New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 8

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Engagement With

Migrants, Refugees,
and Asylum Seekers
in Europe
by Nicodemus Doe

Carefully watched by police, refugees and
migrants wait to walk through the Hungarian
town of Hegyeshalom on their way to the border
where they will cross into Austria. Hundreds
of thousands of refugees and migrants flowed
through Hungary in 2015 on their way from Syria,
Iraq, and other countries to western Europe.
PHOTO: PAUL JEFFREY

The Churches' Commission for
Migrants in Europe (CCME) is
an ecumenical organization
that serves the churches in their
commitment to promote the
vision of an inclusive community
through advocating for an
adequate policy for migrants,
refugees, and minority groups
at European and national levels.
In the fulfilment of this mandate,
it is responding to the message
of the Bible, which insists on the
dignity of every human being,
and to the understanding of
unity as devoid of any distinction
between strangers and natives.
MISSION STATEMENT, CCME, FOUNDED IN 1964

s a Global Mission Fellow with Global Ministries, I was delighted
to embark on two years of mission service in Belgium. The experience is enriching my faith and exposing me to different cultures,
faiths, and people and the challenges some of our brothers, sisters, and children face in the context of migration. I am a Safe Passage Project
Assistant, doing my part along with partners to witness and accompany the
migrant population by advocating with and for theirs rights. The Safe Passage
project is holistic in mission as a response to Europe's unprecedented influx
of migrants-and the associated tragedies that have claimed the lives of thousands of men, women, and children.
Safe Passage is a project of the Churches' Commission for Migrants in
Europe (CCME) to respond to the ongoing migration and refugee crisis in the
Mediterranean. Thousands have lost their lives in search of protection and security in the past years. The project connects local work in border monitoring
with political advocacy for a humane asylum and migration policy.
The work of CCME addresses refugee protection, labor migration, human
trafficking, unity in diversity, inclusive communities, migration, and development. CCME actively monitors and speaks out against any form of expulsion,
detention, or removal of migrants and asylum seekers (women, men, and children) that would violate such a person's rights. As one of its mandates, CCME
is committed to promoting awareness-raising on issues of racism and xenophobia within churches and in society; it monitors the situation of migrants,
refugees, and minority ethnic people at local, national, and international levels.

Safe Passage Project

For CCME to realize Safe Passage in practice, we must call on European governments and institutions, such as the European Commission, parliaments,
and the Council of Europe, to implement the following modes of Safe Passage.
Maintaining civilian search and rescue operation at sea-This helps save
the lives of migrants and asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe on unworthy sea boats.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open