Churches Witnessing With Migrants
4th International Consultation
New York, October 2013
From October 1-5, 2013, KAIROS will join church reps from around the world gathering in New York City for the Churches Witnessing with Migrants gathering. This event will coincide with the United Nations High Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development (UN-HLD) and the 4th International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees (IAMR4).
Migrant workers, the most important voice in any discussion on migration issues, have been historically excluded from inter-governmental forums such as the UN-HLD. Migrant workers and their organizations need a forum in which to express their opinion and recommend solutions to minimize the impact of working overseas as temporary workers. The Churches Witnessing with Migrants and the 4th International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees provide such platform. Churches need to listen to migrant workers voices. Migrants are created in God’s image. A migrant human dignity is a gift from God that cannot be taken away when they move from one country to another.
Did you know that over 400,000 people came to Canada as temporary workers in 2012?[1]
These are more than just numbers. There is much more to this story. We need to ask ourselves why millions of people are forced to travel as temporary workers around the world. Who are they? Where do they come from? What forced them to leave their home country, their families and communities to face the uncertainty of being in a strange and in many occasions, unwelcoming work environment? Where in Canada do they live and work? How does migration impact their family’s life? What are their working and living conditions at home and abroad?
Canadian church members need to ask these questions and examine our role in global migration.
Connie Sorio will represent KAIROS at the Churches Witnessing with Migrants gathering and the 4th International Assembly of Migrants and Refugees.
Stay tuned for updates on this important Witnessing event.
For more information on these events please visit:
http://nccphilippines.org/site/2013/09/04/churches-witnessing-with-migrants/
http://www.un-ngls.org/IMG/pdf/UN-NGLS_Side_Events_List-GA_68_-_as_of_17_Sept_2.pdf
