Attending elementary school in rural Frederick County, Maryland in the early 1960’s, it was a troubling mystery to me why several of my classmates began school later than the first Tuesday after Labor Day in September and vanished only a few short weeks after they arrived. Later, I learned my new friends were the children of migrant workers making their way south to harvest crops in warmer climates. They stopped in my small town to glean the “volunteer” produce crop that grew in the fields surrounding a canning factory that had closed several years earlier. This experience deepens my appreciation for the two dates on December’s Racial Justice Calendar: Human Rights Day on the 10th, and International Migrants Day on December 18.
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International Migrants Day was proclaimed in 2000 by the United Nations for recognition on December 18 each year, the date in 1990 when the International Convention of the Protection of Rights of Migrants Workers and Members of Their Families was adopted by the UN General Assembly. The purpose of International Migrants Day is to provide, “…a special opportunity to shine a spotlight on the invaluable contributions of millions of migrants around the world…” and “… to highlight the increasingly complex environment in which migration occurs.”
The UN Migration Agency (IOM) defines a migrant as any person who is moving or has moved across an international border or within a State away from his/her habitual place of residence, regardless of (1) the person’s legal status; (2) whether the movement is voluntary or involuntary; (3) what the causes for the movement are; or (4) what the length of the stay is. The UN has also determined with extensive evidence that “…safe and well-managed migration holds extraordinary potential. Migrants play critical roles in labor markets, filling skills gaps, driving innovation and entrepreneurship, and addressing demographic challenges in aging societies. Migrants boost economic growth and provide a lifeline to families and communities back home, driving development.”
This year’s theme for International Migrants Day is “Honoring the Contributions of Migrants and Respecting Their Rights.” This theme is especially significant in a climate of fear. Honoring and respecting the contributions and rights of migrants and acknowledging that migrants have lower crime rates than native born persons, will help reduce the terrible burden of fear carried by many migrants today.
At the mid-year mark in 2024, there were 304 million migrants in the world, almost double the number of persons who were migrants in 1990, and the number continues to increase. Of those who are migrants today, approximately 281 million are international migrants, 82.4 million are forcibly displaced people (including 48 million internally displaced, 26.4 million refugees, and 4.1 million asylum seekers), according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “Conflicts, climate-related disasters and economic pressures continue to drive millions of people from their homes in search of safety or simply opportunity.”
Since 2014, nearly 70,000 migrants are known to have died or gone missing during travel, with 2024 having the highest recorded death toll of migrants in transit. Is it possible that we have forgotten little Aylan Kurdi, the three-year old boy who died, with his mother and younger brother, crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in 2015? How is it possible to remember and not long to do all we can to ensure that migration happens safely and is well-managed, through advocacy for migrants and their human rights, and care for those migrants God brings into our lives and communities?
May we see Christ in the face of migrants, learn from their faith and resilience, offer welcome and care and advocacy, and glean from such Christ-like labor a harvest of peace and prosperity for all people.
The Rev. Sue Koenig serves as Director of Racial Justice and Healing for the MCNP and Pastor of First Moravian Church of Easton.
Sources and resources
- https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day
- https://www.un.org/en/observances/migrants-day/background#
- https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/immigrants-and-crime
- https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/top-statistics-global-migration-migrants#
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImRFSEVuds4
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