Welcome and integration activities
On 11 December 2020, the figure of the Holy Family, represented in the Angels Unawares sculpture, will be illuminated in Piazza S. Pietro in Rome from 29 September 2019. A sign to highlight the profound meaning of Christmas and to remember that even Jesus, with Maria Giuseppe, was a migrant, fleeing to save his life. The large copy of the sculpture was unveiled on December 8th in Grand Army Plaza in Brooklyn, New York, and even this, for the entire Christmas period, will be illuminated in the same way. A reminder that, even more so at this time of the pandemic, we are all aware and on guard. "Ci siamo resi conto di trovarci sulla stessa barca, tutti fragili e disorientati, ma nello stesso tempo importanti e necessari, tutti chiamati a remare insieme, tutti bisognosi di confortarci a vicenda". Pope Francis, 27 March 2020
Red Clamor, with the support of the UNHCR and the Latin American Episcopal Council, has presented a report (ES) on refugees and migrants who, coming from Venezuela, have arrived in various Latin American countries to escape the dramatic situation in their country. The report, as well as sharing the testimonies of Venezuelan refugees and migrants, offers a series of recommendations aimed at promoting the protection, and even the full integration, of refugees and migrants into their host communities. Thus, the first of the four chapters analyzes the reasons for emigration from Venezuela; the second examines the transit life, along with the related risks; the third presents the network of shelter and accommodation in different cities; the fourth describes the challenges to be faced. This is followed by a series of recommendations, the most important of which is the need to achieve greater synergy between Catholic organizations, agencies of the United Nations and other national and international organizations, so that all of them together can promote the integral development of refugees and migrants.
The Le Pont (FR) (The Bridge) center, created on the initiative of the Office of Cultural and Ritual Communities of the Archdiocese of Montreal, offers assistance and services to asylum seekers. In order to speed up the integration process, Le Pont offers each family a support service and subsequent monitoring, tailored to their specific situation; this is made possible thanks to the support and joint activities of partner organizations. In addition, many Montreal parishes provide support, money, goods and other donations. An essential part of the work is advocacy with local authorities, in order to protect and promote the rights of asylum seekers and their access to basic services, which is essential for effective integration. Le Pont has reacted promptly to the pandemic and the lockdown: staff have been reduced to a minimum, residents have been isolated in their own homes and timely adjustments have been made. Finally, all the information that has occurred has been communicated to the residents with precision and serenity. When the food banks went bust, Le Pont was able to manage the risk of food insecurity among his employees, thanks in particular to social donations. The social networks have therefore made it possible for families to continue to be accompanied. However, this has proved to be a difficult time. People living in Le Pont have expressed their worries, showing anxiety and anxiety because of the financial insecurity, but also because of the uncertain duration of the lockdown. Some people have also experienced a reduction in some of the traumas experienced during migration. "Integration is not an assimilation that leads to suppressing or diminishing one's own identity. For these people, integration means having a place where they can feel responsible for actively participating in social life. If properly recognized and valued, the capacities and skills of migrants, asylum seekers and refugees are a real asset for the societies that welcome them," says Alessandra Santopadre, director of Le Pont.
School projects and construction support
The closure of schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic has deprived children of a safe place to grow and build a future. Inclusion is a fundamental right that precedes the possibility of exercising other rights and, for this reason, it is important that it is always accessible and guaranteed to everyone.
Burundi is one of the few countries in the world where schools are not closed because of the pandemic. This has allowed Entreculturas (ES) to continue assisting the country's refugee population, with particular attention to integration. Together with the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), Entreculturas has launched an emergency-istruction project, which aims to promote a safe educational environment for 15,050 Congolese refugees in Burundi's primary and secondary schools. The project has been divided into three phases. The first, which has already been completed, concentrates on restructuring work and the construction of safe buildings and enclosures around the schools. The second phase of the project aims to improve learning dynamics by training teachers and providing support at school for students with learning difficulties. The third and final phase, however, will be completed by strengthening the social and emotional legacies in the student's family. Ongoing support will encourage family involvement and participation in school life and, more importantly, will help to improve both family relationships and the ability to support their children.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is offering study grants to provide access to university education for vulnerable refugees living in Kenya. In collaboration with the College for America (CfA) at Southern New Hampshire University and the Global Education Movement, JRS will be able to offer merit-based scholarships to 21 individuals of all ages and backgrounds. After the diploma, the students will be put in touch with local and international organizations, to spend three months of in-person and/or remote training, before starting their diploma course. The recipients of the study grants will therefore be trained to learn CfA-certified degree programs and will be encouraged to work on their skills in Communication and the Agricultural Economy. The refugee agency also encourages career mentoring and, at the time of graduation, further support in order to improve the employability of the beneficiaries.
The Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans, in collaboration with Catholic Education Melbourne and the Archdiocese of Melbourne, has developed a risk kit for schools, but also for workplaces, parrocchies and shelters, which encourages the transition to a slavery-free environment, with the creation of a class for staff or a suitable kitchen. The kit, however, aimed at everyone, but especially Australian schools, offers a guide to new products, awareness-raising tips and a guide on where to buy tea, coffee, cocoa and other products that don't come from the workers' waste. The people who are forced to work in conditions of slavery, because they are victims of treatment or slavery, are among the most vulnerable: those who, most of all, the Church's Social Doctrine calls on to protect and support. By deciding to buy only products that are certified not to be the fruit of slavery, we can help to eradicate child labor, forced labor, the trafficking of human beings and, therefore, make a difference in this world.
Fratelli Tutti: a message of openness and hospitality
During an online training session on the Encyclical Fratelli tutti for the participants of the World Union of Catholic Women's Organizations, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (EN) outlined the ways in which the Encyclical inspires us on the path towards building a better world, based on social friendship, universal love and fraternity. The Cardinal noted that Fratelli calls everyone to act on a sense of fraternity: "Dobbiamo essere attenti a como i poveri, i dimenticati, i trascurati soffrono ancora di più in questa cultura dello scarto", aggravated by a mentality and a context of darkness on the other. L'amore universale è parte della visione di Papa Francesco di un mondo aperto alla fratellanza: "L'amore è una forma di ricerca dell'unione con gli altri. This is how God loves! This is how God manifested himself! È così che Gesù ama e muore per tutti! This is how the Holy Spirit suffuses! Dio che è amore è totale, piena apertura". Cardinal Tagle added that this is illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, which the Holy Father refers to in Fratelli tutti. L'apertura del Samaritano lo portò ad avvicinarsi allo straniero lasciato sul ciglio della strada e a trattarlo como un fratello. Finally, Cardinal Tagle has invited his followers to give concrete answers to the calls of Fratelli tutti, because universal love, without an authentic answer, risks remaining a mere concept or slogan.
Father Fabio Baggio, Scalabrinian and Sottosegretario della Sezione Migranti e Rifugiati del Dicastero per il Servizio dello Sviluppo Umano Integrale, has described the Enciclica Fratelli tutti as an appeal from Pope Francis for the support and integration of all those who live on the existential peripheries, including migrants. Inside the Encyclical, the Pope focuses on the concept of citizenship, as a fundamental aspect of integration, which the Scalabrinians claim is active citizenship. This translates, therefore, into belonging and participation in the community in which a person lives. To make this possible, we need a "culture of encounter", as defined by the Holy Father. This presupposes and requires an openness to others, to diversity. There is no need to be afraid, says Fr. Baggio: "Only a strong will comes to be discussed". And then he adds: "So many times we've set out to announce the Gospel from one continent to another, and now that we're offered this opportunity to witness to Jesus through our lives in front of those who arrive without having known him, or [having known him] in a distorted way, why should we miss it?".
The other Secretary of the Migrants and Refugees Section, Cardinal Michael Czerny (ES; EN), has invited the participants of an online seminar, organized by Sophia University in Tokyo, to see the teachings of the Christian tradition and the Encyclical Fratelli tutti as a guide, for the new generations, in shaping a better world after the time of the pandemic. Cardinal Czerny, in fact, has stated that the answer to the crisis can be found in the ancient teachings of Christian tradition, as he says in Fratelli tutti, where the Pope calls for the creation of fraternity and social friendship between all peoples and nations. His Eminence Czerny noted that the pandemic has affected a society in which the "great virus" of social injustice, lack of opportunities, emargination and lack of protection for the poorest is already present, as well as the "small but terrible virus" of COVID-19. Cardinal Czerny recalled Pope Francis' definition of injustice, as a virus from which to fight back with the antibodies of justice, charity and solidarity. In this regard, the decisive role in creating a culture of fraternity, solidarity and gratuitousness will be played by young people. As Cardinal Czerny has observed, the founding values for a better society are: respect for history, for the elderly and for Creation, the impetus for social dialogue between generations, and solidarity, always proceeding with a spirit of openness towards others.
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