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12/12/06
On 7 December, JRS Italy (Centro Astalli) celebrated the
achievements of the
last 25 years providing services to refugees.
The Italian office was opened in Rome one year after the
establishment of
JRS in November 1980. Its mandate was to respond to the basic
needs of
refugees who were arriving. Since that point JRS Italy has
greatly expanded
and now works on a broad scale in various cities around the
country,
providing accommodation, meals, legal assistance, public
awareness raising,
and education and training.
The commemorative event, held at the Jesuit Gregorian University
in Rome,
was addressed by three key speakers: Fr Federico Lombardi,
Director of the
Vatican Radio press office and Vatican press spokesperson; Enzo
Bianchi,
Prior of Bose Monastery; and journalist and writer Gad Lerner.
Fr Lombardi remarked that in 1979, as the Vietnamese 'boat
people' fled, Fr
Arrupe was able to see and understand the mission of the Society
of Jesus as
one of the promotion of justice and the protection of the most
forgotten.
This approach has helped JRS Italy fulfill its mission to focus
equally on
the spiritual as well as material needs of refugees.
Prior Bianchi described the real appreciation of what it means
to be foreign
is to welcome someone into one's life. Understanding that each
of us
perceive others as foreigners, he said, is essential for
entering into
unprejudiced dialogue.
Mr Lerner asked the audience to reflect on why we constantly
look for the
differences between nationalities and ethnic groups, and not the
similarities which are in fact greater. It is not because some
are bad
people that they fear others, it is the view of the nation as
'our house'
which creates a mindset rejecting the 'foreign'.
All the speakers agreed on the need to offer migrants real
opportunities to
integrate into our societies: employment, rights, services and
respect.
Visit
http://www.centroastalli.it/primo%20piano.htm for full
programme
details.
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Prior Bianchi, one of the guest speakers, at the Gregorian University,
Rome |
