The pope asked not to be surprised “by the number of migrants.”
Pope Francis criticized those who use the issue of migration “to defend their political agendas.” “Lack of human respect at national borders minimizes all of us in our humanity,” he said in a message sent today to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its 70 years of service to migrants.
In his message, the pope asked not to be surprised “by the number of migrants”, but “we meet everyone as people, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best as possible to their unique personal and family situations.”
He stressed that it is necessary to ask “what benefits do migrants bring to the communities that host them and how do they enrich them”, because “in the markets of upper-middle-income countries, migrant labor is highly demanded and welcomed as a way of make up for the lack of manpower. “
But that, he stressed, on the other hand, “migrants are often rejected and subjected to resentful attitudes by many of their host communities.”
He denounced that this double standard, which derives “from economic interests over the needs and dignity of the human person”, became especially evident during the COVID-19 closures, “when many of the“ essential ”workers were migrants, but They were not granted the benefits of the COVID financial assistance programs or access to basic health care or vaccines. “
But he described as “even more regrettable” that “migrants are increasingly used as a bargaining chip, as pawns on the chessboard, victims of political rivalries.”
“How can suffering and despair be exploited to advance or defend political agendas? How can political considerations prevail when the dignity of the human person is at stake? The basic lack of human respect at national borders minimizes us all in our humanity, “he asserted.
Last Sunday after praying the Angelus, Francis remembered those who died in the shipwreck in the English Channel, the migrants who drowned in the Mediterranean or those who are on the border between Poland and Belarus.
The pontiff Francisco advanced in his message the need for the international community to “find dignified ways out of irregular situations”, because “the more legal ways there are, the less likely it will be that migrants will be dragged by the criminal networks of human traffickers or exploitation and abuse during smuggling ”.
He also called for a “two-way process” in integration, “based on mutual knowledge, reciprocal openness, respect for the laws and culture of the host countries with a true spirit of mutual encounter and enrichment.”
And he advocated for laws that benefit the reunification of migrant families.
He also called on the international community to “urgently address the conditions that give rise to irregular migration.”
Because, he stressed, “in short, migration is not just a story of migrants but of inequalities, despair, environmental degradation, climate change, but also dreams, courage, studies abroad, reunification. family, new opportunities, safety and security, and hard but decent work ”. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.