Nowadays, according UN data, there have not been so many people in the world who are displacing and living outside their place of origin. In 2019, there were 272 million of migrants all over the world, 51 million more than in 2010, Is this a problem? No, quite the opposite!

Migration is a historic opportunity to meetings, cultural enrichment, and exchange of skills among peoples and citizens of the world to progress together and to face the great challenges of humanity. The pandemic we are experiencing shows that migrants often bring their skills to face it, in particular by working in health services, transport, catering and many personal services. We cannot forget that migrants are, above all, workers. They are our brothers and sisters.

Many economists agree that migration is often an opportunity for the economy of the host country.

And, however, recent news reports us terrifying pictures. The Mediterranean Sea has become a cemetery for people who flee from poverty and wars. All over the world, migrants are singled out, arrested, persecuted, and harassed. We have still on mind the images of the police tearing the tarpaulins of migrants’ tents in several French towns, as Calais, but also in Paris! We are horrified to see women, men and children sleeping outdoors on Polish and Belorussian frontier. Europe has the duty of hospitality. But, today, migrants are used as scapegoats. This is useful to hide to those who are really responsible of social and environmental crises, those who run a system in which the financial gain predominates over the human beings.

Instead of welcoming and knowing people, walls are being built in many places. Today, there are more than 1000 km of walls in Europe and the world has never seen so many built. As if many countries were trying to entrench themselves against the poorest.

We are movements of workers. We are well aware that precariousness in which the migrant populations are, force them to work in indecent labour conditions. This situation also serves to question the social benefits of workers in the host country and to divide the workers among them. Acting for and above all with the migrants also means to act for all the workers’ rights. This was reminded in France by the undocumented workers who dared to go on strike in November 2021, with their trade union to demand the regularization of their situation.

We also think of all the activists of WMCW movements who work with migrants. In this way, ACO activists in Bordeaux, France, explain why they are involved: “This lack of humanity strikes us deeply, because the dignity of these people has been violated. Our commitments of fraternity, of support with the associations are reinforced before the violence with the human beings are treated”. The activists are taking measures in other cities of France, as Calais, in the region of Paris, in the south of France, etc.

Some are even prosecuted by the courts. However, the solidarity is not a crime!

Let us also think on the migrants themselves who are also in our teams and bring all their human richness. These actions are good news, seeds of renewed humanity, that we want to keep germinating

As WMCW activists, we want to go walking after Jesus’s footsteps, who preferred to address the smallest, the poorest, the excluded ones in our society.

The history of Humanity is a migration history, of meeting, miscegenation.

We want to continue being the co-creators of a better world.

We find these Pope Francis’s words said on 26th September by the World Day of Migrants and Refugees:

“This is the ideal of the New Jerusalem (cf. Is 60; Rev 21:3), where all peoples are united in peace and harmony, celebrating the goodness of God and the wonders of creation. To achieve this ideal, however, we must make every effort to break down the walls that separate us and, in acknowledging our profound interconnection, build bridges that foster a culture of encounter. Today’s migration movements offer an opportunity for us to overcome our fears and let ourselves be enriched by the diversity of each person’s gifts. Then, if we so desire, we can transform borders into privileged places of encounter, where the miracle of an ever wider “we” can come about.”

Written by the Workers' Catholic Action of France

WMCW Prayer for the Migrant's Day