London: Interfaith symposium for Refugee Week

Alongside a string of events marking Refugee Week 2019, the team of St John Vianney Parish and the Verbum Dei Missionaries hosted an interfaith panel and reflection on Saturday at the St John Vianney Parish Hall in West Green, entitled: You, Me and Those Who Came Before.

Remembering the words of Pope Francis: 'Every migrant has a name, a face and a story', participants were invited to begin the event with a minute of silence in solidarity with millions of individuals, families, women and children who are forcibly displaced worldwide.

Through the grapevine of various networks including interfaith chaplaincy forums, the Westminster Diocese Justice & Peace commission, the London Catholic Worker, about twenty participants arrived to participate and engage the three panel speakers and with each other, rather than to observe.

Our first speaker, Cecilia Taylor-Camara, Senior Policy Adviser for the Office for Migration Policy (OMP) at the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales said: "68.5 million people around the world are forced from their homes and nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18". "When we take away the gloss of the familiar Christmas card depicting the Holy Family's flight to Egypt - Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus - this is a story of forced migration, a flight from persecution. In today's language, the is the story of many migrants and asylum seekers fleeing from violence and war, who at the same time are often regarded a threat to the sovereignty and security of the states they are trying to find refuge in", Cecilia noted. In this vein, she stressed a statement from the 'Mission of the Church to Migrants in England and Wales' from the Catholic bishops in England and Wales, affirming the call for a more visible culture of welcome, hospitality and solidarity with our migrant sisters and brothers in God's family.

Speaking energetically, 19-year old Peter Butrus, originally from Iraq, emphasised that the story of each individual as a refugee or family is unique and different. From the age of four living in displacement, moving in and out of conflict-laden zones and countries, till the age of fifteen arriving to England as a refugee family, Peter offered a powerful and challenging witness to his story particularly reflecting on the pillars of his close-knit family and faith that undergirded his personal story as a refugee.

The second speaker was, Don de Silva, an environmentalist and former senior official of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), who is also a university Buddhist chaplain. Don pointed out in his presentation that environmental migrants are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment which compromise their well-being and livelihood. Don challenged the participants to reflect on a different kind of peacebuilding efforts. He says, "Faith and sustainability are two sides of the same coin. The sustainability of the planet will never be achieved without the full and united participation of faiths."

This message resonated with many participants in the audience as it dovetailed as a further discussion point during the plenary session. To add to this, a participant reminded the audience of a quote from Greta Thunberg: "When we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope - look for action. Then the hope will come."

To close the event, participants pledged personal statements of solidarity and the commitment to persevere in our response to raise awareness of, and support migrants, refugees and asylum seekers trying to find a safe place to live in.