CHAIRPERSON’S 2013 MIGRANT SUNDAY MESSAGE

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me

Matthew 25:35

For whenever we reach out to those in need, we are reaching out to Jesus himself. Jesus had said that he lives in every one of us. How than can we hate or not love someone when Jesus lives in him/her? These are the words that have inspired me to serve in this special ministry. This ministry is special because, Jesus himself was a migrant. Today, we are placed in a position to decide on whether we want to give him that food, drink, welcome him or just ignore him. In the days of old, our great Saints and preachers of the Gospel traveled across borders to bring the good news of salvation to those who have not heard of Christ. Today, we are spared the need to travel across borders to share the news. We have migrants from all over the globe coming to our land and living among us. This presents a good opportunity for us to share the good news with our migrant brothers and sisters. By this, migrants will be able to see Christ living in us and come to know Him.The migration issues in Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei are to a large extent similar. Among these issues are the non-payments of wages, confiscation of passports, forced labor, physical abuses and human trafficking. The poverty back home is one of the main reasons why migrants leave their homeland in search of a better quality of life. Upon arrival in Malaysia, Singapore or Brunei, a large number of these migrants are caught in a situation worse than in their own countries. They are cheated by agents and even employers while others are abused or even killed. There is no respect for the vulnerable stranger in our land. They are blamed for the increase in crime rate and diseases in our country even though there is no statistical evidence to support such assertions. The fact remains that migrants have contributed so much to the development of our respective countries. Yet they are not appreciated. Instead they are humiliated. For example in West Malaysia, migrants were accused of being paid to vote for the ruling government. The opposition went on a nationwide roadshow accusing migrants of stealing the rights of Malaysians. As a result of this, several busses ferrying migrants were stopped and the migrants on these busses were abused verbally and physically by Malaysian. Videos of these incidences were uploaded online. Unfortunately, none of these accusations were backed with evidence. Trafficking issues continues to be of great concern for Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei. While Singapore and Brunei is listed under tier 2 of the US State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, Malaysia continues to be listed under tier 2 watch list in the 2013 report for the fourth consecutive year. This showed there are serious issues of exploitation happening in these three countries. A Tier 2 ranking refers to countries which do not fully comply with the minimum standards set by the US’ Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), but are making “significant” efforts to do so. However, countries on the ‘Tier 2 Watch List’ constitutes countries with an increasing number of human trafficking victims, or failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, or pledges to take additional steps over the next year. Countries are ranked from tier one (best), to three (worse). Countries that fall in the ‘Tier 3’ list may be subjected to sanctions by the US. Among those in the ‘Tier 3’ list are Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Russia, China, Libya, Syria and North Korea. Sadly, Sex trafficking exist in all these three countries.The problem in Myanmar concerning ethnic minorities is also worsening. Villages are burned to the ground, children and women are being massacre. As a result, there are more boats arriving in Malaysia and neighboring countries. These refugees have no choice but to flee their homeland to seek protection. The journey to a neighboring country by boat is fraught dangerous. Hundreds of refugees board boats and travel for sometimes more than two weeks without proper food and water. Some of these boats capsize during the journey, and all on board drown, including women and children. There has been a sharp increase in boat accidents recently. All the above problems only confirms that the situation is getting worse and that we are running out of time. There is a serious need for the Church to respond to these situations efficiently and provide whatever assistance that is needed, and to share the love of Christ with these migrants. This is why the EMI has in the past year extensively advocated for capacity building so that more people are made aware of the issues and respond to it. It is now your time to decide. It is our responsibility as Catholics to provide the assistance and help to make our respective countries a welcoming and loving one for migrants. I would like to challenge you to take up the call to provide whatever assistance you can to the migrants in your midst. If you are an employer, are you being just to your worker in the same way Jesus is just towards you?If you are not an employer, are you responding in the way Jesus has instructed us to respond to those in need?This year the Migrant Sunday theme is: Migrations: Pilgrimage of Faith and Hope. Can you help instill that hope in them?

K.Sudhagaran Stanley

ChairpersonEpiscopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants (EMI)Bishops’ Conference of Malaysia, Singapore Brunei