According to the United Nations, in 2019 there were 272 million international migrants (people residing in a country other than their birthplace) in the world. In recent years there have been important episodes of migration, which have caused great inconvenience, trauma and loss of life. According to the UN "World Report on Migration 2020", the main causes of these migrations were conflicts, situations of extreme violence or serious economic and political instability, as well as a growing recognition of the effects of climate and environmental change on human mobility.
Faced with the reality of migrants, the State Coordination of Salesian Social Platforms and its various entities are working hard to accompany the processes of welcoming and integrating these people. They mainly accompany children, adolescents and young people, many of them unaccompanied, but they also develop programs for the care of their families and, above all, vulnerable adults.
In the 10 entities that make up the Coordination, the work is carried out through projects that meet the specific needs of these people: help with legal practices, lack of housing, migratory pain, uprooting and learning a new language. There are extracurricular educational programs projects that try to compensate for inequalities, or projects to support the regularization of documentation, specific job placement itineraries, foster homes, psychological support, actions to promote non-discrimination and intercultural mediation, projects to encourage participation of migrant women, actions to promote healthy habits, positive parenting projects and projects to provide information, guidance and legal advice.
Among the initiatives of the Salesian Social Platforms for the International Day of Migrants, the following should be noted:
- The 10th edition of the Kulunguelé Festival, an event of solidarity and non-culturalism by "FISAT Cartagena" visible on 18 December at 20:00 (UTC + 1) on the organization's social networks.
- The video about the “Malaikas” project of the “JuanSoñador” Foundation.
- The Intercultural Week, organized by the "Mornese" Foundation, with testimonies of life, and sharing of recipes, crafts, typical costumes, and lore.
- An online formation, organized by the State Coordination of Salesian Social Platforms, in collaboration with the “Fundación PorCausa”, to learn how to spread positive stories about migrants and migrations.
With this day, the State Coordination of Salesian Social Platforms wants to join in the defense of respect for human rights and respond to the contemporary challenge of migration, welcoming, protecting, promoting and integrating, as suggested by the Pope in 2018. With this day, the leaders say of the Coordination, "we want to seal our commitment to welcome and include all migrants and all those who find themselves in situations of vulnerability in our society and guarantee the necessary means to defend the rights and dignity of these people."
