In June, multiple Jesuit institutions created campaigns to call for action on the occasion of the World refugee day. We will present to you some actions taken by the Centro Astalli in Italy, Alboan and Entreculturas in Spain and the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES) of the General Curia.

Centro Astalli’s Campaign for world refugee Day.

Centro Astalli presents #traccesolidali: the social campaign for the next World Refugee Day. We can take care of each other as we travel together on this long journey respecting each other’s rights.

Deep dark eyes carefully follow the movement of the sewing machine. They are the eyes of Zainab, Lin and Fatou.  They come from Nigeria, Somalia, Chine and Eritrea. These women have crossed the desert and the Mediterranean and have survived incredibly difficult journeys. With needle, thread and fabrics they have brightened their days at Casa di Giorgia, the center for women refugees that has hosted them, during the lockdown period due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  Their skilled hands have guided young and inexperienced hands in the making of masks out of fabric that arrived from all over the world.

Today these refugee women are starting all over again, using a sewing machine and a handmade design. They found some fabric and drew sketches and models to create a commodity that has become precious and indispensable for the protection of each of us. The look on their faces is one of solidarity, women who have decided to take care of the community that hosted and protected them, and which now has become their home. To place an order, one can contact Centro Astalli 0669925099 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

During this time, solidarity and integration are hanging on thin but strong threads, interwoven with shared values ​​and care for the common good. We can take care of each other as we travel together on this long journey respecting each other’s rights.#traccesolidali

Activities in Spain.

An escape room

The proposals have been varied. For example, the ngo Alboan has launched an Escape Room with the name "Breaking the wall", with the aim of breaking down the walls built with false messages, stereotypes and prejudices about migrants and refugees. With a donation you can play and invite up to three more players. The money raised will go towards the COVID-19 global emergency campaign, which seeks to alleviate the effects of the pandemic among the most vulnerable communities in Latin America, Africa and India.

Sharing a photo of our walking shoes

The traditional Paths of Hospitality or marches with refugees and migrants, this year have been celebrated virtually by sharing a photo of our walking shoes on social networks accompanied by a message of solidarity with migrants and refugees. For its part, the Jesuit Migrant Service will present in early July its annual report on Foreigners' Internment Centers (CIE 2020 Report), which on its tenth anniversary will re-read the evolution of this last decade, in the hope of knowing if the CIE will reopen and in what situation, after the closure caused by the pandemic. The report will be available on its website from 6th July.

7.1 million refugee children and adolescents of school age

The NGO Entreculturas has invited us to look more deeply into the reality of the 7.1 million refugee children and adolescents of school age, of which 3.7 million do not normally attend school, but whose numbers have increased due to the emergency caused by Covid-19. In their campaign Escuela Refugio they ask for our signature so that education is preserved as an essential right within any humanitarian response in an emergency or crisis and they offer us different teaching materials and resources to work on the issue with children.

"Migratory Flows at the Borders of our World"

Finally, the Secretariat for Social Justice and Ecology (SJES) of the General Curia, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the Migration Network, GIAN (Global Initiative Advocacy Network) and the Institute for Migration Studies of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas celebrated the online presentation of the book "Migratory Flows at the Borders of our World". The seminar in which this presentation was held on Thursday, June 18, was attended by Fr. General Arturo Sosa, SJ, Fr. Here you can dowloan the book. More information about the webinar here: https://infosj.es/noticias/16588-el-p-general-invita-a-trabajar-juntos-para-abordar-el-desafio-de-las-migraciones

Read also: “To know in order to understand” - Faith-Based Organisations on World Refugee Day 2020