The other, the real cause of death
Today, June 20, 2024, World Refugee Day, we would like to make an appeal to the whole community. What makes us people? What characteristics must an individual have in order to be considered a human being, a being equal to us? Is it perhaps the country of origin, the color of the skin, the language or the possession of a plastic card certifying legal residence in the country?
When an individual does not meet these criteria, "our" criteria, then he or she immediately becomes an outcast, a person who does not deserve the same rights as we do, but above all is not worthy of our humanity. Today the John Paul II Foundation intends to speak out on those who are considered as objects. Objects of rejection, of hatred, of contempt but also objects of work as tools to be exploited. All to gain support from the society that fears them so much but cannot do without them.
Today we talk about the "laborer" who died in a work accident, but is that accident really the cause of his death? We believe not. The real cause of Satnam Singh's death is inhumanity, indifference and the incessant need to establish a difference between us and the other.
The "laborer" who, in the midst of this terrible tragedy, has a face and a name (the photo of his passport circulating on the internet) is in danger of becoming just another number in an unreliable statistic. If we as a society do not begin to take action to dignify migrants, Satnam will be just one more among the many we will never know were among us, of whom no trace will remain.
In the shelters run by the John Paul II Foundation, we seek to recognize and restore dignity to people who have too often been brutally taken away, and we do this not out of a vague feeling of goodness but in response to the fundamental principle of justice. Above all, we seek to build a community that accepts diversity even when it is difficult to understand.
We strongly condemn this tragedy and categorically reject any form of exploitation and dehumanization of migrants. We express our deepest solidarity with the family of this young man and all families suffering uncertainty for their missing loved ones. It is time to transform indignation into concrete actions to ensure dignity, respect and human rights for all, with or without a residence permit.
We must no longer be indifferent to these tragedies and begin to deal with these issues not as political slogans, but with the search for solutions to complex problems that must be dealt with great care and without looking for easy solutions.