WATER
The month of June holds several significant dates to motivate “care for our common home” – including World Environment Day (June 5), World Oceans Day (June 8), UN World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (June 17), and the anniversary of Laudato Si’ (June 18). This month provides an opportunity to grow in reverence and respect for the gift of the Earth, and to become ever more mindful of our place in creation. Please pray this prayer by Water Committee member, Eileen Denny, SSND, and click here for the SSND Solidarity Reflection for the Month of June.
IMMIGRATION
Please click here to watch Justice for Immigrants webinar on the UN Global Compacts on Migration and the Vatican’s 20 Points on Migration, and remember to participate in the SSND advocacy campaign, urging the U.S. government to Pass Solution for Dreamers
TRAFFICKING
Please read these recent updates from the UN’s Refugee Brief:
Dozens of refugees and migrants wounded while escaping captivity in Libya. Over 100 East African refugees and migrants being held by human traffickers in the Bani Walid region in northwestern Libya were reportedly shot at while escaping a clandestine prison last week. Médecins Sans Frontières said it had treated 25 injured people, some with severe gunshot wounds and multiple fractures. Survivors told MSF staff that at least 15 people had been killed and that up to 40 others, mostly women, were left behind. They said human traffickers held them and sold them multiple times around Bani Walid and the nearby town of Nesma, and some reported being held for up to three years. The majority of the survivors are unaccompanied minors, and Reuters reported that many were hoping to apply for asylum in Europe. “Kidnapping for ransom remains a thriving business,” MSF said.
Child refugees go missing in UK after being trafficked from France. More than 120 child refugees believed to have been trafficked to the UK from northern France have gone missing, according to a report by the Child Trafficking Advice Centre (Ctac), a charity. Ctac works with the Refugee Youth Service, a Calais-based charity, to locate and safeguard children trafficked to the UK from France, but so far only 68 have been located, while 128 are still missing . The report alleges that some of the children are sexually abused, forced to take drugs and subjected to violence by their adult smugglers or traffickers.
Please pray for all refugees, who are especially vulnerable to trafficking, and click the links below to urge your government to welcome more refugees!
United States:
Raise Quota of Syrian Refugees
Welcome More Refugees
Canada:
Increase Levels of Refugees
HATI
Please click here to read about the successes of Haiti’s “Change Caravan” initiative, which “facilitates closely coordinated efforts between the Ministries of Agriculture, Environment, Health, Finance and others, [allowing] the government to address the fundamental needs of the Haitian people in a much more effective and efficient manner. … The initiative represents a bold new approach to Haiti's long-time lack of adequate infrastructure and other necessities which have prevented meaningful development in the country.”
