A mother for Asia’s forgotten migrants

“Millions of people live in substandard living conditions without human dignity with the violations of their basic rights. Asian countries have both incoming and outgoing migrants. The original people of our continent, the Indigenous people are exploited in every way. As a responsible mother, the Church plays a vital role in responding to their cry”, says Fr. Nichiy Sagayam, OFM Cap. executive secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conference’ Office for Human Development.

The FABC held a special workshop on the Church’s Response to the Issues of Migrants and Indigenous Peoples in the light of Catholic Social Teaching with special reference to
Caritas in Veritate from 26^th to 29^th July, 2011, at the Redemptorist Centre, Pattaya, Thailand. The main focus of the workshop was “the Church’s response to the struggles of migrants and indigenous peoples in the light of the Catholic social teachings”.

Over half the world's population lives in the Asia-Pacific region and Asia alone hosts around 53 million out of the world's 191 million migrants. Speaking to Emer McCarthy, Fr Nithiya points out “More than half of the Christians in Asia is of the indigenous peoples; the majority of them are from the rural areas that are filled with poverty and deprivation leading them to migrate into towns and to other countries for job and survival. The migrants are easily exploited, less paid, trafficked and marginalised. Their rights and dignity are neither upheld nor protected”.

The Church in Asia has drawn up a list of proposals at global, national, diocesan and parish levels. One these is to create a support network between parishes so that migrants from one country to the next – or even from the country to the city – have a contact base. In this way they can become informed of the living and working realities in their host countries, their rights and obligations under law, or even more simply, have a friendly face and word of comfort and encouragement. Listen to full interview: