ICMC 'mayday' in response to tragedies suffered by boat people

A “loud” Mayday is being sounded by the International Catholic Migration Commission in response to seven days filled with tragedies suffered by boat people off the coasts of Africa, Asia and the Americas.

The Commission is calling on governments, international institutions, civil society organisations and the media to respond with urgency and humanity to the plight of the men, women and children in these crossings.

Reports, the commission said, offered a glimpse of misery on sea crossings with men, women and children falling victim to violence and trauma on land crossings as well as across deserts, in trucks and on trains.

They depicted how often the misery continued after these voyages for those who survived, were arrested and detained.

The commission said that what the reports did not describe was the horror that universally preceded the desperate journeys

For the large number of refugees, this suffering came only after already fleeing persecution or death in their own country.

And whether they were refugees or migrants moving for other reasons, for almost all in these crossings, whether from Africa or in Asia and the Americas, what happened on the high seas and in detention only followed a trail of repeated extortion and brutalisation endured along the way to the crossing, again and again, even before stepping onto the boats.

A commission of Catholic bishops worldwide, the ICMC is working with the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organisation for Migration, Red Cross-Red Crescent societies, and a network of Church organisations and non-government partners to establish humanitarian standards of protection and assistance for migrants and refugees suffering violence and trauma on these crossings.

ICMC applauded the recent commitment of the Council of Europe to develop specific regional guidance for the consistent provision of first aid, recovery and referral services to all who need it after crossing the seas to Europe.

It emphasised the call of Catholic bishops to focus not only on addressing the urgent needs and rights of migrants and refugees after they arrived, but on protecting their rights and dignity along the way and even before the journey began.