Record numbers attend Home Office Prayer Vigil

A record number of people took part in the monthly prayer vigil for refugees and migrants, outside the Home Office in Westminster on Monday, 15 June. As the day marked the start of Refugee Week, we were joined by a large number of students from Catholic schools in London and Birmingham. Their participation was organised by the Columbans and the FCJ Sisters. We were also joined by Quakers and Anglicans from the London Churches Refugee Fund.

Bishop Paul McAleenan, Lead Bishop for Migrants and Refugees and Racial Justice issues in the Catholic Bishops Conference, gave the reflection.

At the centre of the circle of people on the wide pavement outside the Home Office building we placed a huge map of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, showing the routes taken to Britain by refugees known to the various participating organisations.

At each vigil, names of migrants who have died on their journey to this country are read out and participants sing 'Kyrie eleison' - Lord, have mercy.

This time, as we recalled those lost lives, participants laid flowers on the map, reminding us that the Sahara Desert, the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean and the English Channel have become mass graves for so many, fleeing war, persecution or climate chaos, or simply seeking a more dignified life for themselves and their families.

Bishop Paul told us that 9,142 people have crossed the Channel to Britain so far this year, and that this meant: "9,142 different faces, 9,142 different reasons for making the journey, 9,142 stories of what happened to them since the day they left their homeland. 9,142 now here, unwanted, in rundown centres and hostels."

Bishop Paul also referred to a homily by Pope Leo on his recent visit to the Canary Islands - a major transit point for refugees trying to get to Europe. The Pope pointed out that apart from risking terrible dangers on their journeys, often when refugees arrive safely many experience a "silent shipwreck" facing isolation, exploitation and exclusion. "Integration means preventing that second shipwreck", he said, praising the work of Caritas, migration offices, parishes and local organisations that accompany migrants beyond the immediate emergency phase and help them establish stable lives in society.

The bishop went on to tell us about a recent visit to an accommodation centre in Braintree, Essex. "I met someone from Iran, sitting in a hut, where he also slept. He recounted his journey from his home, his journey across the Mediterranean, across northern Europe and then the Channel. He spoke about his reasons for setting out and what he had endured. Eventually I asked what he had worked at before leaving. He said - and this was later confirmed by a Home Office official - that he was a brain surgeon. He had exchanged his life as a brain surgeon for a life of destitution. A highly qualified medic had exchanged his title to be now known as a seeker of asylum."

As an indicator of the desperation felt by those seeking safety, this encounter was deeply affecting. But Bishop Paul stressed that it does not matter whether someone has qualifications or not. Every migrant has a face, a name, a story. They need safe routes rather than harsh policies which do not reflect our belief in the dignity of each person. Such policies must be opposed, he said.

The prayers following the reflection included several contributions from the school students, who prayed not only for those who risk so much to find safety and dignity but for themselves also, that they might have the courage to come again to such a vigil and to go on raising their voices in support of migrants and refugees.

One student prayed: "For the families left behind, who may never know what happened to their loved ones."

After the vigil, Bishop Paul told me how important it is that we get away from numbers and statistics and remember that everyone travelling to this country is an individual with inviolable dignity. "That's why this event is so good," he said. "It makes clear that every migrant is a person."

the Home Office Vigil is held on the third Monday of each month at 12.30. For more information, contact homeofficevigil@gmail.com.

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