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Every day, thousands of men and women decide to leave their own country to seek a better future for themselves and their families in other lands. Many migrate under the pressure of an intolerable social and economic situation, while others flee from violent conflicts that put their lives at risk. Many of them perish during the journey to a new land, and those who manage to reach their destination must face enormous obstacles to build a new life. Behind each person, there are experiences of pain, uprooting, and injustice, but also dreams and hopes.
We narrate their stories through "Voices of Migrants," a project of the Global Solidarity Forum and the Dicastery for Communication of the Holy See. It seeks to portray both the drama of migration and the resilience of those who manage to carve out a space for themselves amidst adversity.
Through written, audiovisual, and photographic testimonies, we present the tireless work of organizations of the Catholic Church, often in collaboration with civil society organizations, to ensure that all migrants worldwide are increasingly welcomed, protected, promoted, and integrated into a new society.
Catholic-inspired organizations are implementing a series of social programs in Ceuta and Algeciras, assisting those arriving from Africa to enter Europe. One of the greatest challenges is the fight against human trafficking which exposes women to forced prostitution.
The exponential increase of foreign women arriving in Brazil poses a challenge for the state and civil society. Various ecclesiastical organizations offer multiple opportunities through training, employment, and support for entrepreneurship.
The extensive networking efforts carried out by Catholic institutions with civil society organizations and the Brazilian state ensure that their contributions and opinions are highly valued when addressing the challenges posed by the arrival of migrants.
Suffering, personal difficulties, and distance from their families could not break the dreams of Martial and Saleha. These two foreign-born young people have fought tenaciously to build a future in Spain, where, with the help of Catholic Church organizations, they are realizing those dreams.
Mohamed, at just 9 years old, fled his home in Morocco to seek a future in Europe. After passing through various centers for the protection of minors, a community of nuns welcomed him, gave stability to his life, and accompanied him in a human process that today sees him working toward a university master's degree and engaged in helping other migrants at the Fundación Centro Tierra de Todos.
While new legislation simplifies the issuing of residence permits for those embarking in formation for work, an enormous Detention Center for undocumented foreigners is under construction in Algeciras. Civil and Church organizations warn that this infrastructure could become a prison for individuals who have committed no crime.
Religious women and priests of the Scalabrinian Family, along with psychologists and psychiatrists, support initiatives to assist those who are striving to adapt to a new country. It is a challenging process and the main focus of the project is on the psychological difficulties stemming from the fear of not being able to achieve autonomy.
Fleeing Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, two men put their lives at risk to leave their homeland. Hidden in boats whose destination they did not know, they arrived as far as São Paulo, where the Missão Paz of the Scalabrinian religious is now helping them to open up to a new future.
In Ethiopia, the vulnerable, at home or from abroad, are given precious opportunities and assistance, which has changed their lives, thanks to the launch of the first phase of a pilot project brought to life by the Global Solidarity Fund, in cooperation with five religious congregations in Addis Ababa.
A network of religious congregations in Ethiopia supported by the Global Solidarity Fund signs an agreement with a bank and a financial technology service operator to provide microcredit to internally displaced persons, returning migrants, and refugees, to help them start their own businesses, as part of a three-year project supported by the Ministry of Labour & Skills and the Mastercard Foundation.
In only 30 months, the Global Solidarity Fund pilot project in Ethiopia has changed the lives of more than 1500 migrants, refugees and internally displaced persons. Here are five of their stories.
The Cardinal Archbishop of Addis Ababa calls for “justice, reparations and forgiveness” for people who lost everything in the war between the government and the Tigray Liberation Front. He looks forward to the growth of a Global Solidarity Fund's project to help develop his diocese and religious missionary congregations.
Ethiopia’s small Catholic community celebrates the Resurrection of Christ on 16 April, in line with the calendar of the Ethiopian Coptic Orthodox Church. The head of the Socio-Pastoral Commission of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa and a Salesian Sister talk about their hopes for true peace in Tigray, and about an inter-congregational network project promoted by the Global Solidarity Fund that assists refugees and displaced persons.
A Global Solidarity Fund project promotes the work of a network of religious congregations that collaborate with the private sector. Thus, not only are the Sisters able to offer more training and employment opportunities, but also combat abuses against migrants and address the scourge of human trafficking.
A Global Solidarity Fund project seeks to bridge the employment gap that prevents those crossing the border from Venezuela from finding work on Colombian soil. The challenge is to efficiently and systematically link training centers run by religious congregations with companies offering stable employment.
Various religious congregations, such as the Scalabrinians missionaries, the Sisters of Divine Will, the Sister Adorers and the Scalabrinian Sisters, are part of a “Hub for social innovation”, promoted by the Global Solidarity Fund. The initiative allows them to cooperate in providing an integral response to migrants, in order to offer them training for work and contacts to find a job or to start their own business.
A project by the Dicastery for Communication and GSF
Project Coordinators:
Felipe Herrera-Espaliat - Dicastery for Communication - Alessandra Tarquini – GSF
Articles and videos by Felipe Herrera-Espaliat (reportage in Brazil, Colombia, Spain); Alessandro Di Bussolo (reportage in Ethiopia)
Photos by Giovanni Culmone (Brazil, Ethiopia, Spain); Margherita Mirabella (Colombia)
A special thanks to all the congregations, associations, and individuals we met and who made this project possible.
