” “Too many restrictions

The “World Day of Refugees” for 2002, to be celebrated throughout the world on 20 June, will be dedicated to woman refugees. According to UNHCR (UN High Commission for Refugees) there are 22 million refugees in the world, of whom over 75% consist of women and children. The United Nations has used the occasion of the celebration of the Day to repudiate the thesis according to which the European Union is invaded by fraudulent asylum-seekers, and gives its assurance that all the applications for asylum in the last ten years have been linked to situations of crisis and conflict. The number of asylum applications presented in Europe in the first quarter of 2002, moreover, shows a drop of 10% over the last quarter of 2001. The problem of refugees in Europe has also been addressed in recent days by various exponents of the Christian Churches. The statements issued include that of Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue, president of the Office for Refugees of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, who calls the European policies on refugees “not encouraging” and “ever more restrictive”. “The violation of human rights – says the bishop – is the main cause of migratory movements”. And he adds: “It makes little sense for Europe to seek to close the doors to refugees, if effective measures to remove the causes of migration are not previously put in place”. We discussed the matter with Dieter Müller , director of the refugee hospitality service run by the Jesuits (JRS) in Germany. What trends have you observed in the migration of refugees? “The stepping up of border controls and the growing restrictions imposed by immigration procedures render the expatriation of refugees ever more difficult. The result is that they are forced increasingly to seek the services of professionals who help them to flee. Their indebtedness and their dependence, as also the dangers involved by the journey, grow as a result. As regards the countries of origin, the main flows of refugees come from areas of conflict or war: so Kurds continue to arrive from Turkey, Iran and Iraq, Palestinians from the Middle East, Chechens from the Russian Federation, Afghans, people from Sierra Leone and from other African areas devastated by civil war”. Is it foreseeable that in future the criteria that define the status of refugee also take account of poverty? “I don’t think so. Nonetheless, the Church rightly points out that the state of need of individuals due to poor economic policy is also a legitimate and humanly comprehensible reason for abandoning one’s own country”. What are your proposals? “We hope that the rich countries understand that in the era of globalization and international links it is no longer possible to slam their own front door on the effects of the crises that the rich countries themselves have contributed to causing or at least that they have failed to prevent. A long-term solution is only possible if everyone, wherever they are in the world, may hope in a better future, without having to think that the future is only a luxury of the rich countries. Apart from material aid, what must the ecclesial community do? “Refugees, like many other immigrants, are people without a homeland. They are journeying in the search for safety and a better life. Contact with these people reminds the Church that she too is journeying towards her true homeland. So it’s a journey we need to make together, a journey during which there may be reciprocal enrichment and support”.