Since the historic elections in November 2015, there has been a wave of optimism for national reconciliation, which may allow for Burmese refugees who fled to camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border decades ago to return.
Loyola University Chicago and its Board of Trustees have approved the implementation of the Magis Scholarship Fund, a student-led initiative to support undocumented undergraduate students in the United States. The Board of Trustees finance committee voted unanimously earlier this month to approve the initiative, which will raise approximately USD 50,000 each academic year.
On December 8, as a concrete sign of commitment to the Jubilee Year of Mercy, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) launched the “Mercy in Motion” advocacy and fundraising campaign to expand and strengthen their education programmes. JRS’ goal is to provide educational services to 100,000 more refugees than they currently serve by the year 2020.
Mercy in Motion reflects the words of Pope Francis: “mercy is not an abstract idea, but a concrete reality… We are called to look beyond, to focus on the heart to see how much generosity everyone is capable of.”
Fr Benny Juliawan SJ, Social Apostolate Coordinator of the Jesuit Conference of Asia Pacific, shares a reflection on the recent Networking for Justice meeting in Loyola, Spain.
In a private audience with 15 refugees and friends and staff of Jesuit Refugee Service to commemorate the 35th anniversary of JRS on November 14, Pope Francis emphasised the importance of education for refugee children and youth as a means to build peace and foster the development of more resilient and cohesive societies.
Jesuit Refugee Service /USA will commemorate 35 years of working alongside refugees and the displaced on December 1, and present Sr Denise Coghlan RSM with the JRS Accompany Award. Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ founded JRS in November 1980, in response to the exodus of refugees from Vietnam and Cambodia.
“I didn’t experience your caress when I was little because you left me on day one, and even up to now,” writes one student at a workshop on dealing with loneliness for children of Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). “But I am really longing for that time when you come home,” “and “hopefully when that time comes, I would know what it feels like to be hugged by my real mom.”
Brussels, 19 October 2015 – Hospitality and generosity should be at the centre of our response to the increased arrivals of refugees in Europe, say a group of leading European Jesuits in a statement released today. The statement acknowledges work done over past decades with refugee and migrant communities by Jesuits and those working with them and calls for renewed energy and vision in building active solidarity and hospitality with forced migrants.
Trung is a man in pain. A 35-year old Vietnamese contract worker, married with two young children under the age of five, he lives in a government shelter in Taiwan recovering from severe burns he received at his workplace two years ago.
The impact of the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe has jolted Australia into realising that it needs to respond more urgently and generously to the humanitarian disaster caused by the Syrian conflict. Jesuit Refugee Service Australia (JRS) welcomed on September 8 the Australian government’s determination to provide further assistance to those fleeing conflict in the Middle East.
JRS urged the government to increase immediately the current annual humanitarian intake from 13,750 to at least double that, given the scale of the current crisis.