Nobody must be left alone

“We all know that ours is an ever more globalized world, deeply marked by cultural, social, economic, political and religious diversity. Daily news reports prompt questions on migrants’ reception and repatriation in the Mediterranean and in Europe, on the border between Mexico and the United States, in the Far East and in Sub-Saharan Africa, and in all those places with consistent migration flows”. On the July-August issue of the Italian Jesuit’s review “Aggiornamenti Sociali”, Msgr. Antonio Maria Vegliò, President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People expressed his view on the reception of migrants asking whether it is “an invasion” we must “defend ourselves from”, or whether “the poor have the right to knock at the doors of rich Countries precisely because they are poor”. The phenomenon of migration, the prelate said, “ought to be viewed not in terms of statistics or socio-economic data but as a problematic and complex issue, that involves men and women”, who “are crammed in the hold of a boat, or following various routes of escape, by land or by air”. This is “the primary challenge of the righteous, whereby the need for an international legal system regulating the responsibilities of the Countries of departure, of transit and destination becomes evident, so that nobody may be left to cope with inevitably difficult situations on his own”. Thus the adoption of “congruous regulations” is “crucial” and “urgent”. Rights and duties. It is necessary, “to reformulate reception policies by means of a coordinated solidarity plan, and address preventive options”, in the framework of “the States’ undeniable sovereign authority in the definition of immigrants’ access and residence requirements”. Moreover, “the exercise of sovereignty ought to comply with ratified international treaties”, in the respect “of the dignity of the human person and groups” and for “the promotion of the fundamental unity of mankind”. In any event, the bishop continues, “fundamental human rights, based on the respect for human dignity, ought to be fully implemented”, along with the “respect of rights in the job environment” and “social rights”, since “immigrants contribute to the welfare of the Countries of arrival and must therefore be able to enjoy its benefits”. This is equally true as relates “to the duties that everyone is called to fulfil in order to ensure mutual security, development, and peace”. “It is largely acknowledged that a number of Countries tend to closure and wish that their achieved state of richness be confined within their own borders, failing to recognize the needs of those who are on its outskirts, seriously failing to comply with the solidarity principle”. In fact, Msgr. Vegliò underlined, “the story of migration has shown that gradual reception, respectful but not naïve, on the one side brings out the humanitarian aspect of solidarity and hospitality, while on the other it increases the productive capacity in the financial field whilst enriching social relations”. Respecting diversity. In this framework, “the basic challenge and objective is the erection of ‘an integrated society,’ which departs from stances that uphold the clash of cultures and religions. Rather, the adoption of new solidarity networks in the fight against poverty and social exclusion must be implemented whilst promoting the encounter of cultures and mutual dialogue along with mutual enrichment and understanding”. Today “the reception of the other” is the primary challenge. And “the solution to the tragedies linked to migration is largely political, although a ‘civilization test’ is imposed, founded on justice and on the respect of human dignity, rejecting human trafficking or the view of the person as mere labour force”. Intercultural education, added Msgr. Vegliò, “primarily entails stepping up the foundations of peace, like tolerance, justice, magnanimity and forgiveness. This implies the enforcement of a pedagogy for the reception of diversity and for the culture of dialogue, in reciprocity and solidarity”. “The path to be followed is marked by diversity within communion. Diversity is not a drawback. It is a wealth. Equality can be accomplished in the respect of diversity, provided we relinquish the category of “the enemy” that “demonizes and criminalizes the strangers”, the bishop concluded.