Mary Kuol carries water home from a well dug by the ACT Alliance in Yang Kuel, a village in South Sudan’s Lol State – Credit: Paul Jeffrey

Mary Kuol carries water home from a well dug by the ACT Alliance in Yang Kuel, a village in Lol State, South Sudan where the persistent drought has destroyed crops and forced people to eat wild leaves to survive. Kuol is seven months pregnant with her third child.

The well was drilled in 2016 by a local partner of ACT member Christian Aid. The organization has also distributed food vouchers to hungry families in the region.

“We came here a year ago because, as bad as things are here, they were worse in our village. At least we have safe water now, so my children are much healthier, even though most of the time all I have to feed them are wild leaves and fruits,” Kuol said.

Atouc Dut lives in neighboring Malek Miir, where drought has also wrought hunger. She spends much of each day collecting wild leaves to feed her four children, while her husband cuts skinny trees in the bush to sell as poles. With that small income and a cash voucher from Christian Aid, the family can buy some sorghum and soap. She says they’re not going anywhere, though she wishes there was a school in the village for her children.

“We have food most every day. It’s not much, but there’s nowhere we can go where it would be any better,” she said.

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Story by Paul Jeffrey

Nidier Atak cooks wild leaves in Rumading, a village in South Sudan’s Lol State where more than 5,000 people, displaced by drought and conflict, remain in limbo. Credit: Paul Jeffrey

In South Sudan’s Lol State, Nidier Atak sought to flee from the violence that swept through her village of Wanalel, where people already suffered from serial crop failures due to a persistent drought. Her husband had left the parched village in 2016 to look for work, but he didn’t return. “He used to be a farmer, but for several years there has been no rain when we needed it. So he went looking elsewhere for work, but we haven’t heard from him. He finds it painful to return home empty-handed,” she said.

In January, Atak and her five children started walking to neighbouring Sudan, hoping that as refugees there they could obtain international assistance. After several days of walking, they got as far as Rumading, where they met other drought victims returning from the border with reports that it was closed to the passage of refugees. So she and her children camped out under trees, eating wild leaves as the rainy season approached. She says her husband doesn’t know where they are.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen. Back home there was nothing to keep us alive. Going north is now out of reach. So we stay here and wait, though I don’t know what we’re waiting for,” she said.

Within weeks a spontaneous settlement of more than 5,000 people materialized, all displaced people denied entry to Sudan. They drew water from a muddy pond and walked farther and farther into the bush every day to harvest wild leaves.

“There’s nothing other than leaves to eat. My kids are malnourished, but there are no alternatives,” Atak said.

In early April, ACT member Norwegian Church Aid,  began drilling a well in the informal settlement and distributed sorghum, beans and cooking oil to the most vulnerable families. It carried out the emergency response in coordination with government officials and the local Catholic parish.

“People were there for three months, hidden in the bush before we became aware of them,” said Father Paul Ariath, whose rambling Awiel-based parish includes the displaced. “There was too much hunger and people were dying. When I learned about them I talked with NCA, and they came and saw for themselves. They brought in some food, but it wasn’t enough, and they brought in a big machine to start drilling for water.”

Ariath says some of the displacement is due to conflict. He notes there are few men in Rumading.

“Many of the men have been killed fighting, or they are off on operations. There are too many militias in our land, and so there is a lot of fighting,” he said. “Families flee from one place because of the war, leaving all their belongings behind as they escape with just their lives. And then the fighting soon finds them in the new place, and they have to flee once again.”

The changing climate has been causing problems for years, the priest reports. “The rain doesn’t fall easily like it did before. There’s no flooding like we used to have. As the rivers dried up, the people slowly sold off their cows and goats in order to survive. But now they have nothing left, so they are forced to move,” he said.

Ariath says when he speaks with the displaced, he encourages them not to lose hope. “I tell them to keep praying for help. That’s why the ACT Alliance and the church are there. We come in response to the prayers of the people,” he said.

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Written by Paul Jeffrey

Adhieu Deng Ngewei and other women work together on April 12, 2017, in a community vegetable garden in Dong Boma, a Dinka village in South Sudan’s Jonglei State.  Credit: Paul Jeffrey

Dong Boma, South Sudan – When the war reached her village in early 2014, Adhieu Deng and her husband grabbed their seven children and headed for several islands in the middle of the White Nile River. The treacherous currents and featureless swamps around the islands have long provided cover for displaced families hiding from men with guns. And Deng and her husband knew how to get there. After being displaced by another war in 1991, they hid in the islands until returning home in 2003.

When political conflict once again broke out, beginning in Juba in December 2013, it quickly spread to several other parts of South Sudan. As the violence closed in on her village in Jonglei State, Deng knew where to go.

“When the fighting moved near to us, the roads were closed and the food supply was cut off. People were getting hungry and the rebels were passing close by. If we didn’t want to die of hunger or bullets, we had to leave. Some of my neighbours left for Kenya or Uganda, but I know the islands better than other countries, so we headed for the river,” she said.

Life on the islands was hard. “We survived on fish and wild foods. If you didn’t catch any fish, you usually spent the entire day without food. The children sometimes went to sleep without food. It wasn’t easy hiding there, but no one could reach there to kill us. We had no mosquito nets nor shelters, so we slept in the open and the children were sick a lot. There were no medicines or doctors. No NGOs came to the islands,” she said.

“After a while, the fishing nets were so torn they wouldn’t work. Without any food, we either had to return home or die there. We decided to come back home. It was the right choice because the ACT Alliance has helped us rebuild our community.”

Since the family returned to Dong Boma in 2016 to find their house in ashes, Deng has had to construct a new home. She’s done that with help from the Lutheran World Federation, one of the several members of the ACT Alliance working in South Sudan.

According to United Nations officials, more than 3.5 million South Sudanese are internally displaced or have fled to neighbouring countries as refugees in response to the current conflict.

Yet in some locations, as fighting has ebbed and flowed into other areas, a few of the displaced, like Deng, have cautiously returned home. In Dong Boma, the ACT Alliance has helped the returnees rebuild houses, drill wells, patch holes in a dike that keeps the village dry during seasonal floods and support a group of women–including Deng–who organised a giant community garden.

As the community rebuilds, Deng hopes she won’t have to flee again. “Over the years we’ve had too many wars, too many cattle raids. There’s always some kind of fighting going on. I’d love to live in peace,” she said.

___

Written by Paul Jeffrey

Romania was one of the countries hit hardest by the cold snap which began around Europe in late January, associated with heavy snowfalls and a deep freeze. Thousands of people were trapped during January for long days in the Southern and Eastern parts of the country.  Many elderly people died from hypothermia after temperatures dropped consecutively to -25 degrees Celsius for more than a week. More than 40,000 people were affected from 250 villages in 17 counties of Romania.

Read the ACT Rapid Response Fund HERE

ACT Alliance Response

Within the first days of the disaster, a needs assessment was immediately undertaken by the Field Work Team of ACT member AIDRom Emergency Unit. There was high demand for fresh drinking water, bread, and canned food, as the provisions of the people were seriously depleted.

AIDRom Emergency Unit, together with the local community leaders paid special attention to promote solidarity within the communities between those severely affected and those less affected by the severe winter.

Thanks to the swift reaction of the ACT Alliance to the application of AIDRom for the Rapid Response Fund, AIDRom Emergency Unit, a shipment of 400 consistent and quality family food and mineral water parcels as well as 200 family hygiene kits were brought and distributed in the affected, isolated rural communities from the targeted areas.

Outcomes

The assistance provided by AIDRom through the Rapid Response Fund met the most urgent needs of the victims in terms of nutrition and hygiene.

Food Security & Drinking Water: 400 households received food parcels, assisting 1.164 persons. 98% of them reported that the food received met their needs fully and alleviated their suffering. The exceptions were families with infants who needed additional specialized food.

Sanitation and Hygiene: 200 households received hygiene kits, which benefitted 587 persons. 96% stated that hygiene kits received met their needs fully. Again, the exceptions were families with infants who would have also needed diapers or elderly who were lacking incontinence diapers.

Non-Food Items: 400 households received clothing of all sorts according to the composition of the family (men, women, and children) and reached 1.285 individuals. 80% of the people stated that clothes received met their needs. In some cases, the sizes of the clothing were not correct, but this was solved many times by people exchanging some of the items between them within the village (coats, trousers, pullovers).

Technical Assistance: 52 households were assisted with temporary loans of winter sleeping bags, appliances for home heating, dehumidifying equipment, and power generators, assisting in this way a total number of 148 persons, who showed 100% satisfaction for the opportunity.

We feel and believe that this program had a major weight in improving lives of many affected people. In the name of hundreds of people helped through this program, we would like to thank you in their names for the splendid way in which the ACT Alliance and its coordinating office helped to care about them and to express the most sincere and deepest appreciation for the fine spirit and hearty contribution. (Rev. Miklós Ménessy, Emergency Unit Coordinator)

Source: Ecumenical Association of Churches in Romania – RRF Final Report

“We are being hurt,” says Ustad Alimondas Laut, holding back tears.

Sad stories aren’t the usual markers for the end of Ramadan in the Philippines. For Filipino Muslims, festivities generally denote the end of Ramadan. The government declares this day, which falls on June 26 this year, a nonworking holiday across the country.

But, here sits Laut on June 27, before peace advocates and media workers, admitting Eid’l Fitr was crestfallen. “We are getting hurt – the children and all Muslims.”

“What should have been a peaceful Ramadan, a holy month of fasting, became a painful nightmare for us,” explains the resident of Marawi City, the capital of Lanao del Sur and the country’s “Islamic City.”

On May 24, just a few days before the beginning of Ramadan and a few hours after Mindanao was placed under martial law, the military and the mayor ordered residents of the besieged city to evacuate.

Laut, who was in downtown Marawi then, immediately called his family to prepare for the move. Residents were given a six-hour window and a threat of reprisal if they didn’t leave.

Later, his entire family and some neighbors were crammed into a small jeepney, headed for nearby Iligan City.

Laut and his family are now in a relative’s house in the Lanao del Norte capital. He says he’s far luckier than many other evacuees, or internally displaced people (IDPs). He is right.

Humanitarian crisis

The humanitarian crisis has displaced over 300,000 individuals, sending them to Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, North Cotabato and Davao del Sur. The demographic includes Christians and Moros (a name used by Filipino Muslims from some indigenous peoples – including the Maranao of the Lanao area.)

Some 7 percent of the IDPs are in government-designated evacuation centers. These locations are now crammed and untidy. People are getting sick; infants are reported to have died. Explosions in Marawi could be heard.

The other 93 percent are staying in unregistered locations, like other people’s homes. These individuals are a hidden humanitarian crisis. Home-based evacuees are an unaccounted number of unserved or underserved IDPs. Most relief assistance is distributed at evacuation sites.

A city in ruins

“What used to be a beautiful city has now become a war zone. Marawi City is now unrecognizable.” says Laut, himself a Marano. “The city is in shambles; corpses litter the streets. We knew some of the casualties.”

Homes, businesses, and other buildings have been damaged or entirely levelled. Some were Moro and Christian historical and cultural treasures. Many residents didn’t make it out on time and are now caught in the crossfire, alerting those outside the battle grounds only through text messaging. Since hostilities broke out in late May, only the eight-hour Eid’l Fitr ceasefire wasa  respite.

Martial law is not helping, Laut shares. “Civilians are still affected; we are not protected. They raid houses, and leave them open. The government insists that they have the situation under control, but they are reporting on only four of 96 barangays (the smallest administrative division in the Philippines) in Marawi City.”

A continued call

“We are pleading to our beloved President: Please stop bombarding our community,” an impassioned Laut pronounces at the press conference. “You yourself claim that you have Maranao blood in you. Your fellow Maranao are getting hit by the airstrikes.”

With Marawi still shrouded in unrest, meantime, displacement is foreseen to escalate. Government units and agencies are now exhausting their resources to deliver initial relief services to the evacuees, but the need is increasing by the day.

There is still a desperate call for food, drinking water, kitchen utensils, clothing, sleeping materials and temporary shelters. The IDPs also have unaddressed psychosocial and overall-health needs.

The conclusion of Ramadan signals greater demand – and opportunity – for aid.

ACT members are working to meet that demand by providing immediate assistance such as food, water, sanitation & hygiene kits & facilities, non-food essentials, and unconditional cash grants, while, looking toward post-crisis interventions through livelihood support and shelter repair materials. Psychosocial support is also an identified need not only for children but for all the members of the IDP families staying in homes or in evacuation centers near Marawi City.

On June 28th and 29th 2017, members of the ecumenical family along with national and international organizations gathered at the All Africa Conference of Churches in Nairobi, Kenya for the “Mobilisation of faith communities for overcoming hunger and sustaining justice and peace in the Horn of Africa”. The event brought together leaders from different faiths and denominations, as well as various Faith Based Organizations (FBOs) that are actively responding to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, as well as international organizations engaged in humanitarian coordination across the region.

The event, organised by the World Council of Churches (WCC), All Africa Conference of Churches, (AACC) ACT Alliance, World Vision International and the World Food Programme, encouraged further networking and collaboration opportunities between churches and other agencies, emphasizing the proactive role that churches and FBOs can play in influencing humanitarian, development, climate change and peace building agendas.

Participants focused on the root causes of the crisis, exploring durable solutions for conflict resolution and good governance. They worked towards strengthening their preparedness to respond to the famine crisis and identifying international advocacy strategies to increase available support for appeals in the region.

“We sang, we affirmed human dignity, stewarding the land, God’s Creation and caring for the most vulnerable,” said Will Postma, Executive Director of ACT Alliance member, The Primate’s World Relief and Development Fund (PWRDF). “Together, we affirmed the importance of transparent governance, of responding to climate change, of speaking out against conflict, partnering more with local government, [engaging] strategically with the media and more intentionally, to reach out to youth.”

A ‘Call to Action’

Together, faith leaders developed a ‘Call to Action’ aimed at overcoming hunger, promoting peace and justice and mobilizing support for the current appeals in the region. The Call to Action emphasizes, “as faith communities we are on our ‘Pilgrimage of Justice and Peace’ and are striving for the establishment of peace and the resolution of conflicts as one of our core mandates. Conflict is an unacceptable common denominator across all countries currently facing the risk of famine.” In addition, it notes that “it is imperative to continue addressing climate change and to be the stewards of environmental protection and to bring our moral authority to safeguard the integrity of creation.”

The Call to Action affirms a commitment to “encourage faith communities to be part of developing, implementing and sharing early warning and early action strategies and in documenting climate change best practices and coping mechanisms.”

“The Call to Action has the potential to advocate for international and regional support and commitment for the ongoing interventions through humanitarian appeals and finding sustainable solutions to the underlying causes of drought, conflict and climate change,” says Arnold Ambundo, ACT Alliance Programme Officer of the Africa Region. “The Call to Action further enhances the potential for ecumenical cooperation and partnerships in addressing contemporary challenges facing humanity.”

Catherine Njuguna, ACT Alliance’s Advocacy Officer based in Nairobi noted that a key component of the Call to Action is to “encourage faith based organizations to partner more with grassroots government structures, as well as national and regional structures, to make a difference.”

ACT Alliance appeals

ACT Alliance through its members in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia has been following and responding to the crisis on the Horn of Africa. Together, the Alliance has conducted a joint needs assessment and has participated in various strategic coordination sessions led by governments to develop national appeals to respond to the specific needs of a variety of sectors.  The appeals in all four countries continue to need support.

In reference to the Somalia appeal, Reuben Chepkonga of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) said, “the Alliance has been mobilizing resources both within and outside the ACT Appeal, however, currently only about 30% of the Appeal has been funded. The risk of famine in Somalia still persists and there is need to sustain and scale up humanitarian response to stop the situation from deteriorating quickly.” More information on the ongoing response and appeals of the ACT Alliance in the Horn of Africa can be found here.

Potential of responding as an Alliance

“The event enabled us to highlight the work that we are doing as ACT members to respond to the situation and also shows the strength we have in terms of access and capacity to sustain, and upscale our current response,” said Reuben.

Arnold further emphasized the significance of strong partnerships within the Alliance, “Working together allows ACT members to positively influence the situation on the ground, and to reach people in the communities to end hunger and bring about sustainable peace in this period of crisis.”

Will Postma of PWRDF said, “Collectively, we can learn so much from each other. We need to hear each others’ voices and be encouraged by work that is already happening.” He continued, “Churches and faith based organizations are well grounded in Biblical principles of justice and mercy and well placed at community levels to be important, credible actors and voices for change.”

ACT Alliance General Secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria has begun his tenure with ACT by focusing on enhancing ACT’s relationships with the United Nations and other global agencies.  In his first weeks he has held meetings with UNICEF, UNFPA, UN Women, UNDP, the UN Deputy-Secretary-General´s office, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, and the World Bank.

“There are two unique things about ACT that open doors,” said Rudelmar. “We are the world’s largest Protestant/Orthodox alliance for humanitarian, development and advocacy work.  And we have engagement at all levels- from the community to the national, regional and global.  Our forums bring together national and international members to work together in a way that no other organization does.”

Another factor that is helping to begin conversations is the ongoing dialogue throughout the sector on faith and development, and the role of religious leaders in issues ranging from disaster risk reduction to gender equality.  “Gender needs to be at the centre of all our work—humanitarian, development and advocacy.  Without significant changes in gender equality in all levels, we will not make any change,” Rudelmar said during a meeting with Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director of UN Women.

A goal of these meetings is to begin to link UN agencies with ACT forums- to begin relationships that will lead to collaboration, building synergy between both groups and enhancing our ability to advance key development, humanitarian and advocacy topics by bringing local people together to talk and learn at the national level, and by feeding in to international discussions.

Adama Dieng, Special Adviser to the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide, has put forward a Plan of Action for religious leaders to prevent incitement that could lead to atrocities.  The UN recognizes the power of religion both to incite, but also to help diffuse, situations around the world.  ACT, with its 145 faith-based members around the world, can enable practical engagement with communities and also with faith leaders in over 100 countries around the world.

Dr. Azza Karam, the Chair of the UN Task Force on Religion and Development, noted that ACT is well positioned as a potential partner with the UN because of its strong focus on gender rights and its engagement at the national level.

At meetings with with Dr Natalia Kanem (Acting Executive Director of UNFPA,) Anthony Lake (Executive Director of UNICEF,) Magdy Martinez-Soliman (UN Assistant Secretary-General and Assistant Executive Director of UNDP) and Sheila Redzepi (Vice-President for External and Corporate Relations at the World Bank), these agencies confirmed the importance of organizations like ACT to establish partnerships to advance sustainable development, human rights and humanitarian action.

Work is underway with five of the UN agencies to build partnership agreements and memoranda of understanding with ACT.  Rudelmar will keep building relationships with these and other international agencies, opening doors for ACT members to continue the conversation and the work, to be cohesive, relevant and effective in our work as an alliance.

ACT Alliance, together with a range of other ecumenical actors, today issued a joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017. Calling the unprecedented global refugee crisis “an opportunity to grow together,” the statement calls on all of us “to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division.” Reflecting on the statement’s assertion that, “[w]ealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking,” ACT Alliance General Secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said, “the current levels of human displacement are unacceptable. States are bound by their commitments under international law – including the Refugee Convention – and by their commitments outlined in last year’s New York Declaration on large movements of refugees and migrants, to fulfill these obligations, as the world community works towards agreeing on new global compacts on refugees and on migration in 2018.”

Joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017

The Christian Bible tells the story of two men, Peter and Cornelius, utterly divided by religious belief and culture, who in encountering each other discovered a truth about God’s common will for them that neither had previously grasped. They learnt that the Holy Spirit brings down walls and unites those who might think that they have nothing in common.

All around the world, women, men, and children are forced by violence, persecution, natural and human-caused disasters, famine, and other factors, to leave their homelands. Their desire to escape suffering is stronger than the barriers erected to block their way. The opposition by some countries to the migration of forcibly displaced people will not keep those who undergo unbearable suffering from leaving their homes.

Wealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking. While it is true that the arrival of migrants in more developed countries can present real and significant challenges, it can also be an opportunity for openness and change. Pope Francis poses this question to us: “How can we experience these changes not as obstacles to genuine development, but rather as opportunities for genuine human, social and spiritual growth?” Societies that find the courage and the vision to go beyond the fear of foreigners and migrants soon discover the riches that migrants bring with them, and always have.

If we, as a human family, insist on only ever seeing refugees as a burden, we deprive ourselves of the opportunities for solidarity that are also always opportunities for mutual learning, mutual enrichment, and mutual growth.

It is not enough for Christians to profess to love Christ: belief is authentic only if it is expressed in loving action. We are one Body of Christ, undivided. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “It is only through Jesus Christ that we are brothers and sisters of one another…. Through Christ our mutual belonging is real, integral, and for all time.” If we are one body, we are knitted into a solidarity that defines us and makes demands of us.

Signs of solidarity can be multiplied beyond the borders of religion and culture. Meeting believers of other persuasions encourages us to deepen our knowledge of our own faith, and in our encounter with our refugee brothers and sisters, God speaks to us and blesses us as He did Cornelius and Peter.

In every genuine encounter, an exchange of gifts takes place. Sharing with others what we have and own, we discover that all is given freely by God. At the same time, in welcoming those whom we encounter, we meet the God who is always already present with the vulnerable, at the peripheries, and in the other.

Increasingly around the world we witness the building of walls to keep out the displaced: not just physical walls, but also walls of fear, prejudice, hatred, and ideology. Let us all, as one human family, strive to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division. Our refugee sisters and brothers present us with opportunities for mutual enrichment and flourishing: it is God who brings us together.

With the development of new international frameworks – Global Compacts on Migrants and on Refugees – in 2018, States should not only ensure a more effective responsibility-sharing in response to large movements, but they should also accept the opportunity to recognize and highlight the significant contributions that refugees and migrants make in their host communities.

ACT Alliance

Alboan

Anglican Alliance

Caritas Internationalis

Catholic Charities USA

Community of Sant’Egidio

Dominicans for Justice and Peace

Entreculturas

International Union of Superior Generals (UISG)

Franciscans International

Jesuit Refugee Service

Lutheran World Federation

Pax Christi International

Scalabrinian Missionaries

Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN)

Talitha Kum – Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons

Union of Superior Generals (USG)

Vivat International

Voices of Faith

World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO)

ACT Alliance, together with a range of other ecumenical actors, today issued a joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017. Calling the unprecedented global refugee crisis “an opportunity to grow together,” the statement calls on all of us “to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division.” Reflecting on the statement’s assertion that, “[w]ealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking,” ACT Alliance General Secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said, “the current levels of human displacement are unacceptable. States are bound by their commitments under international law – including the Refugee Convention – and by their commitments outlined in last year’s New York Declaration on large movements of refugees and migrants, to fulfill these obligations, as the world community works towards agreeing on new global compacts on refugees and on migration in 2018.”

Joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017

The Christian Bible tells the story of two men, Peter and Cornelius, utterly divided by religious belief and culture, who in encountering each other discovered a truth about God’s common will for them that neither had previously grasped. They learnt that the Holy Spirit brings down walls and unites those who might think that they have nothing in common.

All around the world, women, men, and children are forced by violence, persecution, natural and human-caused disasters, famine, and other factors, to leave their homelands. Their desire to escape suffering is stronger than the barriers erected to block their way. The opposition by some countries to the migration of forcibly displaced people will not keep those who undergo unbearable suffering from leaving their homes.

Wealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking. While it is true that the arrival of migrants in more developed countries can present real and significant challenges, it can also be an opportunity for openness and change. Pope Francis poses this question to us: “How can we experience these changes not as obstacles to genuine development, but rather as opportunities for genuine human, social and spiritual growth?” Societies that find the courage and the vision to go beyond the fear of foreigners and migrants soon discover the riches that migrants bring with them, and always have.

If we, as a human family, insist on only ever seeing refugees as a burden, we deprive ourselves of the opportunities for solidarity that are also always opportunities for mutual learning, mutual enrichment, and mutual growth.

It is not enough for Christians to profess to love Christ: belief is authentic only if it is expressed in loving action. We are one Body of Christ, undivided. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “It is only through Jesus Christ that we are brothers and sisters of one another…. Through Christ our mutual belonging is real, integral, and for all time.” If we are one body, we are knitted into a solidarity that defines us and makes demands of us.

Signs of solidarity can be multiplied beyond the borders of religion and culture. Meeting believers of other persuasions encourages us to deepen our knowledge of our own faith, and in our encounter with our refugee brothers and sisters, God speaks to us and blesses us as He did Cornelius and Peter.

In every genuine encounter, an exchange of gifts takes place. Sharing with others what we have and own, we discover that all is given freely by God. At the same time, in welcoming those whom we encounter, we meet the God who is always already present with the vulnerable, at the peripheries, and in the other.

Increasingly around the world we witness the building of walls to keep out the displaced: not just physical walls, but also walls of fear, prejudice, hatred, and ideology. Let us all, as one human family, strive to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division. Our refugee sisters and brothers present us with opportunities for mutual enrichment and flourishing: it is God who brings us together.

With the development of new international frameworks – Global Compacts on Migrants and on Refugees – in 2018, States should not only ensure a more effective responsibility-sharing in response to large movements, but they should also accept the opportunity to recognize and highlight the significant contributions that refugees and migrants make in their host communities.

ACT Alliance

Alboan

Anglican Alliance

Caritas Internationalis

Catholic Charities USA

Community of Sant’Egidio

Dominicans for Justice and Peace

Entreculturas

International Union of Superior Generals (UISG)

Franciscans International

Jesuit Refugee Service

Lutheran World Federation

Pax Christi International

Scalabrinian Missionaries

Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN)

Talitha Kum – Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons

Union of Superior Generals (USG)

Vivat International

Voices of Faith

World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO)

ACT Alliance, together with a range of other ecumenical actors, today issued a joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017. Calling the unprecedented global refugee crisis “an opportunity to grow together,” the statement calls on all of us “to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division.” Reflecting on the statement’s assertion that, “[w]ealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking,” ACT Alliance General Secretary Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said, “the current levels of human displacement are unacceptable. States are bound by their commitments under international law – including the Refugee Convention – and by their commitments outlined in last year’s New York Declaration on large movements of refugees and migrants, to fulfill these obligations, as the world community works towards agreeing on new global compacts on refugees and on migration in 2018.”

Joint ecumenical statement for World Refugee Day 2017

The Christian Bible tells the story of two men, Peter and Cornelius, utterly divided by religious belief and culture, who in encountering each other discovered a truth about God’s common will for them that neither had previously grasped. They learnt that the Holy Spirit brings down walls and unites those who might think that they have nothing in common.

All around the world, women, men, and children are forced by violence, persecution, natural and human-caused disasters, famine, and other factors, to leave their homelands. Their desire to escape suffering is stronger than the barriers erected to block their way. The opposition by some countries to the migration of forcibly displaced people will not keep those who undergo unbearable suffering from leaving their homes.

Wealthy countries cannot evade their responsibility for the wounds inflicted on our planet – environmental disasters, the arms trade, developmental inequality – that drive forced migration and human trafficking. While it is true that the arrival of migrants in more developed countries can present real and significant challenges, it can also be an opportunity for openness and change. Pope Francis poses this question to us: “How can we experience these changes not as obstacles to genuine development, but rather as opportunities for genuine human, social and spiritual growth?” Societies that find the courage and the vision to go beyond the fear of foreigners and migrants soon discover the riches that migrants bring with them, and always have.

If we, as a human family, insist on only ever seeing refugees as a burden, we deprive ourselves of the opportunities for solidarity that are also always opportunities for mutual learning, mutual enrichment, and mutual growth.

It is not enough for Christians to profess to love Christ: belief is authentic only if it is expressed in loving action. We are one Body of Christ, undivided. In the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “It is only through Jesus Christ that we are brothers and sisters of one another…. Through Christ our mutual belonging is real, integral, and for all time.” If we are one body, we are knitted into a solidarity that defines us and makes demands of us.

Signs of solidarity can be multiplied beyond the borders of religion and culture. Meeting believers of other persuasions encourages us to deepen our knowledge of our own faith, and in our encounter with our refugee brothers and sisters, God speaks to us and blesses us as He did Cornelius and Peter.

In every genuine encounter, an exchange of gifts takes place. Sharing with others what we have and own, we discover that all is given freely by God. At the same time, in welcoming those whom we encounter, we meet the God who is always already present with the vulnerable, at the peripheries, and in the other.

Increasingly around the world we witness the building of walls to keep out the displaced: not just physical walls, but also walls of fear, prejudice, hatred, and ideology. Let us all, as one human family, strive to build bridges of solidarity rather than walls of division. Our refugee sisters and brothers present us with opportunities for mutual enrichment and flourishing: it is God who brings us together.

With the development of new international frameworks – Global Compacts on Migrants and on Refugees – in 2018, States should not only ensure a more effective responsibility-sharing in response to large movements, but they should also accept the opportunity to recognize and highlight the significant contributions that refugees and migrants make in their host communities.

ACT Alliance

Alboan

Anglican Alliance

Caritas Internationalis

Catholic Charities USA

Community of Sant’Egidio

Dominicans for Justice and Peace

Entreculturas

International Union of Superior Generals (UISG)

Franciscans International

Jesuit Refugee Service

Lutheran World Federation

Pax Christi International

Scalabrinian Missionaries

Scalabrini International Migration Network (SIMN)

Talitha Kum – Worldwide Network of Religious Life against Trafficking in Persons

Union of Superior Generals (USG)

Vivat International

Voices of Faith

World Union of Catholic Women’s Organizations (WUCWO)