and a form of development that involves all nations?”
“Migrations invite us to focus on the unity of the human family, the value of acceptance, hospitality and love for others,” This, the Pope concluded, “is why the Church invites the faithful to open their hearts to migrants and their families, in the knowledge that they are not just a ‘problem,’ but also a ‘resource’ that must be appropriately used for the progress of human beings and their authentic development.”
75 migrants feared killed crossing Mediterranean Sea
Friday, August 21st, 2009The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says it is shocked by the accounts heard from five Eritreans who are allegedly the sole survivors of a boat tragedy in the Mediterranean Sea in which some 75 others are feared to have perished.
According to the survivors, around 80 people – mostly from Eritrea – set out more than 20 days ago in a small boat from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, in an attempt to reach Italy. They then became stranded at sea without fuel, food or water.
“As thirst and hunger set in people started dying, one by one, as the boat drifted in the sea,” UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told reporters today in Geneva. “As passengers died, the survivors threw them into the sea.”
A fishing boat came across the five survivors and offered them some bread and water, but then left them, he added. The stranded boat was then found off the island of Lampedusa on August 20, by Italian authorities who took the five to Italy for treatment.
(more…)
JRS Ecuador aims to foster better understanding of migration and refugee issues
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009The Migration Plan, Communication and Development, a strategic alliance formed by the Latin American Association for Radio Education (ALER), the Coordinator of Education and Radios Populares del Ecuador (CORAPE), the Jesuit Refugee and Migrant Service – Ecuador (SJRM), the Group Ecuadorian Social Fund Populorum Progressio (FEPP GS) and the Spanish Network With Voice Foundation, announces the contest Journalistic Research on Human Mobility, to coincide with the week of Migrants and Refugees in Ecuador.
Objective: To stimulate the production of quality journalism on the subject of human mobility, for positions in the public discourse objective, comprehensive criticism and reporting on the issues to make a positive contribution to better understanding.
Topic: The work of investigative journalism will be developed on the themes of refugees, IDPs, migration, immigration, trafficking and human trafficking; a human rights approach.
The work should reflect a different approach to the issue of migrants and refugees in the media and other forums for information, with a more humane approach and intercultural awareness.
Download a PDF here (Spanish language) which has the complete rules, requirements and deadline information.
For more information, visit the SJRM Ecuador website here.
Magazine: churches key in immigration reform
Tuesday, June 9th, 2009Christianity Today magazine says local churches are key in fixing the immigration mess. The magazine reports that “the newest research from the Pew Hispanic Center, released this spring, suggests that the immigration system in the United States is going to be nearly impossible to fix. This is an important realization; with a weak economy and high unemployment rates, few leaders are enthusiastic about tackling the complex problems that undocumented immigrants face. Immigration reform has stalled in Congress since 2005, and extremist rhetoric on both sides of the debate has only exacerbated the stalemate.”
The magazine offers several steps local churches can take to help the country reach a durable solution to the “Soul of the Border Crisis.”
Read the full article here.
Video: ‘Forces of Good’
Tuesday, February 24th, 2009
‘Forces of Good’ at work on border from Jesuit Refugee Service/USA on Vimeo.
The Kino Border Initiative is a partnership of several Catholic organizations, including the Missionary Sisters of the Eucharist and the Society of Jesus, who seek to respond to the call of Christ, who is present among those who are suffering from the consequences of contemporary immigration policy, border enforcement efforts, and the reality of undocumented migration, apprehension, detention and deportation.
