AMERICA/BRAZIL - Solidarity Network for Migrants and Refugees: "we do not ask for privileges but specific policies"

Tuesday, 13 December 2016 refugees migrants politics

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Brasilia (Agenzia Fides) - The XII National Meeting of the Solidarity Network for Migrants and Refugees (RedeMir) took place at the Cultural Center of Brasilia (CCB). The event (from December 5 to 7) was promoted by Migration and human rights institute (IMDH), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Commission for the Pastoral Care of Human Mobility of the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB).
Managed by IMDH, RedeMir has twelve years of activity and now has about 60 realities throughout Brazil. The Network enhances the exchange of practices and information, trying to promote mutual support between the realities, communication, training of members, and other aspects that are of benefit to migrants, refugees and displaced persons.
Every year there is a national meeting in Brasilia. According to the organizers, the debate of the participating groups and the exchange of experiences "becomes more and more important every year", especially with the increased flow of migrants towards Brazil who are people fleeing from armed conflict, from violence, from persecution, as was the case of Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Iraq and Venezuela.
For the director of IMDH, Sister Rosita Milesi, this year's meeting wanted to explore some issues related to migration and refugees, promoting the strengthening of ties among participants. "We must work for the implementation of policies and progress in what concerns the assistance and integration of migrants and refugees in our country, not to invoke privileges for refugees and immigrants, but to support specific policies for this category of population", says the nun in the statement sent to Fides.
According to data from SICREMI (Continuous Reporting System on International Migration in the Americas), Brazil in 2013 received 128,000 immigrants. Although it is one of the countries with the lowest percentage of emigrants (referenced to the total population), it received 5,000 asylum requests (always in 2013) from Bangladesh, Senegal and Lebanon; while the 5,196 requests of refugee are from Colombia, Angola, Syria, Liberia, Iraq and Palestine. In the same period, Brazil regularized 5,651 Haitians for humanitarian reasons. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 13/12/2016)