Opening our minds to unlock our potential as a society

This World Refugee Day, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) has called for everyone to embrace refugees as part of their communities by providing them with opportunities to grow and contribute to society. This means not only giving them a safe place to stay but also ensuring that they are protected from all forms of evil, including poverty, isolation, exploitation, misconception and neglect.

“We need to reinvent our way of being together. We must show mercy to and accept one another, and this act of mercy must be mutual and concrete,” said JRS International Director Fr Thomas H Smolich SJ.

For JRS, one such concrete act of mercy is to provide more refugees with access to education, which it aims to do with its Mercy in Motion campaign. Access to a quality education will allow refugees to better fulfil their potential and fully contribute to the growth, strength and stability of communities, JRS says, and its Mercy in Motion campaign aims to provide 100,000 additional refugee children and youth with access to education by the year 2020.

“Opening doors is not enough; we must open ourselves and our minds to unlock our potential as a society,” said Fr Smolich.

To encourage this, JRS developed a video containing words Pope Francis had said to JRS in a video message in April and featuring refugees describing what being a refugee means. The video opens with Pope Francis saying in Italian, “Too many times have we failed to welcome you! Forgive us our lack of openness and the indifference of our societies fearful of change in life.”

Within the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, several activities were organised around World Refugee Day to encourage compassion and mobilise people to put their Mercy in Motion.

JRS Indonesia launched a social media campaign on June 10 that will run throughout the month to raise awareness of refugees and their situation, and to encourage people to stand in solidarity with them. JRS Singapore held an exhibition over the weekend on refugees in Southeast Asia and the Mercy in Motion campaign.

In Cambodia, JRS held two events on June 22. The first was a sports and singing festival with UNHCR, IOM and the government refugee office for 250 refugees and asylum seekers. The second was an open forum with UNHCR and IOM discussing the global refugee situation, the stigma associated with the labels “refugee” and “migrant”, and the challenges JRS faces in offering protection. A former Cambodian refugee shared his post repatriation experience.

Down under, in Australia, Jesuit Social Services has partnered with the Refugee Council of Australia in Refugee Week, which was launched in Melbourne on June 19 with a musical and culinary extravaganza titled, “Festival of Welcome”. On June 26, JRS Australia has partnered with House of Welcome for a showing of the documentary “Chasing Asylum” by Academy Award-winning Australian filmmaker Eva Orner. The documentary shows never before seen footage of the situation inside Australia’s offshore detention camps, exposing the impact of Australia’s offshore detention policies. Then, with Affinity International Foundation, they held an inter-faith Iftar (Breaking Fast) dinner for asylum seekers, refugees, and members of the broader local community. The event was a chance to share a meal, learn from each other and celebrate the strengths, courage and contributions of refugees.