Cammarata (Italy). On 20 June 2025, is World Refugee Day, an annual event organized by the United Nations to recognize the strength, courage, and determination of millions of people forced to flee the world because of war, violence, persecution, and human rights violations.
According to the data of the Global Trends Report 2024 of the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, there are 120 million (as of May 2024) people forced to flee. The number is growing for the 12th consecutive year and reflects both new conflicts and the inability to resolve long-standing crises.
The report also identifies the climate crisis as an increasing source of people fleeing, contributing to new, continuous, and prolonged exoduses. At the end of 2023, three-quarters of those forced to flee were living in Countries with high or extreme exposure to climate risks.
Every year, on the occasion of the World Day, Mary Help of Christians Housing Community – Longo of Cammarata, in the province of Agrigento, of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Mother Maddalena Morano Province (ISI), writes the magazine, “Ambe Bekele”, telling the stories of the life of the Community, that welcomes unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA) from 14 to 18 years of age, and talking about immigration in general.
We are equal is this year’s theme, introduced by Sister Nella Cutrali, Community Animator. “We are all equal on our journey for life. Roads can be different, departures far, loads unequal. But the deepest desires – dignity, love, possibility – make us similar. And when you meet along the way, it does not matter where you come from, but where you want to go together. (…) As educators – Don Bosco would say – we are called to ‘walk with our feet on the ground and our hearts abandoned to God’, knowing that every gesture of care, even the smallest, can kindle hope.”
In addition to initiatives, curiosities, recipes and more, the magazine contains stories and personal journeys of those who live or have passed through the Community, even those who are no longer there, to help – explains the ISI Provincial, Sister Angela Maria Maccioni, “to reflect on the situation of refugees in the world, the causes that force them to leave their Country, and the challenges they face in the integration process.
Knowing and discovering personal stories and points of view otherwise unknown or approached superficially in social media ‘disarm hearts’ making us see the refugees from a different perspective, with their own history and human and spiritual evolution, a person like each of us, on the road, for a better quality of life.
It is quite surprising, at the end of the autobiographical stories, that those who listen rediscover part of the same humanity and as a benefactor feel benefited humanly and spiritually. Life is a surprise if we let ourselves be surprised by the very source of Life!”
UNHCR has launched the fundraising and awareness campaign #TorniamoASentire, an emblematic slogan that calls for listening and empathy towards those who are forced to flee.
The Day – as the Press release reports – is an opportunity to recognize refugees as valuable resources for host communities, to defend their right to seek safety and protection, and to promote the economic and social inclusion of those seeking a new beginning. With the right support, refugees can contribute significantly to innovation, economic development, and building more inclusive societies.
