Arrupe

ARRUPEARRUPEAssisting Refugee Resettlement Using Parish

Energies

For I Was a Stranger

and You Welcomed Me

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“The Church is ever mindful that Jesus Christ was himself a refugee, that as a child he had to flee with his parents from his native land in order to escape persecution. In every age, therefore, the Church feels herself called to help refugees.”

Pope John Paul IIRefugee Center, Morong,

Phillipines1981

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Catholic Social Teaching and Migration

Popes and bishops’ conferences have synthesized Catholic theological tradition to articulate:

Five Basic Principles on Migration

Persons have the right to opportunities in their homelands

Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families

Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders

Refugees and asylum seekers should be afforded protection

The human dignity and rights of migrants should be respected

Who Is A Refugee?Who Is A Refugee?

• Refugees are individuals and families unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin because of a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of:

Race

Religion

Nationality

Political opinion

Membership in a particular social group

Refugee Resettlement Statistics

14 Million refugees and asylum seekers worldwide

Add internally displaced and stateless persons and the number climbs to 33 Million

Over 60% are women and children

Less than 1 percent are permanently resettled each year

The Catholic Church is the largest provider of refugee resettlement services in the US

Catholic Charities Boston to resettle 300 refugees this year

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Refugee Resettlement: Process

Difficult and Lengthy

Refugees must flee their country of origin

Seek safety in second (transit) country

Apply for recognition by the UNHCR as a refugee

Meet Rigorous US Requirements

Life in Exile• Exile: Egypt, Ghana, Jordan, Sierra Leone, Kenya, Thailand • Refugee Camps: “Home” for 98% of our refugee families

Urban refugees: live as an under-class, targeted by police in host countries; no work authorization; fear of deportation (Iraq)

Live among thousands of refugees from other countries

Experience in Exile

Average stay in a refugee camp: 6-10 years

All have been exposed to violence or witnessed death of loved one

All lack most basic necessities

No exposure to Western society

Limited access to formal education

Tham Hin Refugee CampLiving Conditions

Overcrowded: 9,500 people in a camp designed for only 4,000. Only 16 acres of land

Each family of 7-10 people lives in a five-meter space, with one meter of space between families.

Domestic violence and conflict with neighbors

Discrimination: refugees not allowed beyond a 300 meter radius of the camp; arrested and subject to deportation if found outside compound

Tham Hin Refugee CampLiving Conditions

Poverty is striking: one pair of clothes; children are barefoot and often naked

Health: limited medical care, high incidence of stomach parasites, worms, skin rashes

Work: manual labor, minimal farming

Housing: bamboo

Education: informal, few materials

Electricity and Telephones: none

Toilets: pit latrines, no running water

Photos: Matt Edmundson 2004

Victims of Violence, Terror, War Most of the World’s refugees are women and

children.

Refugee children face grave dangers: abduction, exploitation, and forced military conscription

Education: Rare and SubstandardEducation: Rare and Substandard

Refugee Camp School

Refugee Newcomers in the Refugee Newcomers in the Archdiocese of BostonArchdiocese of Boston

Africa: 34% Burundi, Eritrea,

Liberia, Somalia, Sudan

Latin America: 3% Cuba

Middle East: 4% Iraq

Near East: 3% Afghanistan

South East Asia: 37% Burma (Chin & Karen) Viet Nam

In Partnership with Catholic In Partnership with Catholic Charities Charities

Resettlement ServicesResettlement Services

Welcome and ReceptionHousing, food, furnishingsClothing, basic needsEmployment ServicesEnglish as a Second Language Cultural Orientation/AcculturationParish and Community integrationInterpreter and Translation services

GOAL: Early Employment and Self-Sufficiency within 6 Months

Resettlement ChallengesResettlement Challenges

Unfunded MandatesUnfunded Mandates

Lack of Affordable HousingLack of Affordable Housing

AcculturationAcculturation Community Living Unfamiliarity with Western

society Exposure to violence

HealthHealth Malnutrition Lack of pre-natal

care/women’s health Post Traumatic Stress

The first place for the Church's attention to refugees The first place for the Church's attention to refugees remains the parish community, which has the task of remains the parish community, which has the task of sensitizing its members to the plight of refugees, sensitizing its members to the plight of refugees, exhorting them to welcome as Jesus taught: "I was a exhorting them to welcome as Jesus taught: "I was a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35). stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35).

Benevolence, respect, trust and sharing are practical Benevolence, respect, trust and sharing are practical expressions of a culture of solidarity and hospitality.expressions of a culture of solidarity and hospitality.

--”Refugees: A Challenge to Solidarity”Pontifical Councilfor the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

1992

WHY ARRUPE HELPSExpressing Christ’s Love for the PoorReflecting Our Worldwide Communion in the Local Church

HOW HOW ARRUPE ARRUPE

HELPSHELPSHousehold GoodsHousehold Goods

CompanionshipCompanionshipEducationEducationAdvocacyAdvocacy

PrayerPrayer

HOW YOU CAN HELPHOW YOU CAN HELP

Contribute FinanciallyDonate new and gently-used household itemsMentor or tutor a refugeeOffer employment or job leadsHelp with housingCome to a monthly meetingOffer Prayer and Spiritual Support

The new immigrants call us back to our ancestral heritage …and to our baptismal heritage as members of the

body of Christ.

--Welcoming the Stranger Among Us: Unity in Diversity,A Statement of the U.S. Catholic Bishops

Refugees’ Landing

In order to build the civilization of love, dialogue between cultures must work to overcome all ethnocentric selfishness and make it possible to combine regard for one's own identity with understanding of others and respect for diversity.

John Paul II, World Day for Peace Message, 2001

Pedro Arrupe, SJPedro Arrupe, SJ1907 - 19911907 - 1991

28th Superior General of the Society Of Jesus28th Superior General of the Society Of Jesus Founder of the Jesuit Refugee ServiceFounder of the Jesuit Refugee Service

Faithful Friend and ServantFaithful Friend and Servant