Order of Malta marks World Day
of Migrants and Refugees
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| A group of migrants rescued after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea.- AFP |
At the core of The Sovereign Order of Malta's mission is the
care for people in need. Ahead of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees marked
by the Church on the second Sunday following Epiphany, the Grand Chancellor of
the Order talks about some of the key challenges faced by European Union
countires and of the need for more adequate legislation to safeguard the rights
and the dignity of all persons.
By Linda Bordoni
Pope Francis tirelessly urges all men and women of good will
to embrace and welcome migrants and refugees. Repeatedly he has urged political
leaders and policy-makers to safeguard the lives and the dignity of all those
men, women and children who are forced to flee their countries in search of
peace, safety and development.
World Day of Migrants and Refugees
On 14 January 2018 the Church observes the 104th World Day
of Migrants and Refugees, and Pope Francis has released a message for
the Day entitled "Welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating
migrants and refugees". He will also celebrate the World Day at Holy Mass
in St. Peter’s Basilica in the presence of groups of migrants and refugees.
Sovereign Order of Malta’s mission to rescue, care and
assist migrants and refugees
One organization whose mission it is to care for people in
need through its medical, social and humanitarian works is the Sovereign Order
of Malta that is especially involved in rescuing and caring for forced migrants
and refugees.
Speaking to Vatican News, the Grand Chancellor of the Order
of Malta, Albrecht Freiherr von Boeselager, said the Order is present on the
journey of millions fleeing war, persecution and poverty with rescue teams in
the Mediterranean, medical care and legal assistance programmes to help them
integrate and build a future for themselves.
Key Challenges
Boeselager said the “situation is and will remain
challenging because the flow of migrants and the pressure coming from their
countries of origin will remain for the next unforeseeable future”.
He said the first concern for his organization is that
whoever is charged with legislating and implementing new policy must always
bear in mind that migrants and refugees are human beings who enjoy the
same rights as we do and must be treated with dignity and not be humiliated or
exposed to threats and dangers.
Regarding plans and projects to assist and support migrants
and refugees Boeselager said the Order will continue what it was doing in
recent years: “saving lives in the Mediterranean Sea, helping migrants to be
welcomed in European countries, helping them to be integrated, to be taught
languages, to find jobs and to find their way in the European countries”.
“We will also expand our efforts to help in the countries of
origin so that the people in these countries may find an alternative to
migration” he said.
Aim to Increase Efforts on International Scene
Boeselager also expressed his wish to increase the Order’s
efforts on the international scene “ in particular with multilateral
organizations like the UN, to draw the attention to the fact that new
means and new instruments must be found to deal with this phenomenon”.
He said the rights of refugees and asylum seekers found in
International Conventions are good and must be safeguarded but he pointed out
that they are not adequate to deal with the new phenomena of mass migration,
mass expulsion and mass exodi, so new legal instruments have to be developed.
“It’s unacceptable that the average duration stay of a
refugee in camps is more than12 years, so the international community must find
new policies for resettlement for these people because they are deprived of
their future in these camps” he said.
Each Country to find Policy based on Facts and
Humanitarian Principles
Regarding current political trends in Europe Boeselager
commented on the fact that there is a temptation for some politicians to use
the migration issue for populistic politics and that is a serious
concern. Every country, he continued, has to find “with prudence its own
policy on how to deal with migrants but it should be based on facts and
humanitarian principles”.
2017 Eventful Year for Sovereign Order of Malta
2017 was a year that saw important events happen within the
Sovereign Order of Malta. Boeselager looked to the near future and explained
that a new election will be held in May during which the Council Complete
of State will either elect a new Grand Master or take other steps within its
competence.
Meanwhile, he said considerations and reflections for the
reform have gone quite far: “We had set up 10 working groups to deal with
different themes and they came up with proposals that we are about to
summarize, compile and discuss during a seminar in February”.
“Then, he concluded, it will take some months to discuss
them and to transform them into articles in the Constitutional Code - so it
will take some time!”
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