migration in the century - holy cross international ... document library/print... · túpac amaru...

A culture ofpeace and nonvio-

lence is a work of art.It must be crafted by

many hands and built uponfoundations of respect and tol-

erance for those who are “other.” In this issue, we explore some of themany ways the Holy Cross familyaround the world is engaged in thiscreative act. We also examine theviolence enveloping the current phe-nomenon of global migration andwhat this human rights crisis asks of us as people of faith.

SILENT CRISIS:GLOBALMIGRATIONIN THE21ST CENTURYby Mary Turgi, CSC

This silent human rights crisis shamesour world. . . . Migrants are part of thesolution, not part of the problem. They

should not be made scapegoats for avast array of social ills.

— Kofi Annan2004 Address to the European Parliament

In every region of the world, peo-ple are on the move. Though migra-tion has been a fact of life throughouthuman history, there is no doubt thatin our day it is growing and becomingincreasingly visible. Nearly 200 mil-lion people currently live outside thecountry in which they were born andby 2050, this number is predicted toswell to 230 million. Contrary tocommon belief, women now consti-tute nearly half of this population.

Why are so many people leavingtheir homelands? Increasingly,migration is not voluntary, but anescape from varied forms of violence:armed conflict and civil unrest,human rights abuses, environmentaldegradation and natural disasters,and the multifaceted economic dis-ruptions resulting from globalization.As John Paul II observed,

In many regions of the worldtoday, people live in tragic situations of instability anduncertainty. It does not comeas a surprise that in such con-text the poor and the destitutemake plans to escape. This isthe migration of the desperate:

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)PERSPECTIVES IN THIS ISSUE: Crossing Borders – Building Bridges (p. 2) &

NESNIM: Reweaving Sociocultural Relationships (p. 4) & Para Que No Se Repita (p. 6)& CAAP-ing Violence (p. 8) & Cooling Tribal Clashes (p. 10) & Sisters of the HolyCross Corporate Stand on Nonviolence (p. 11) & What Can We Do? (p. 14) &

Resources (p. 14)

Peace is both gift and task — the ability to live together andbuild relationships of justice and solidarity calls for unfailingcommitment on our part. . . .

— Benedict XVI2007 Message for the World Day of Peace

a publication of the Holy Cross International

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Perhaps you have heard of thevigilantes, the “Minute Men” — U.S.citizens who are arming themselvesin order to patrol the border betweenthe United States and Mexico,hoping to prevent immigration. Otherpeople, including many members ofthe U.S. Congress, want to build a “Great Wall of Mexico” andmilitarize the border. People closingborders and building fences. . . .

CROSSINGBORDERS —BUILDING BRIDGESby John Korcsmar, CSC, and Lilia Martínez

Austin Interfaith, an affiliate of the IndustrialAreas Foundation (IAF), has a different idea: crossing borders and building bridges. The hall-mark of IAF’s model of community organizing isbuilding relationships and connections that createpolitical power: relational power that enablespeople “to be influenced as well as to influence”;power with others, not power over; power that

re-weaves the social fabric and has the capacity to bring about lasting social change.

Immigration is not a new issue in the UnitedStates, but growing pressure for comprehensivereform of national immigration law gives it anespecially high priority at this time. Because ofthis, leaders from the churches and schools thatform Austin Interfaith have decided to organizearound this issue that impacts so many families in our city and to do so in a relational way.

Last year, on the very day Congressional hearings were being held in Houston, Texas, on“Criminal Activity Along the Border,” leaders fromvarious congregations, faith traditions, and otherbackgrounds held a press conference on the stepsof the state capitol building calling for immigrationreform in tune with the real stories of our families.

In the IAF model, all organizing starts with stories. After the press conference, about 100 people walked to the nearby First United MethodistChurch and engaged in sharings called “housemeetings,” each telling her or his own “story” onimmigration. Through these conversations, barrierswere dissolved and people from vastly differentperspectives — Baptists, Catholic pastors, NAACP

The hallmark of IAF’s model of communi ty organizing is building relationshipsconnections that create political power. Relational power th at enables people “to be influenced as well as to influence.”Power with others, not power over...

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representatives, contractors and other business-men, and immigrants from Mexico, Nigeria andIreland — came to deeper mutual understanding.

By engaging in these conversations, partici-pants began to develop public relationships amongthemselves around their own interests and thetype of dialogue they want to start in their owncommunities. Noted IAF organizer Ernesto Cortéssays of such exchanges, “it is only through thesekind of conversations that people develop thecapacity to think long term, to consider somethingoutside their own experience, and to develop alarger vision of their neighborhood, their state, or their society.”

John Korcsmar, a Holy Cross priest, is the pastor of Dolores Church and co-chair of Austin Interfaith. He has served in the Diocese of Austin for the past 30 years.

Lilia Martínez was a community organizer working with Austin Interfaith when this article was written.She currently resides in Monterrey, Mexico.

It is this kind of conversation — focused onbuilding relational power — that will ultimatelycreate a society that will provide for its citizensregardless of race, class, gender, immigration status or any other difference and construct thefuture we want for our children. We are privilegedto collaborate in an organizing effort that bringsdiverse peoples and institutions together to devel-op leadership, nurture relational power and affectstructural change. -

ty organizing is building relationshipsandat enables people “to be influenced as well as to influence.”

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NESNIM has proven to be a true ins trument of peace participate from distrust and division to unders tanding and inclusion, and reweaving northeastIndian social/ cultural relationships.

Terrorism, war and other forms of violence seem endemic topostmodern society. The northeastregion of India is no exception. This area of our country hasexperienced escalating ethnic and political violence, fed in part by prejudice, for the last threedecades.

NESNIM:REWEAVING SOCIOCULTURALRELATIONSHIPSby Emmanuel Kallarackal, CSC

Faced with the realities of violence in north-east India and in the broader world and convincedthat our hope for the future lies in educatingtoday’s youth to overcome violence “throughrespect for one another and openness to cultural,ethnic and religious differences,” the Congregationof Holy Cross took action. In 2001, they createdthe North Eastern Students’ National IntegrationMovement (NESNIM), an annual, five-day live-ineducational experience for youth/students in north-east India. Though initiated by Holy Cross, otherreligious congregations and more than 15 educa-tional institutions have also joined the program.

NESNIM can be classified as a “national inte-gration camp” — an experience designed to giveyouth from diverse religious and cultural back-

grounds the opportunity to interact with oneanother, learn another’s customs and traditions,and work together in community. Organized bythe Holy Cross Educational Foundation (HCEF) incollaboration with the Association for Social andHuman Advancement (ASHA), the yearly event isintended to create awareness among the studentsand the public of the need for peace and harmonyin the northeast. The program includes classes,workshops, exercises in group dynamics, drama,sports activities, cultural activities like dances andsongs, and a peace march through the city streets.

NESNIM’s participants belong to various ethnicgroups that are often hostile to one another. UnderHoly Cross leadership, about 2,300 students and230 teachers were brought together for this expe-

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rience between 2001 and 2005 and this seems to be creating strong ripples of peace in the region.

NESNIM provides the chance for young peoplefrom different ethnic groups to come together andlive under the same roof — working, learning,playing, entertaining and eating side by side. Such interaction, coupled with the experienceof the richness of their diversity, changes partici-pants. They shed their prejudices, begin to appre-ciate one another’s way of life, and develop deepbonds with youth from traditionally hostile ethnicgroups. Over the years, NESNIM has proven to bea true instrument of peace — moving those whoparticipate from distrust and division to under-standing and inclusion, and reweaving northeastIndian social/cultural relationships.

Emmanuel Kallarackal, a Holy Cross priest, is a mem-ber of the Province of Northeast India. Utilizing hisextensive experience in education and formation,Emmanuel served as thechief program coordinatorof NESNIM during its firsttwo years. Recently,Emmanuel received hisdoctorate from FordhamUniversity’s GraduateSchool of Religion andReligious Education inNew York. His doctoraldissertation focused on“Peace Education in aMulti-ethnic Setting.”-

trument of peace — moving those whos tanding and inclusion, and reweaving northeast

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Between 1980 and 2000, Peru was plagued by extremepolitical violence as the government waged war against armed guerilla groupsSendero Luminoso (Shining Path),and Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (Tupac AmaruRevolutionary Movement).Horrendous atrocities werecommitted by all sides: murders,

kidnapping, forced disappearances, torture, unjust

detentions, extrajudicial executions and other

serious violations of human rights. Over 30,000

deaths were documented and the material damage

amounted to Peru’s external debt of more than

26 billion dollars. This was the milieu to which

the Sisters of Holy Cross came to live and minister.

PARA QUE NO SE REPITAby Elvia Atoche Gutiérrez

To heal the wounds left in the Peruvian socialfabric from these years of violence, the transitionalgovernment of Valentín Paniagua created a “TruthCommission” in 2001. Alejandro Toledo later rati-fied the commission and re-named it Comisión dela Verdad y Reconciliación (CVR) — the Truth andReconciliation Commission. Its mission was to preserve the historic memory, foster justice andensure appropriate reparation to victims.

CVR objectives included analyzing conditionsthat contributed to the violence, documentingatrocities and determining responsibilities, propos-ing moral and material redress for victims, recom-mending reforms to prevent recurrence, and creating initiatives to support peace grounded inforgiveness and reconciliation among all Peruvians.Public meetings, testimonials, and forensic investi-gations were central to the work.

The final report, encompassing nearly 17,000testimonials, concluded that 69,820 persons haddied or disappeared in the violence. To ensure that history could never repeat itself, the CVR pro-posed a number of strategies, including institutionalreforms, a National Plan for Forensic AnthropologicalInvestigations to find and retrieve the remains ofthe “disappeared,” a specialized system to dealjudicially with crimes against humanity, and aComprehensive Plan for Reparations.

Various political sectors have tried to discreditthe CVR and have rejected its conclusions.However, opinion polls indicate that, in general,the public believes the CVR performed its task well. pe

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In order to sensitize diverse social and politicalactors throughout the country to the CVR findings,civil society groups have organized a movementcalled Para que no se repita (So that it not berepeated) to remember each and every one of thedisappeared, tortured and assassinated. Initiativeshave included Caminata por la Paz y la Solidaridad(Walk for Peace and Solidarity), a 2,200 kilometermarch through the areas affected by the violence,and construction of the Gran Quipu de la Memoria(Great Quipu of the Memory) with 69,280 knots to symbolize the victims.*

El Parque de la Memoria (Park of Memory) was created to be home to various activities thatserve as reminders of the violence and commemo-rate those who have been victimized by it. Withthe help of families of the victims, a Museo de laMemoria (Museum of Memory) has been estab-lished to house physical remembrances and evidence of the years of violence.

Two activities promoting reconciliation inwhich Sisters of Holy Cross and other congrega-tions have participated are the construction of El Ojo que llora (The Eye that Cries) and workshopsconducted by Escuelas de Perdón y Reconciliación(Schools of Forgiveness and Reconciliation), com-monly known as ESPERE.

El Ojo que llora is a stone sculpture from which water spouts like tears. The sculpture,which represents Mother Earth (Pachamama),defines the center of a labyrinth comprised of 11circles made up of stones. Twenty-six thousand of the stones are inscribed with the name, age andyear of death/disappearance of various victims.Each stone represents not only the tragic storyof that person, but of an entire family whose suffering continues to this day.

ESPERE, a project of Fundación para laReconciliación, has developed a step-by-stepprocess for bringing diverse people together, heal-ing wounds and building forgiveness and reconcili-ation. As another piece of our commitment to thepeacemaking process, our sisters joined inmatesimprisoned for political violence in workshops conducted by ESPERE.

The banner of the CVR website reads, “A coun-try that forgets its history is condemned to repeatit.” We in Peru are determined not to forget, paraque no se repita!

*A quipu is an ancient system of knotted cords used by the Incas to store numeric and other informationimportant to their culture and civilization.

Elvia Atoche Gutiérrez, a candidate with the Sisters ofHoly Cross, is a human rights attorney who works withthe Social Action Commission of the Peruvian BishopsConference. She has been involved in prison ministrysince 1991.

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Nonviolence is rooted in respect forothers, particularly those seen as“different” from the cultural norm.Imparting such respect for everyperson is intrinsic to Holy Crosseducational philosophy and mission.At Notre Dame High School in WestHaven, Connecticut (USA), thiscommitment is embodied in a uniqueway — through a student-run clubcalled Changing Attitudes AboutPeople (CAAP).

CAAP-ING VIOLENCEby Kathy Bonn and James Madigan, CSC

Established in 1998, CAAP’s mission is to:& promote understanding and appreciation

of diversity throughout the school communityand beyond;

& raise awareness of problems of exclusion andstrategies for dealing with such problems;

& offer opportunities to communicate aboutissues arising from difference; and

& strengthen the closeness of the Notre Damecommunity.

CAAP is among the best-supported and mostactive clubs at Notre Dame. Our roster has over100 names on it and most members have attendedall meetings held this year.

Over the years, our members have workedwith the Human Relations Club of sister-schoolSacred Heart Academy to organize a variety of programs to promote understanding and accept-ance of difference. Some highlights have included

& organizing all-school assemblies around CAAP issues;

& producing one-act and full-length plays that explore differences and prejudice;

The goal is to educate perpetrators i n non-threatening, experiential waysin hopes that they will then begin to both understand and feel the real consequences of their actions.

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& participating in the national “Mix It Up atLunch Day,” sponsored by the national organization Teaching Tolerance;

& exporting CAAP’s program to an inner-cityCatholic elementary school; and

& sponsoring an annual movie-and-pizza socialaround current films like Remember the Titans,Hotel Rwanda, Pay It Forward and Radio.

This year CAAP organized a school-wide Dayof Silence program. In teacher advisory classesCAAP members and peer counselors facilitatedexercises that examined characteristics of diversityand students’ awareness of their own biases and prejudices. Then over 90 CAAP membersremained silent for the rest of the day to representindividuals in society who are “silenced” by stereotypes and discrimination.

When we are not planning programs, ourweekly meetings are devoted to examining stereo-types and learning how to handle offensive wordsand behaviors. Club members explore appropriateways of responding, using clear but compassionatelanguage to convey the offensiveness of the action.

Our latest such effort includes Anti-DefamationLeague training in which volunteers from the clublearn to act as a “peer agents” to perpetrators ofhate. The goal is to educate perpetrators in non-threatening, experiential ways in hopes that theywill then begin to both understand and feel thereal consequences of their actions. For example,last year when a student used a racist remark in a classroom, one of the trained CAAP members sat down with him one-on-one and talked about what it felt like for him when he was once called

a name due to his race.

The offending student was then asked to write a description of what he learned from the conversation.

CAAP fits perfectly in a Holy Cross school committed to educating the whole person, todeveloping students not only intellectually, butsocially and spiritually in the educational traditionof Father Moreau. The young men who are part of CAAP, especially their leaders, are activists inthe best sense of the word. They are empoweringthemselves and others to create a true communitywhere every individual is treated with the respectdeserved.

Kathy Bonn, the moderatorof CAAP, is currently in her30th year at Notre DameHigh School. Her first 19 years at Notre Damewere spent as a Spanishteacher. This is her 11thyear as a school counselor.

James Branigan, a Brotherof Holy Cross, is a memberof the Eastern Provinceand currently in his 11thyear as president of NotreDame High School. Jameshas been involved in sec-ondary education for 37years, serving as religionand social studies teacher,guidance counselor andadministrator.

n non-threatening, experiential waysand feel the real consequences of their actions.

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The Rwenzori Forum for Peace and Justice (RFPJ) was founded in 2002 to promote nonviolent conflict resolution, peacebuildingprocesses, and a culture of peacefulco-existence in the five districts of western Uganda. These districtshave special challenges due to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF)rebel insurgency and inter-tribalconflicts.

COOLING TRIBALCLASHESby Daisy Kabuleeta, CSC

Since its inception, the Forum has played akey role in uniting the different tribes and ethnicgroups both in this region and elsewhere in thecountry through cultural events, public dialoguesand seminars. Much of its message of peace isdelivered though traditional vehicles — dances,songs, plays and sharing meals. Central to theForum’s efforts has been the annual commemora-tion of the September 21 International Day ofPeace, a day aimed at cessation of hostilitiesthroughout the whole world.

In 2003, the Kibale district was experiencingserious tribal clashes. Members of the Bakiga tribe had moved from an overpopulated area intothe lands of the Banyoro. Although the Banyorowere willing to accept the Bakiga at first, violenceerupted when Fred Rulemera, a member of theBakiga tribe, was elected Kibale district chairman.Many people were injured and lives lost. Finally,Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni convincedRulemera to step down, but tribal tensionsremained high. The indigenous Banyoro felt their dominance and tribal integrity were threat-ened as the immigrants grew in numbers andbegan assuming political office. The Bakigabelieved they had a right to political participation.

The RFPJ intervened, organizing a mediationon the International Day of Peace. Members ofParliament, the Peace and Justice Commission fromGulu and 5000 people from the entire region ofwestern Uganda gathered to urge the two tribes to settle their differences peacefully. I was one ofthree RFPJ mediators sent to facilitate the process.

On the first day, we interviewed the tribal representatives separately to hear how they per-ceived the situation. On the second, we broughtthe tribes together, asking them to mix and talk to one another. Everyone was encouraged to listen to the experiences of the other with an open mindand try to understand their point of view. Thiswas no small request because tribal differences ran deep and emotions were raw.

By the end of the process, however, each tribewas able to let go and move on, asking the other’sforgiveness for the misunderstanding and violencethat had occurred. As a gesture of reconciliation,the tribes shared a traditional meal — a symbolicstatement that “It is over!”

Mediation processes like this are powerfultools for increasing understanding and buildingpeace. Last November, the Sisters of the HolyCross adopted a Corporate Stand on Nonviolence.As a member of the Congregation, I feel especiallychallenged to continue efforts to diffuse violenceand keep tribal conflicts from escalating within my country.

Daisy Kabuleeta, a Sister of the Holy Cross, is assistantcoordinator of the HolyCross Family Center inKyarusozi, westernUganda. The Centerincludes both a medicalclinic and a project devot-ed to the education andtraining of the ruralwomen of the area. Daisyalso represents Uganda on the Sisters of the HolyCross Congregation JusticeCommittee.

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We affirm, support, oppose, acknowledge...Sisters of the Holy Cross—Corporate Stand onNonviolence—Adopted November 2006.. .

SISTERS OF THE HOLY CROSSCORPORATE STAND ON NONVIOLENCE

We, the Sisters of the Holy Cross,affirm that

& Nonviolence is constitutiveof the message of Jesus,

& Nonviolence is intrinsic to right relationship with all creation, and

& Nonviolent systemic change requires innovative,creative responses to socialproblems and conflicts.

Therefore, we reject violencein its multiple forms.

We support actions and policiesthat

& Promote nonviolent meansof conflict resolution,

& Disallow discrimination of any kind,

& Generate an equitableeconomic system for all,

& Foster a culture of solidarityand peace, and

& Protect Earth and Life in all its diversity.

We oppose actions and policiesthat legitimate

& Violent responses toconflicts, particularly warand terrorism,

& Denial of human and civil rights,

& Economic and militarypolicies that exacerbatepoverty and inequality, and

& Degradation and destructionof natural resources andecosystems.

We acknowledge that thenonviolent way of Jesus challengesus to

& Examine the quality of ourinterpersonal relationships,

& Own the complexityinherent in our struggle to live without violence,

& Embrace diversity, and

& Espouse the common good.

Adopted November 2006

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men and women, often young, who haveno alternative than to leave their owncountry . . . to take even critical risks toescape from a life with no future.

The International Labour Organization echoes the pope’s words, noting that millions who leave their home countries in search of a better life are not simply looking for better work;they are looking for any work at all.

Unfortunately, for all too many migrants, fleeing the political, environmental or economicviolence of their home countries merely opens the door to violations of different sorts. Their journeys are often fraught with danger and theirexperiences in host countries marked by socialexclusion, exploitation, human rights violations and even physical violence.

Passage of perilGlobalization has brought unfettered transna-

tional trade and movement of capital across bor-ders, but restrictions on the movement of peoplehave only become more stringent. Consequently,more and more migrants are attempting to enterdestination countries covertly, without legal per-mission. As these “irregulars” pass through transitcountries, many are subjected to physical violence,robbery, arbitrary detention and other mistreat-ment. Large numbers employ services of “peoplesmugglers” to slip them into their destinations.

Each year, thousands of irregular migrants die — drowning in the sea or crossing rivers; freezing, starving or suffocating as stowaways; and suffering from heat and thirst crossing vaststretches of desert like the Sahara or the SonoraDesert between Mexico and Arizona. Others areintercepted by border patrols — often beaten and robbed, turned away penniless, or forciblydetained.

Those who do reach their destination countrysometimes discover they have become victims oftrafficking. Not infrequently, men, women, andeven children in poor countries set out on journeysof migration deceived by false promises of goodjobs or education. Tricked or coerced, they aredrawn into trafficking networks, stripped of identi-ty documents and subjected to slave-like condi-tions, including forced prostitution, indentured,bonded or sweatshop labor, begging, domesticservice and forced marriage. It is estimated that

800,000 people are trafficked across internationalborders each year.

The stranger unwelcomeWhether regular or irregular, most migrants

face a hostile environment when they arrive attheir destination. The past several years havebeen marked by a rise in xenophobia against non-nationals and anti-immigration sentiment in manyindustrialized countries, in part sparked by theSeptember 11 attacks in the United States.

As Amnesty International notes, much of cur-rent public debate about migration is couched inlanguage that is loaded and derogatory. Personstrying to enter another country are described as“illegals,” “gate-crashers,” “queue-jumpers” andeven “invaders” seeking to breach the defenses ofa country with malicious intent. The clear implica-tion is that they are abusing the system andexploiting the generosity of the state.

Such inflammatory rhetoric in political circlesand the media plays on popular fears and createsmisconceptions about the impact of migration onjobs, crime levels, social services and culturalintegrity. For example, it is commonly believed inthe United States that immigrants are a drain onthe economy and that irregular immigrants do notpay taxes, but take advantage of all public pro-grams. In reality, immigrants contribute up to $10billion to the U.S. economy each year and undocu-mented immigrants do pay both property andincome taxes, but are ineligible for federal publicassistance programs like food stamps or housingassistance. Moreover, in truth many U.S. industriessuch as agriculture depend on undocumentedworkers almost entirely. When ads were placed foragricultural workers in California’s 58 counties, nota single U.S. citizen applied.

The September 11 attacks impacted more thanthe immigration climate in many Western coun-tries. Under the guise of enhancing security, manystates began limiting everyone’s movement andrestricting freedoms and civil liberties. Some ofthese measures have disproportionately affectedmigrants and other non-nationals. Migrants, espe-cially “irregulars,” have been labeled “securitythreats” or suspected/potential “terrorists.” In somecases, they have been detained and attempts madeto deport them with no real justification.

The September 11 attacks have provided newexcuses for old policies while reducing the likeli-hood of public condemnation. The Economist

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observed, “Most EU governments have leapt at thechance. . . to tighten immigration laws, thoughtheir motives in doing so have little to do withsecurity.” Or as Anthony Romero, executive direc-tor of the American Civil Liberties Union, remarked,“Immigrants weren’t the enemy. But the war onterror quickly became a war on immigrants.”

Life in the shadowsWhen you're undocumented in any country,

it's like you're in a shadow. No one sees you. No one notices. They can see your work, that you'recontributing to the economy and consuming goods, but you really don't exist.

— Norberto Terrazas,Mexican Consulate, New York, New York

Without documents and fearful of contact withauthorities, irregular migrants typically seek invisi-bility to escape official attention and threats to

themselves and their families. However, that verydesire for invisibility makes it difficult for them toclaim their rights and places them at higher risk for exploitation and abuse.

To a great extent the conditions in whichmigrants live determine their over-all well-being —their health, ability to secure and retain a job andaccess education for themselves and their children,and their physical security. However, the majorityof irregular migrants find themselves in poor quali-ty, overcrowded housing in impoverished inner-city neighborhoods. There, they are prey not onlyto violence, other crimes and health risks, but alsoto irresponsible landlords, exorbitant rents andforced evictions. For fear of being arrested anddeported, irregular migrants are reluctant to report these and other housing rights violations.

Migrant workers also frequently find them-selves at the margins of the labor market wherethere is scant legal or physical protection. Hoursare long, wages low, conditions unhygienic andthe workplace unsafe. Women in gender-segregat-ed jobs like domestic work are at additional risk forviolations such as rape and sexual violence. Theseare what the International Labour Organizationcalls “3-D” jobs — dirty, dangerous and degrading.Most often they are low-skilled jobs in agriculture,cleaning and maintenance, construction and manu-facturing, domestic service, health care, and theentertainment and sex industries.

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Ensure that national immigration policies

1. Address root causes of migration, such as poverty, war and human rights violations.

2. Improve and increase legal avenues for immigration.

3. Encourage reunification of families disruptedby migration.

4. Provide opportunities for legalization of the undocumented.

5. Guarantee humane border enforcement and protection of migrants’ human rights.

TOWARD JUST IMMIGRATION POLICIESIn addressing immigration issues related to the United States, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops

has identified five steps to establishing just immigration policies. These recommendations can be appliedworldwide to create more humane immigration systems.

TOWARD JUST IMMIGRATION POLICIESIn addressing immigration issues related to the United States, the U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops

has identified five steps to establishing just immigration policies. These recommendations can be appliedworldwide to create more humane immigration systems.

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WHAT CAN WE DO?

& Cultivate peace in your personal and communi-ty lives and ministry settings by learning,practicing, and teaching the skills of dialogueand nonviolent communication.

& Find practical ways to follow the Biblicalimperative to welcome the strangers amongyou in your own locale — other cultures, tribes,religions, those who are “different” in any way— and teach others to do the same.

& Promote just migration policy consistent withCatholic Social Teaching.

• Examine your own country’s immigration pol-icy. How well does it resonate with Catholicsocial teaching and the recommendations ofthe U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops? Iflacking, contact your political representativestelling them you support revision.

• United States citizens: Join the Justice forImmigrants campaign and support nationallegislation ensuring comprehensive immi-gration reform.

& Use the Perspectives resource section on theHCIJO web site address to learn more aboutcultivating peace and global migration issues,especially as they impact particular marginal-ized groups like women and children.

RESOURCESON MIGRATION ANDCULTIVATING PEACE

WEB SITES& The HCIJO site <www.holycrossjustice.org>

has a special section of resources related totopics covered in this issue of Perspectives.

& The Migration Policy Institute site<www.migrationpolicy.org> contains informa-

tion and data on global migration as well as anonline journal, Migration Information Source.

& The Stalker’s Guide to InternationalMigration site <www.pstalker.com/migration>provides an interactive overview of the politi-cal, economic and social issues related tointernational migration — including maps, statistics and the latest news.

& The Justice for Immigrants site <www.justiceforimmigrants.org> of the U.S.Catholic Campaign for Immigration Reform con-tains information about Catholic social teachingon migration, U.S. immigration issues, andresources for organizing, education and advocacy.

& The Tolerance.org site <www.tolerance.org>contains a wealth of resources and ideas forteachers, parents and youth committed to dismantling bigotry and creating communitiesthat value diversity.

& The Cultivating Peace site <www.cultivatingpeace.ca> provides extensiveeducational materials for promoting a culture ofpeace, as well as a comprehensive list of links toother sites offering background information, cam-paigns, actions, resources and educational mate-rials that promote peace (English and French).

& The Joan B. Kroc Institute for InternationalPeace Studies <http://kroc.nd.edu> at theUniversity of Notre Dame (USA) provides schol-arly analysis of the causes of violence andconditions for sustainable peace.

DVDs& Dying to Live:

A Migrant’s Journey(33 minutes) is a profoundlook at the human face ofthe migrant, exploringwho these people are,why they leave home andwhat they face in theirjourney. Drawing on theinsights of theologians,church and congressional leaders, activists andthe immigrants themselves, the film explores theplaces of conflict, pain and hope along the U.S.-Mexico border. The executive producer of Dyingto Live is Daniel Groody, CSC (2005).

www.tolerance.org • www.holycrossjusTIce.org

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& Wetback: TheUndocumentedDocumentary (97 min-utes) follows the foot-steps of two friends traveling over land fromNicaragua, across multi-ple borders to the UnitedStates. On their jour-neys, they encountermerciless gangs and vigilantes, as well as border patrols, but manage to navigate real-life nightmares with uncanny calm, grace,even humor (2005).

& El Contrato (51 minutes)follows a poverty-strick-en father of four inMexico and severalcountrymen as theymake an annual migra-tion to southern Ontarioto harvest tomatoes.Under a governmentprogram that allowsgrowers to be self-monitoring, the opportunityto exploit workers is as ripe as the fruit theypick, but grievances are easily deflected by a long line of others back home willing to take their place. As winter closes in and theMexicans return home, some pledge, not forthe first time, that it’s their final season in the north (2003).

& Lives for Sale (60 min-utes), a documentary onimmigration and humantrafficking, goes beyondthe rhetoric to showwhy immigrants arewilling to risk everything— even virtual slavery —for the American Dream. While politicians,activists and the media wrestle with thethorny issue of immigration, this new inves-tigative documentary exposes the painful,rarely seen human side of illegal immigration,especially the growing black market trade inhuman beings (2007).

These DVDs may be borrowed free of charge from the HCIJO Resource Library [e-mail:[email protected]; phone: 574-284-5500].

BOOKS/REPORTS& Nonviolent

Communication: A Language of Life,Marshall Rosenberg,Ph.D., PuddleDancer Press,Encinitas, Calif., 2003.Also available in Frenchand Spanish.

& Traveling with theTurtle: A Small GroupProcess in Women’sSpirituality andPeacemaking, CindyPreston-Pile and IreneWoodward, Pace e BenePress, Oakland, Calif.,2006.

& Artisans of Peace:Grassroots Peacemakersamong ChristianCommunities, Edited by Mary Ann Cejka andThomas Bamat, OrbisBooks, Maryknoll, N.Y.,2003.

& A Passage to Hope: Women andInternational Migration, available in English, French and Spanish at<www.unfpa.org/swp/2006>.

& Amnesty International report Living in the Shadows: A Primer on the HumanRights of Migrants, available in the specialresource section in this issue of Perspectivesat <www.holycrossjustice.org>.

& Centre for Refugee Studies working paperGlobalization, Security, and Exclusion byTanya Chute available in the special resourcesection in this issue of Perspectives at<www.holycrossjustice.org>.

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Migrants can also slip though the health-carecracks. Those with irregular status often live andwork in conditions that make them vulnerable todisease and ill health, but many migrants cannotafford medical care or insurance. Most nationalhealth care plans allow only emergency care fornon-citizens, and even then undocumentedmigrants often fear health-care professionals willreport them to the authorities. This often detersmigrants from seeking medical treatment. Often,what begins as a minor problem flares up into a major illness.

Migration and Catholic Social TeachingThe Church has a long, rich tradition defend-

ing the right to migrate, as well as the right to nothave to migrate. Catholic social teaching insiststhat root causes of migration such as poverty,injustice and intolerance, and armed conflict mustbe addressed so that people are free to remain in their homeland if they so choose.

Foundational to these teachings are five princi-ples that guide the Church’s views on migration:

1. Persons have the right to find opportunitiesin their homeland.

All persons have the right to find in theirown countries the economic, political andsocial opportunities to live in dignity andachieve a full life.

2. Persons have the right to migrate to support themselves and their families.

When people cannot find employment tosupport themselves and their families intheir own country, they have a right to find work elsewhere in order to survive.

3. Sovereign nations have the right to control their borders.

The Church recognizes the right of sover-eign nations to control their territories, but rejects such control when it is exertedmerely for the purpose of acquiring additional wealth.

4. Refugees and asylum seekers must be afforded protection.

Those who flee wars and persecution mustbe protected by the global community.

5. The human dignity and human rights of undocumented migrants must be respected.

Regardless of their legal status, migrants,like all persons, possess inherent humandignity that must be respected.

In our present reality, such principles call forboth pastoral and public policy responses from allof us. As the bishops of Mexico and the UnitedStates assert in their pastoral letter, Strangers NoLonger, part of that response is confronting atti-tudes of cultural superiority, indifference and intol-erance — learning to accept and welcome migrantsnot as foreboding aliens, terrorists or economicthreats, but as persons with dignity and rights,bearers of deep cultural values and rich traditions.

Equally important, as the bishops remind us,the phenomenon of migration calls each of us towork “to transform national and internationalsocial, economic, and political structures so thatthey may provide the conditions required for thedevelopment of all, without exclusion or discrimi-nation against any person in any circumstance.”Our faith must transcendborders and overcome all forms of discrimina-tion and violence so thatwe build relationshipsthat are both loving andjust.

Mary Turgi, a Sister of the Holy Cross, is thedirector of the Holy CrossInternational Justice Officeand editor of Perspectives.

perspectives is a publication of the Holy CrossInternational Justice Office, a collaborative project of the women and men of Holy Cross who minister in 17 countries throughout the world. Please direct any questions, requests or ideas to: Mary Turgi, CSC /403 Bertrand Annex—Saint Mary’s / Notre Dame, IN46556-5018, USA / Telephone: (574) 284-5502 /E-mail: [email protected] / www.holycrossjustice.org

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