Inspired by the theme “Strengthening the Infrastructure of Care and Architecture of Protection,” the 10th International Consultation of the Churches Witnessing With Migrants (CWWM) held from 14 to 17 November 2019 in Quito, Ecuador brought together 59 participants from 25 countries1 and assembled 50 entities that form part of its tripartite order. They hail from major international faith-based groups, migrant serving institutions and grassroots migrant organizations. Sister Leda Reis of the Scalabrinian Mission and the Red Clamor2 welcomed the plenary with warm reception and placed a spotlight on migrant ministry as one of the significant tasks in “building the city of God and Man.” Mervin Toquero from the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) imparted a short summary of CWWM’s history and the objectives of the 4-day gathering.
In the afternoon, Rev. Dr. Liberato “Levi” Bautista of the United Methodist Church’s General Board of Church and Society presented the assertions, advocacies and directions of CWWM under the setting of human mobility and forced migration. Meanwhile, Rev. Dr. Lester Ruiz (Association of Theological Schools in the US and Canada) expounded on the moral and ethical imperatives of sustainable human mobility where plurality of faith and convictions are viable elements in transforming the world. Afterwhich, CWWM’s tripartite groups and global regions convened caucuses to discuss advocacies and involvements.
On Friday morning, 15 November, a high-level interfaith event with leaders of religious bodies and institutions was held at a local Evangelical Lutheran Church in Quito. The global interfaith3 leaders and representatives offered statements on the contemporary state of global migration.
Aside from major Christian formations like the World Council of Churches, World Communion of Reformed Churches, World Evangelical Alliance, World Methodist Council and the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa, the interfaith character of the event became preeminent with the presence of other major faith representations from the Religions for Peace, Islamic Nadhlatul Ulama of Indonesia4, and the Global Interfaith WASH Alliance represented by the spiritual head of the Arya Samaj South Africa.5
In the interfaith platform, the religious leaders asserted and insisted on providing spaces and upholding the voices of migrants, refugees, and other displaced peoples of the world. They affirmed human mobility as fundamentally good, inherent in the humanity of every person, and is a protected human right. Glorene Dass of Malaysia-based migrants advocacy group Tenaganita concluded the morning session with these words, “Ask me not what’s my religion, race or creed, just take me in my hour of need.”6
From mid-afternoon onwards, the International Migrants Alliance (IMA) led an international panel that highlighted narratives of forced migration, exploitation, and resistance.7 Joanna Concepcion, chairperson of Migrante International related the plight of Filipino migrants including children deportees from Israel who fear the impoverishment that awaits them in the Philippines. IMA Vice Chairperson Antonio Arizaga said, “We are not asking for charity nor for compassion. We want our rights to be respected and our human dignity upheld.” Echoing IMA’s tagline, Aaron Ceradoy of the Asia Pacific Mission for Migrants (APMM) said, “For a long time, people have spoken on our behalf. Now, we as migrants speak for ourselves.”
Responding to the migrant narratives, Rev. Ray Schellinger of the International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) pointed to the themes which resonated during the testimonies of grassroots migrants. He decried how the humanity of migrants is not recognized. Likewise, Schellinger pointed out to a systemic challenge that has led to the dehumanization and criminalization of migrants.8
“Global capitalism has created a reality in which people are treated as commodities to be exploited by those who hold capital. If we are to come alongside migrants, if we are to build ministries of service, rescue and welcome, we must also come to terms with the economic and structural realities which drive migration, and which must be addressed if we are to have an impact on the lives of those we are called to protect,” Ray Schellinger added.
On the third day of the consultation, the plenary heard reports from CWWM Africa, the Interfaith Network for the Rights of Migrants (INFORM-Asia Pacific), the Methodist Church of Mexico, and CWWM Philippines. “We may not have much but we are committed, organized, and looking forward to more partnerships” Dr. Hellen Akwii- Wangusa stated after presenting the phenomenal founding of CWWM Africa two years ago.
Mr. Nar Brian Reyes introduced CompassPH, a rapidly developing companion app for safeguarding global migrants in places where they are located. The plenary then divided into smaller groups for the workshop on the “Infrastructure of Care and Architecture of Protection.” Thereafter, the consultation was led by Aaron Ceradoy of APMM in focusing on developments and challenges surrounding the monitoring of the Global Compact on Migration (GCM). A workshop was dedicated to identifying what aspects of the GCM to monitor.
On 17 November, the day began with a hymn about the journey of migrants and refugees with God towards the promised land of safety and security. The 10th International Consultation Plenary extended its solidarity greetings to the Ecuadorian groups of migrants and refugees for their successful assembly convened on the 16th of November. In the plenary session, the Rev. Dr. Levi Bautista of GBCS revisited the orientation and structure of CWWM for its renewal and revision as it emerges into a more vibrant multifaith network witnessing with migrants. The consultation reaffirmed the responsibilities of CWWM’s Coordination Team and its relation to the International Steering Committee.
The Consultation formed three working groups for the following scopes: Multilateral Engagement, Infrastructure of Care and Architecture of Protection, and Interfaith Engagement on Migration Justice.
This consultation was originally scheduled to be held in Quito back-to-back with GFMD12 in solidarity with migrants and refugees in the region and in support of the Ecuadorian presidency of the Global Forum on Migration and Development. While GFMD has been rescheduled for January 2020, the statements from religious bodies and institutions will be submitted to the GFMD president when in meets in Quito in January of 2020.
With resounding faith and solidarity, participants of the 10th International Consultation of CWWM derived inspiration from the pastoral response pronounced by Rev. Ray Shellinger of International Ministries to the grassroots migrants. He said, “we are called to begin the work of bringing God’s people home, or perhaps, bringing home to God’s people. This is what you are doing! And we give thanks for every effort that you make on behalf of those stranded so far from home.”
On a related matter, consultation participants expressed solidarity with the NCCP, which along with Migrante International, serve as the secretariat of CWWM. The NCCP has been recently vilified by the Philippine government for its progressive ministry on peace, human rights and migration justice. For its Christian ministry, the Council was wrongly included in the list of “front organizations of local communist terrorist groups” by the Department of National Defense (DND). Expressions of support from representatives of faith-based communities poured in for the Philippine ecumenical body.
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1 Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland, Uganda, Uruguay, and USA.
2 Red Clamor is a network of faith-based NGOs working on migration which includes the Scalabrinian Mission, the Jesuit Refugee Service and Caritas Ecuador.
3 Appendix A: Program and List of Speakers for “The Moral and Ethical Imperatives of Sustainable Human Mobility Interfaith Statements on the State of Global Migration Today in Light of the Talking & Doing Points of the Churches Witnessing With Migrants”
4 Appendix B: Sustainable Human Mobility: Moral and Ethical Islamic Guide by KH. Marzuki Wahid, Secretary of the Institute for Research and Development of Human Resources
The National Board of Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia
5 Appendix C: “A Response to the Moral and Ethical Imperatives of Sustainable Human Mobility Vedic” by Sannyasa Mandal Swami Vedanand Saraswati.
6 Appendix D: Closing Remarks by Glorene Das, International Migrants Alliance, Tenaganita-Malaysia
7 Appendix E: Program and List of Speakers for “International Panel on Narratives of Forced Migration, Exploitation and Resistance”
8 Appendix F: Responding to the Migrants’ Narratives at the 10th CWWM International Consultation by Ray Schellinger