Showing posts with label globalisation. Show all posts
World Refugee Day - Push Forward, Not Back
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A woman
rejoices during traditional dances at the International Women's Day celebration
in Doro refugee camp, Maban, South Sudan (Angela Wells / Jesuit Refugee
Service). - See more at:
http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
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A
woman rejoices during traditional dances at the International Women's
Day celebration in Doro refugee camp, Maban, South Sudan (Angela Wells /
Jesuit Refugee Service). - See more at:
http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
Rome, 15 June 2015 – For World Refugee Day this weekend, the Jesuit Refugee Service urges you to remember that the key to change is within each of us. While governments decide to accept or reject refugees, only we have the power to truly welcome them. We must change our fixed view of refugees as 'the other.'
Refugees around the world are being pushed back and pushed out. Australia is pushing refugees from Nauru to Cambodia. Colombians are being kicked out of Venezuela. Kenya has threatened to expel nearly half a million Somali and other refugees. Boats with Rohingya asylum seekers are turned away again and again by countries in Asia Pacific, left stranded at sea. Thousands of people are drowning attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea from the Middle East and North Africa.
Even where refugees are not literally expelled, they are often shunned, mistreated or jailed. Their very presence is criminalised, and they are often excluded from their host communities. In South Africa, foreigners are facing violence and riots, forcing them to flee their homes. In Europe, refugees are forced to rely on the informal labour and housing markets. In the United States, refugees fleeing widespread violence in Central America are held in detention.
The key to change need not always be a top-down approach. Swedish policy makers have exemplified that leaders can encourage this shift in our societal perception, but we must start with our own individual perceptions. Refugees are the 'we,' the 'us,' as opposed to 'they' or 'them.' Let's not just save lives; let's save dignity.
"Integration and hospitality are not only about opening our borders, but opening our communities. The latter does not result from the decisions of a few leaders, but from our own personal decisions. To change our countries we must start with our communities, and to change our communities we must start with ourselves," said JRS International Director Peter Balleis SJ.
We can push governments to welcome refugees, but let's not wait indefinitely for the macro decisions of our leaders to trickle down. Let's micromanage change in our own communities.
"We must all be able first to see, and then help others to see, migrants are not a problem to be solved. They are our brothers and sisters who need help, who should be welcomed and loved," said Kenyan refugee and Jesuit Refugee Service international volunteer, Anthony Mukui.
So let's not push back; let's push forward – push ourselves, our neighbours and our communities to open our doors. Then, together we can unlock potential. Together we can welcome. Together we can advocate. Together we can.
Visit a videoclip: here
For more information:
Jacquelyn Pavilon
International Communications
Jesuit Refugee Service
Tel: +39 06 69868 609; +39 348 993 1544
Jacquelyn.Pavilon@jrs.net
@JesuitRefugee
facebook.com/JesuitRefugeeService - See more at: http://en.jrs.net/news_detail?TN=NEWS-20150609094306#sthash.LUkLGWqh.dpuf
This story is originally from JRS international website: here.
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Come and See: Photography Workshop (Part II)
With the launch just days away, we have a little time to reflect further on what we have enjoyed about taking part and what it has meant to us, both as participants and volunteers.
The photography workshop has had a great impact on everyone involved, not just because it has taught people a new skill, but because of the socialising and support it involves. As one more participant expressed said, it has certainly helped people grow closer together. From the point of view of us as new interns at JRS, the workshop has played a huge role in getting us involved in the organisation and building rapports with its members.
With the workshop being so engaging, as we volunteers have been busy working alongside Fotosynthesis and JRS-UK to organise a public photo exhibition, titled; “Come and See” in the Lumen Gallery. As well as this being a great opportunity for the participants to display the work they’ve created over the past twelve weeks, some have said they would not have had the courage to partake in anything like this without the workshop. J said that the workshop has given her more “confidence” in her abilities; “Before I felt scared about taking pictures but now I feel very confident.”
J, who had an interest in photography beforehand, says she had no idea about storytelling through photography before enrolling in the workshop, and feels that she now has “a new skill”. She also believes that while the workshop has allowed her to develop new skills, what she really enjoyed was “going out with others and to places I’ve never been before. Taking pictures in beautiful places in Wapping, near JRS’s office, and in the city, and taking self portraits with a real camera. I want to have brand new skills and this can open the doors to being self-employed.”
What’s even more positive is how the workshop affected the group as a whole. J said that her favourite thing about joining the workshop was “attending the classes, it’s very sociable. Watching others tell their story. It brings us closer together. The support from everyone - from the teachers and the volunteers.”
Participants, teachers and volunteers invite you to join them at the Lumen Gallery for “Come and See” photo exhibition, which opens for a preview night on the 26th June from 6pm-8pm and continues until the 10th of July from 8am-4pm when it will be open to the public. The Gallery Tour will be on the 5th of July and will be an excellent chance to hear about the experiences, inspirations and what the workshop and exhibition has taught everyone.
For more details, see www.jrsuk.net
Lumen Gallery, Church Cafe, 88 Tavistock Place, WCIH 9RS.
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Come and See: Photography Workshop
For the past weeks, a group of nine men and women have come together at JRS-UK to take part in a photography workshop run and facilitated by Fotosynthesis, a not-for-profit organisation that uses participatory photography to develop skills, give a voice to people and encourage community cohesion. The exhibition launch is just 2 weeks away…
Every week, we meet with the group of nine, who are all from different countries, to learn techniques, share ideas and practice different types of photography - portraits, candid shots, narrative, scenery and landscape. It has been great so far and the feedback we have heard from participants has been really positive with everyone taking something different away from each session.
Sergei, whose father was a photographer, shared he joined the workshop to “avoid depression”. He said that he felt the workshop gave him an opportunity to “communicate with creative people” and to revisit his previous interest for photography, now revived with a new knowledge of modern technology. “When I learnt photography, everything was black and white and manual cameras. Everything changed for 20 years, it changed completely”.
Yus, who hopes to do blogging in the future, joined the workshop when the opportunity presented itself, although he admitted to us he had not had an interest in photography before enrolling. He told us: “What I enjoyed most about what we’ve learned so far is the positioning of the camera and also the lighting. How to make sure you position yourself to get the quality you are looking for, 1. And 2, you have to have a picture in your mind of the story that you are trying to tell. “
Since joining he has been very pleased with how much his skills have advanced, by learning different techniques and tips from the workshop: “You don’t have to be in a rush. Sit still, or stand still, make sure you have the picture in your head before you snap. And as a result of doing that, it will translate into the picture which has helped me a lot,” he said when talking about the new techniques he has learned. He even expressed an interest in continuing to study photography after the workshop ends: “Maybe in the future I might go back to study it more, maybe in the college or something because I’m beginning to see that there’s certain things to consider, you don’t just take the camera and snap.”
"Come and See" opens on the 26th of June for the preview night from 6pm-8pm and continues until the 10th of July from 8am-4pm when it will be open to the public. The Gallery Tour on the 5th of July, will be a great opportunity to hear more from Yus, Sergei and the other contributors about their ideas and inspirations and what they have learnt.
More details see: www.jrsuk.net
Lumen Gallery, Church Café, 88 Tavistock Place, WCIH 9RS.
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A Mass for Migrants & A Message for me!
St. Frances Cabrini - the Patron Saint of Migrants
Statue in St. George's Cathedral, Southwark
‘The Mass for Migrants has been celebrated every May bank holiday since 2006, when it was first introduced by the then Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor; at the suggestion of London Citizens. The Cardinal’s call at that Mass is for a more just treatment of migrants rooted in Catholic Social Teaching. Each year since then the event has reminded London of the invaluable contribution of so many migrants to the city’s society and economy. It offers a profound witness to the Church’s insistence that the dignity of the human person is God-given and never withdrawn and reminds us of the deep resonance with refugee and asylum seekers.’ (Extract from introduction in Mass booklet)
It was my privilege to be able to be there yesterday at a packed Westminster Cathedral. Before the Mass commenced the colourful and joyful procession of different migrant communities with their banners, music and dressed in their national clothes was indeed an Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia celebration. Bishop Patrick Lynch, one of the auxiliary bishops of Southwark, concelebrated with approximately fifty priests from Westminster, Southwark and Brentwood dioceses. It was noticeable that almost a third of the priests were from outside Europe. A blessing for our Church here in England and Wales today. VIPs included mayors/mayoresses from different boroughs of London, MPs, ambassadors of various countries and representatives from other faiths and Christian denominations. But THE VIPs were the migrants, each and everyone present from all over the world not only in this great city of London but in UK. Bidding prayers were in Polish, Mandarin, Swahili, French, Portuguese, Tagalog and English, a wee taste of the languages spoken in London churches. When the Our Father was prayed each according to their own native tongue, it did remind me of Pentecost! Poignantly, given recent events in his country, the Communion anthem was performed by a Ukranian soloist.
It would not do justice to Patrick Lynch’s profound homily to try to share what he said and I wish I had a copy to write it here. He quoted strongly from Evangelii Gaudium. He highlighted two main areas: Human Trafficking and Children of undocumented migrant workers, ‘no way in and no way out’ in their plight. Hopefully those present who have the clout to do something will not turn a deaf ear. As a volunteer at L’Arche and Jesuit Refugee Services, I have no clout, but that does not exempt me from not turning a deaf ear to God’s message for me. I found myself inspired, challenged, disturbed and consoled, all at the same time as I left the Cathedral and made my way to Colnbrook detention center for my weekly visit there.
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Who will weep for them?
The Globalisation of Indifference
A post based on Pope Francis’s homily from the mass he celebrated on the Italian island of Lampedusa on 8th July 2013.
Who will weep for them?
The UN reports that so far this year 40 people have lost
their lives off the cost of Lampedusa.
On Pope Francis’ first official visit outside Rome to the island,
reports were coming in that another 31 people have drowned in the waters of the
island in their quest for a better life.
Pope Francis described these deaths as a “thorn of suffering in his
heart”. But more than that, he spoke of
this disease, the globalization of indifference, which has hardens all our
hearts to the plight of these migrants, these our brothers and sisters.
“The migrants leave difficult situations in order to find a
little serenity and peace. They seek a
better place for themselves and for their families.”
To that end, for the chance of opportunities, which cannot
be found in their own countries, they embark upon perilous journeys, paying traffickers
vast sums of money and only counting on God to safely reach their
destination. They do not know if they
will make it. Many do not and those who
do, instead of finding the understanding, the welcome and the solidarity which
should characterise a global village in this age of globalization are instead met
with indifference. In our desire to
preserve our own well-being and our little soap bubbles, we turn our backs and
our hearts are not stirred within us as the dignity of our brothers and sisters
is trampled upon.
The globalization of indifference has taken away from us our
ability to weep even as God Himself weeps over these deaths and these migrants’
lives which are in limbo as they await a decision in the over-crowded detention
centres in Lampedusa.
In his homily, Pope Francis directed his listeners to the
two questions God asked of man after sin.
“Adam, where are you?” “Cain,
where is your brother?”
These two questions, rather than embedding us further into
our attitude of indifference, should instead provoke our consciences and cause
us to ask for forgiveness and weep: “weep over our indifference, weep over the cruelty in the world,
the cruelty in ourselves, and even in those who anonymously make socio-economic
decisions that open the way to the death of so many brothers and sisters and to
the robbing of the dignity of so many of them.”
