Happy Refugee Week!

Refugee Week will be celebrated from Sunday 19 June to Saturday 25 June.

In the lead up to Refugee Week the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference has released a statement titled, Towards a Better Kind of Politics. This statement clearly presents the position of the Catholic Church in regard to asylum seekers and refugees:

“Our Church teaches that anyone who is forced to flee to protect their life or human dignity has a moral claim on our assistance, whether they fit legal definitions of a refugee or not. We need a just, humane and timely system for assessing claims for asylum.” (p.3)

Pope Francis frequently reminds us that migrants and refugees are not a problem to be solved or a burden to be shared equitably among countries, but sisters and brothers to be welcomed, respected, and loved. Their presence is not an imposition but rather, presents us with the opportunity to collaborate with them to build a better world.

In his Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 2022 Pope Francis links human mobility and the building of the Kingdom of God, saying that “the ultimate meaning of our ‘journey’ in this world is the search for our true homeland, the Kingdom of God inaugurated by Jesus Christ, which will find its full realisation when he comes in glory”. He goes on to explain that God’s plan “gives priority to those living on the existential peripheries” including “migrants and refugees, displaced persons, and victims of trafficking” and that “the Kingdom of God is to be built with them, for without them it would not be the Kingdom that God wants.”

These statements align with our own Living Justice, Living Peace Guidelines. We are called, in 2022, to live with compassion. We are also asked to think about ways that we can Walk in Solidarity to seek the relief of the suffering, to Seek Change by challenging injustices and to invite and welcome all, by breaking down barriers that separate people and by embracing the marginalised.

During Refugee Week (and always) we are asked to think of ways that we can disrupt injustice and seek out ways that we can make the marginalised visible and restore their peace and dignity.

Did you know?

Closed Detention

1534 people are in closed detention in Australia.

They are mostly in Villawood (NSW) and Yongah Hill (WA).

452 have spent more than 2 years there; 99 have spent between 5 and 14 years there (at the end of August 2020).

Most people in closed detention are there on character grounds (ie they are citizens of another country who have committed a serious crime/s in Australia); however 367 people are there simply because they came seeking asylum by boat.

The average time spent in closed detention is 697 days (ie over 23 months). This is the highest average ever – and 2 months more than at the same time last year.

Community Detention

People in community detention live in housing specified by the government, with restrictions on their movement.

567 people are in community detention; 480 have spent more than 2 years in this situation; 174 of these people are children.

Bridging Visas

A bridging visa is a temporary visa granted in certain circumstances to allow people to stay in Australia while their immigration status is resolved. They receive no housing and very limited support. They may not be allowed to work (or are seriously restricted in what work they can do) or they may have to live, work or study in a specific area.

Over 5,500 people in Victoria are on bridging visas (at the end of 2020). They mostly live in Melbourne, Shepparton, Sale and Morwell.

Nationally 1,531 children live in the community on bridging visas.

Must watch! https://twitter.com/stephenfry/status/1509137136439681029

(A UK production but relevant to many of the current government policies in Australia).

(Taken from https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/detention-australia-statistics/ as at May 24 2022. In updating these figures it is noticeable that they have all increased, except those in relation to children.)

Let us pray:

God of love and compassion, we give you thanks and praise for Jesus your Son, who showed us how to love one another and to treat others as we would want to be treated.

During Refugee Week, we pray for those who have been rejected and those who have no place to call home. Fill our hearts with the generous love that helps us to see these people through Jesus’ eyes and to treat them as Jesus would:

Make us bearers of hope,

so that where there is darkness,

your light may shine,

and where there is discouragement,

confidence in the future may be reborn.

Lord, make us instruments of your justice,

so that where there is exclusion, fraternity may flourish,

and where there is greed, a spirit of sharing may grow.

Lord, make us builders of your Kingdom,

together with migrants and refugees

and with all who dwell on the peripheries.

Lord, let us learn how beautiful it is

to live together as brothers and sisters.

Amen

(Pope Francis, Message for the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2022.)

Kirrilee Westblade

College Leader - Catholic Identity

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