In today’s message Pope Francis reminds us that ‘we are called to show maximum respect for the dignity of each migrant (in Europe ‘migrant’ includes refugees); this entails accompanying and managing waves of migration as best we can, constructing bridges and not walls, expanding channels for a safe and regular migration. …. the important thing is that there always be a community ready to welcome, protect, promote and integrate everyone, without distinctions and without excluding anyone.’

Pope Francis challenges us all to welcome ‘the stranger’ by showing ‘maximum respect’.  This respect can range from warm welcoming smiles at the supermarket, donating food items or money to such organisations as the Brigidine Asylum Seekers Project or the Refugee Council of Australia, supporting or mentoring a particular family or assisting families with the unsurmountable legal issues people seeking protection must endure. 

The children, in the image above, are very lucky to have been born here in Australia and to be growing up in a safe, social environment that has accepted them unconditionally – the oldest was elected school captain this year, in a school where they are the only Australians of African descent.  Because I have ‘grand mothered’ them since birth, I too am very blessed.  Like every grandparent I am able to spoil each one!  I have enjoyed being part of their development from their first attempts to walk, to the problems they confronted in their first years at a very Anglo-Saxon catholic school.  And to chat with them about things they may not want to share with their parents!

However, like many other adults seeking Australia’s protection, one woman I know was not as fortunate.  Having fled horrific persecution she arrived in Australia as a 20-year-old.  She came on a legitimate visa and soon after arrival applied for refugee status.  Along with some well qualified advocates they spent the next six years endeavouring to convince decision makers at all levels of refugee law, that her claims were authentic.  This was a period when she suffered serious post traumatic stress disorder.  She contemplated suicide, had been admitted to the psychiatric ward of a major hospital, and underwent surgery to an ankle wound she received as a baby when the family house was bombed, and her father and brother were killed.  Furthermore during this time she received the terrible news that her mother had been abducted, tortured and had died because she refused to reveal her daughter’s whereabouts.

This is but one example of Australia’s inhospitable laws and policies.  People seeking protection arrive in Australia whatever way they can.  In ‘constructing bridges and not walls’ the Refugee Council of Australia (RCOA) made a submission to the present government in June this year pointing out that ‘the scale of Australia’s international contribution can best be seen when refugee recognition and resettlement are considered together.  Over the 10 years to December 2022, Australia recognised or resettled 180,073 refugees, 0.75% of the global total of 23.99 million refugees recognised or resettled in that period.  On this measure, Australia was ranked 30th overall, 41st on a per capita basis and 77th relative to national Gross Domestic Product (GDP).  The largest overall contributions were made by Türkiye, Germany, Uganda, Sudan, Lebanon, Poland, Jordan, Ethiopia, United States and Bangladesh, with Lebanon ranked first per capita and relative to GDP.’ 

In ‘expanding channels for a safe and regular migration’ RCOA proposed that the Australian government:

1. Expand the Refugee and Humanitarian Program.
2. Reorient the Program towards protection needs and focus on UNHCR priorities.
3. Capitalise on Australia’s unique position in 2023-24 in global leadership roles relating to refugee resettlement and complementary migration pathways.
4. Conduct a formal review of family reunion options, through a co-designed process with communities.
5. Expand and extend the Skilled Refugee Labour Agreement and build on the momentum on other complementary pathways.
6. Replace the Community Support Program with a genuine community sponsorship model.
7. End the link between the offshore and onshore protection programs and abolish the cap on onshore places.
8. Build a Humanitarian Program which works effectively to support solutions for refugees in the Asia-Pacific region.

The twenty-three recommendations that followed can be found on the Refugee Council of Australia website.

I turn to Pope Francis once more as he reminds us that ‘Migrants flee because of poverty, fear or desperation.  Eliminating these causes and thus putting an end to forced migration calls for shared commitment on the part of all, in accordance with the responsibilities of each.  This commitment begins with asking what we can do, but also what we need to stop doing.  We need to make every effort to halt the arms race, economic colonialism, the plundering of other people’s resources and the devastation of our common home.’  Message from His Holiness Pope Francis for the 109th World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2023.  

May we all continue to be a community ready to welcome, as we respond generously to the grace to work tirelessly for justice, solidarity and peace.

By Sr Aileen Crowe fmm

Published: 22 September 2023

Dr Aileen Crowe’s book, Acts of Cruelty, Australia’s Immigration Laws and Experiences of People Seeking Protection after Arriving by Plane is available to purchase for $30 at all Masses this weekend or by contacting the Parish Office. Aileen is a Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Sister, a well-respected refugee advocate and our parishioner.  In her book, Aileen provides a detailed insight into the complex, drawn out and harsh legal procedures that await those arriving by plane and subsequently seeking refugee status in Australia.  To learn more about Aileen’s book read her presentation Finding Freedom given at Leichardt Town Hall, NSW in June 2023.

Main Image: published with parents’ permission