Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People

People on the Move - N° 88-89, April - December 2002

Every refugee has a face

Rev. Fr. Frans THOOLEN, S.M.A.
Official of the Pontifical Council

A rattle at the door. Police-officers. They were already entering the house. John panicked. What was he to do? They would deport him, put him on the plane to Africa. Never, that should never happen. He still owed his relatives some money. After all they paid for his journey. He could not return empty-handed. In one way or another he had to escape. Without much reflection he jumped out of the window. And in a few seconds his whole life flashed before his eyes.

Just fifteen years ago, his brother Paul left the village. Paul was just sixteen years old and had finished his schooling. Paul did not want to stay in the village because life became more and more difficult. There was no future there. The farmers were old and hardly any investments were made. Sometimes it was impossible to buy soap, sugar, milk or bread. Normally, all these items were not available at the same time. The future was in the city and there he went. He accepted several small jobs. Several times he returned to the village. Each time he brought presents. People looked up to him because he was dressed like a gentleman. He even paid John’s school fees several times. 

The secondary school was a boarding school, as in many other African countries. It was a beautiful time. John lived together with a lot of other boys. They studied, did sports and worked on the farm in order to obtain foodstuffs. But for one reason or another, life became more and more difficult. For several years now they got earlier holidays, sometimes one month, last year two months. There was shortage of food; the rice was consumed. Last year there was a time when they did not have any paper to write on. What was happening?

After John finished the secondary school, he attended the training college in order to become a teacher. Now he was qualified and obtained a job. To teach at primary school, class 4. There were too many pupils so they were divided into two groups: one in the morning, one in the afternoon. They were very eager to learn. John, now teacher John, did his best. He was committed and wanted to achieve something. But after some time there was a strange problem. His salary was no longer sufficient. Prices of foodstuffs rose and his salary remained the same. The money was absolutely insufficient for his upkeep. And each day it became worse. The price of one loaf of bread was his salary for half a day; meat was unpayable and three eggs were the equivalent of his salary for one day. How was he to go on? He also had to add the rent of his small room and other items which were a necessity. The children worked during school hours on the farm and the earnings went... That was clear. John also needed money. He went to school less and less. And his ideals? They have to wait; his first concern was to think of tomorrow, to obtain sufficient food. 

Life became even more troublesome after the military coup. Soldiers were everywhere on the streets. Some people were questioned and went to prison. After weeks or months they returned. They had changed and had become very quiet. Others were not seen since their arrest. Nobody knew where they were. Rumours went through town. Bodies were found on the beaches, sometimes almost naked, with bullet wounds. It was said that they were dumped into the sea by the government. In fact, these bodies were found always after helicopters flew at a low altitude over the sea.

One day his documents were ready so that he could go to Europe. People assisted him and explained to him what he should do and how to behave. Everything else was better than the life he had at present. There was no future here. He had lost all hope for a decent life. But many successful stories were told about people who risked and left. After some time, John, too, walked around in a European town, looking for a status and a living. He had applied for political asylum. One day he received the answer: rejected. He did not qualify; he had come for economic reasons. Still he had to survive. So he bought some forged documents. With this he got a job right and left. Work which was not done by others, because it was too dirty or too dangerous. He was not paid according to what he was doing. With several countrymen, he lived in a miserable room. He survived this way, sent some money home to assist his relatives. But at the same time this situation was killing him, it gnawed at him, with insecurity and the fear of being caught. Now the moment had come. 

Every asylum seeker has his own story. If you sit close to him/her and are prepared to listen, you will understand after some time why he/she had to leave his/her own familiar surroundings. Like John, who ended up in Europe. They look for compassion, a helping hand, a place in which they could feel at home. Often Christian Communities are found by their side. 

Asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants indicate the state of our world. They are its barometer. They point towards the causes of these forms of migration: armed conflicts, political oppression, poverty, the lack of basic needs, degradation of the environment, demographic imbalance, and the inadequacy of people’s participation in decision-making processes. These are the underlying issues which ask for adequate answers.