ROME — The head of the Vatican delegation to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said Wednesday migrants do not leave their countries “out of free choice” but are compelled to do so.
At a FAO conference in Rome on the topic of “Migration, Agriculture and Rural Development,” Monsignor Fernando Chica Arellano said that migrants “are not figures or mere statistics, but rather people afflicted by pain and bitterness.”
“They are human beings like us, but who find themselves compelled to abandon their countries and their homes to flee from poverty, conflicts, persecution, and the harmful effects of climate change and natural disasters,” Msgr. Arellano said.
“They leave not out of free choice, but rather they are moved by discouragement and desperation, often dictated by the impossibility of obtaining that daily bread that is an integral part of the fundamental right to life,” he added.
The monsignor said that it is essential to promote development in poorer countries so that their citizens do not experience the need to emigrate, while stressing that it would be an “error” to think about development “simply as a useful tool to reduce migration,” when “in reality it is an undeniable right of every human being.”
He also insisted that immigrants provide a valuable contribution to their host countries, echoing Pope Francis’ views on the question.
Immigrants employed in the agri-food sector of many developed countries “play a crucial role in the business value chain,” the Vatican representative asserted.
“In this context, the frequent and very numerous testimonies of immigrants victims of illegal hiring who are not guaranteed the most basic and fundamental rights, and who forced to accept inhuman working conditions that offend their dignity, are troubling,” he said.
Pope Francis has endeavored to counter a negative narrative on mass migration, especially in countries that have been on the receiving end of immigration, calling for a shift in priorities and mentality.
In a 2018 message to a conference on international migration, Francis said that “a change in mindset” was needed to challenge prevailing views toward migration.
“We must move from considering others as threats to our comfort to valuing them as persons whose life experience and values can contribute greatly to the enrichment of our society,” the pontiff said.
“For this to happen, our basic approach must be to encounter the other, to welcome, to know and to acknowledge him or her,” he said.
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