International Migrants Day

Today is International Migrants Day, a day designated by the United Nations in 1990 to annually recognize the plight of migrants worldwide. Each year on December 18 the United Nations, through the UN-related agency International Organization for Migration (IOM), uses International Migrants Day to highlight the contributions made by the roughly 272 million migrants, including more than 41 million internally displaced persons, and the challenges they face.

In marking International Migrants Day this year at The Wild Reed I share something I recently found in an anthology entitled The Living Spirit. It’s followed by Jenny Morris’s song “Pain In Your Shadow,” a track from her 1996 album Salvation Jane which speaks to the plight of poor and displaced mothers around the world.

We want to place special emphasis on being with rather than doing for. We want our presence among refugees to be one of sharing with them, of accompaniment, of walking together along the same path. I so far as possible, we want to feel what they have felt, suffer as they have, share the same hopes and aspirations, see the world through their eyes. We ourselves would like to become one with the poor and oppressed peoples so that, all together, we can begin the search for a new life.

– Jesuit Refugee Services
From The Living Spirit
Prayers and Readings for the Christian Year
a Tablet anthology edited by Margaret Hebblethwaite
Sheed & Ward, 2000

Related Off-site Links:
Sudan War: Towns and Cities Stretched Beyond Limits – Norwegian Refugee Council, (December 12, 2024).
Understanding Sudan Through the Eyes of a Mother and Novelist – Reem Gaafar (Kosmos, April 2024).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• A Prayer for Refugees
• 2000+ Take to the Streets of Minneapolis to Express Solidarity with Immigrants and Refugees
• “What We’re Seeing Here Is a Tipping Point”
• Rallying in Solidarity with the Refugees of Syria and the World
• Fasting, Praying, and Walking for Immigration Reform
• Honoring Óscar and Valeria
• Sanctuary for Gay Syrians Danny and Aamer
• On Holocaust Remembrance Day, James Martin Labels as “Appalling” President Trump’s Plan to Demonize Immigrants
• Jeremy Scahill on the Historical Context of the Trump Administration’s “Pathologically Sick” Anti-Immigrant Agenda
• Something to Think About – November 27, 2018
• Christmas in America, 2018
• Stephen Mattson: Quote of the Day – January 25, 2017
• May Day 2007

Image: Writes Reem Gaafar: “More than a year ago, Sudan plunged into war, resulting in a catastrophic toll. Thousands have died, and millions are displaced, suffering from hunger and disease in the absence of aid. The UN describes it as one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history, affecting around 25 million people and causing the largest displacement crisis worldwide. . . . This war, unlike previous conflicts in Sudan, lacks significant international attention, partly overshadowed by crises like Gaza. The indifference of the global community has allowed the violence to persist unchecked. Despite the devastation, the resilience of the Sudanese people is clear. Communities have come together, sharing resources and providing aid through volunteer efforts, underscoring the unbreakable spirit of Sudan – a glimmer of hope amid the ongoing tragedy.” (Photo: Photographer unknown)