For refugees and those displaced by violence or war, education is a lifeline that brings stability and creates a better world, writes Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ. Source: Australian Jesuits.
Pope Francis’ Prayer Intention for January is “For the right to an education for migrants, refugees, and those affected by war: We pray that the right to education, which is essential for building a better world, will always be respected.”
In his monthly intentions, Pope Francis usually focuses first on the people for whom he prays and then turns to the issues that concern them.
This way of thinking is essential when we consider the lives of the migrants, refugees and people affected by war, to whom he dedicates this month’s intention.
Because almost by definition they are not our fellow citizens, we are likely to focus on solutions to what we see as their problems without looking at their lives.
Refugees, immigrants and people whose lives have been disrupted by war have lost their homes and the ordinary security of daily life. The adults among them, however, do not commonly focus on themselves or on their own needs but on the future of their children.
They long for education, not simply because it gives their children access to a career, but also because it is critical for their development into reflective, resourceful and wise human beings. They fear that the alternative will be barbarism.
People driven from their home nations, however, often find such an education hard to find. They have few resources, and they often find resistance in the nations to which they come.
To provide education is an act of respect and of generosity.
In Pope Francis’ phrase, it is about building a better world and not restricted to citizens of the host country.
The Pope also describes the role of education as being to welcome, protect, promote and integrate. These goals go deeper than providing people with the skills and tools that will be useful in the economy.
Education invites children into a world larger than the home and allows them to feel welcomed in a world that often rejects them. Education for persons who live with the disadvantages of homelessness or war, too, helps protect children. Schools can be a safe environment in a world of insecurity.
Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ is a consulting editor of Eureka Street, writer at Jesuit Social Services and a life member of the Australasian Catholic Press Association.
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Take refuge in education (Australian Jesuits)
