Latin America: A Festival to accompany refugees
More than 300 people in 40 different places in 12 countries of the American continent celebrated the life and dignity of all people who have been forced to migrate and those who accompany them on their journey.
On Thursday, June 23, we met with people from all over the continent to celebrate that we continue walking and building the future with migrants, refugees and displaced persons.
Motivation: to denounce and continue to announce
In the midst of the pain for the lack of protection of their rights and the urgency for certain commitments from the States to guarantee life and dignity, addressing the causes of forced migration and ensuring access to protection for those who are seeking it; In the midst of the profound sadness for the murder of the Mexican Jesuits Javier and Joaquin; days before the unacceptable tragedy of 53 human beings who lose their lives locked in a truck that promised them to reach the "American dream", and 23 more who lose their lives in front of the bars that separate them from their hope.
In the midst of this harsh reality, we unite our hearts and voices to affirm that we are one humanity, and that hundreds of thousands of people are already walking the utopia of fraternity, hospitality and shared humanity.
In the framework of June 20, 2022, as Jesuit Network with Migrants, we make an invitation to recognize that the history of our humanity is built from people who have been forced to walk. Walkers who save their lives in a heroic act.
Walking as a profoundly human act that allows the encounter with the new and the diverse. Walking is the only real possibility for the future. Human beings who meet on the road to protect the life and dignity of people forced to migrate, and who seek to build the future with refugees.
Invitation: to share an hour of stories and songs to accompany the journey of migrants, refugees and displaced persons.
This is an event that was transmitted last Thursday, June 23rd, virtually with a live presentation from Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Pasto and Bogota (Colombia) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). We joined more than 40 points in 12 countries of the continent, with a participation of about 300 people who met to celebrate the life and dignity of those who have been forced to migrate and all the people who accompany their journey.
Around the Festival Tantos Somos, Somos Um (SJMR Brazil) we united for this opportunity other expressions of Latin America and the Caribbean as the strategy Caminantes (JRS Colombia), the brand#SoyRefugio (SJM ARU) and the strategy #OtroPassoMás (RJM LAC), greetings from Haiti and Honduras, in a cultural proposal of celebration for works, institutions and people of the Networks of the Society of Jesus, allies and all those who choose to build humanity from hospitality.
Action: A Hospitality Network that serves the revolution of love
The Jesuit Migrant and Refugee Service of Brazil, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) of Colombia, the Jesuit Migrant Service of Argentina and Uruguay, with the participation of Eric Radio Progreso of Honduras and the Jesuit Migrant Service of Haiti, in collaboration as Jesuit Network with Migrants Latin America and the Caribbean, we have built this proposal to celebrate the lives of refugees and those who accompany them from different parts of the region.
As Eduardo Mosri, a Brazilian actor who has collaborated in the management of this artistic and social proposal since its inception, stated at the opening of the 2022 Festival, we hope to continue celebrating for a long time to come that "we are so many, we are um".
Special thanks to Janaina from Brazil, Sofia from Argentina and Uruguay, Katherin from Colombia, Karla from Honduras, Fr. Levelt from Haiti, Victor from Canada, Naty from the Hospitality dimension, and all the people from their teams who have generously collaborated to make this cultural encounter possible.
The idea of the Network is summarized in collaboration for a shared mission. We would like to thank you deeply for your generosity and commitment, thank you for choosing to be a Network. Forced migration is one of the human realities that must be addressed through international collaboration and genuine commitment to the rescue of human dignity, with no other calculation than to serve the "revolution of love" that Fr. Pedro Arrupe, S.J. proposed to us.
This June 23 we have felt the presence of so many migrants, refugees, displaced persons, those who accompany their journey and the communities that welcome them. In 40 different places of the continent, diverse human beings have met to share life and mission, in most of the places there were groups of people who accepted the invitation to share a community space.
People from all over the continent celebrating that we continue walking and building the future with migrants, refugees and displaced people.
Source: CPAL
Related Posts:
The Jaboticaba Agricultural Family School in Brazil reuses water for sustainable food production in a semi-arid region. Since 1993, it has combined agroecology with wastewater treatment to enhance food security and educate students. The project promotes environmental sustainability and aims to influence public policies in line with Pope Francis’s call for integral ecology.
MEXICO CITY (OSV News) -- An Indigenous Tzotzil priest and peace activist was murdered after celebrating Sunday Mass in Mexico's southern Chiapas state, where the Catholic Church has denounced government inaction in the face of rising violence. Father Marcelo Pérez, who ministered in Indigenous regions rife with territorial conflicts and later denounced drug cartel violence, was shot dead Oct. 20 by two assailants on a motorcycle as he drove away from the Guadalupe church in San Cristóbal de las Casas, according to Mexican media reports.
The Central American Province of the Society of Jesus marks the first anniversary of the Nicaraguan government's confiscation of the Central American University, condemning the violation of education rights and academic freedom. They call for an end to repression, the release of political prisoners, and a return to dialogue and justice.
Stan Swamy Day in Viragalur was a moving tribute to a man who devoted his life to justice and the upliftment of the marginalized.
His journey was marked by a profound sense of detachment, as he left behind his nationality, culture, security, history, and companions to embrace a completely foreign environment.
Jesuit Network with Migrants Central America and North America (RJM CANA) shared the first four months of the year report (January – April 2024): "They have been months of a lot of work to face the challenges in the migration context characterized by an increase in the migratory flow in vulnerable conditions throughout the region, however, also These have been months in which the fruits of networking have been confirmed".
