On 20 June, the Society of African Missions (SMA) will join the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the international community in marking World Refugee Day.
World Refugee Day, a United Nations initiative that began in 2001, celebrates the lives and contributions of refugees around the world. The theme for World Refugee Day 2010 is Home: “They have taken my home but they can’t take my future”, in recognition of the plight of more than 40 million uprooted people around the world who do not have a safe place to call home. Often, they are forced to flee in search of safety, seeking temporary shelter until they can return home and rebuild their lives. But for many refugees and other displaced people, the homes they loved are gone forever. They need to build a future – a new safe home.
“We remember, against incredible odds, the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homeland” says Fr. Fachtna O’Driscoll, Provincial Leader of the Society of African Missions. “We honour not only what they have survived but the resolve and spirit with which they’ve survived it. They challenge us to build a more just society where the dignity of all human beings is respected and so we stand in solidarity with them as they work to build safe and fulfilling lives and homes for a better future”.
We are urged to seek ways large and small to support the millions of people around the world who hold the same dreams we do. This year as part of the ongoing awareness of the plight of refugees, Cois Tine, the SMA pastoral care support programme for asylum seekers and refugees has put together a DVD on the theme Home: They have taken my home but they cannot take my future, and designed a 2010 themed card on the plight of refugees.
For further information or to obtain a copy contact Cois Tine on 021 4557760 or [email protected]
