Christian Life Community - Europe
CLC - CVX - CVC - GCL
Forced Migrants: a common CLC concern
23 September 2005
According to some sources, there are 27 million refugees, 30 million
displaced persons (within the borders of their own country) and some 52
million migrant workers worldwide. In Europe the migration movements
are from rural areas to cities, from eastern to western countries, from south
to north hemisphere.
All uprooted persons, but before all
• undocumented persons,
• rejected asylum seekers,
• trafficked women and
• children without family links
are in greatest need of our active solidarity.
Since 2001, the euroteam invites National Communities to consider concern for forced migrants as an integral part of their mission for social justice and encourages and stimulates CLC communities to work on this issue.
Many individual CLCers and local communities are already involved in this issue; they can be a motivating force for the communities to become better informed on the question of forced migration and to get actively involved at different levels of commitment as an expression of the mission of the whole community.
CLC wants to collaborate actively with JRS, church associations, as Caritas, and other human rights organization.
Amongst the priorities, CLC activities aim at:
• be-friending forced migrants;
• addressing their
basic needs (e.g. spiritual needs, emotional needs,
language lessons, housing, jobs, etc.);
• telling the truth about forced migrants
• attempting to influence political structures and decisions;
• analysing and reflecting on the situation of forced migration.
After an evaluation undertaken in 2005, the euroteam proposes
• to create a
common list of CLC persons involved as volunteers or
professionals
• to continue awareness raising activities (ex. by sending relevant
European information to those registered on this list
• to organize European
Forced Migration encounter
• national FM encounters to be open to others
• to be in contact with the European migration network of Christian
organizations and inform national communities about European wide campaigns