MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES
Father Lluís Magriñá SJ has just finished (31st October 2007) his period as International Director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS). This is an interview with him (3rd March 2008) in order to find out why migrants and refugees are a priority for the Society of Jesus (Jesuits).

“The first inspiration came from Father Arrupe,” Fr Magriñá said, “after he witnessed the drama of the Vietnamese Boat People in 1979.” The then Father General launched the idea that the Society should work with refugees, conscious of the growing global dimensions of the problem. Today, the term “migrants” is used because the phenomenon is much wider and more complicated, given the many reasons which force millions of people to leave their homes in search of living a better life. “The Society is conscious of the vital necessity that these people have of being welcomed and accompanied, of receiving training and counseling, as well as of the suitability of our structures to respond to these types of needs.”

Luis Magriñá, JRS international director from 2000 to 2007.

Fr Arrupe was convinced that working with refugees would bring enormous spiritual benefits to the Society. Fr Magriñá confirms that “we Jesuits have learned much from this experience,” referring to the way we can be present to these people in the way that has been formulated as the JRS mission: “to accompany, serve, and defend the human rights and the cause of the refugees”. Being with them, walking with them, are some of the characteristics of the work of the Society in this area. “The fact that JRS is present here,” a refugee told Fr Magriñá, “means that the world has not forgotten us.” And it is not only a question of being with them, Fr Magriñá continues, “but also to work for definitive solutions, structural processes, defending their rights at the national and international levels, for that is also part of the Society’s mission”.

The work out in the field teaches us that the wounds of the heart are not cured in a few days, but takes much more time. “The refugees have taught me personally a lot about the ability to continue to struggle against all odds,” Fr Magriñá said, “but especially about deep reconciliation and forgiveness which is born in one’s heart.” This is the place where the good news of the Gospel and the witness of hope of the person who lives and works with the refugees can do so much good.

In addition to the work that is traditionally done by NGOs, the Society, according to Fr Magriñá, offers “a connatural way of working in a team and a plural analysis from the perspective of an institution which is present in more than 127 countries”. This global vision is complemented by working with the local Church and the Jesuit apostolates on the ground which allows the establishment of roots and a profound sensibility which could not have been obtained any other way. Still another specific contribution is the experience in education based on the nearly 500 years of accumulated Jesuit practice. But Fr Magriñá ends the interview by insisting that the peculiar characteristic of the Jesuit Refugee Service is “to accompany and to be with the people, and that means much more than simply offering them services”.

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