“Being an Open Door”: How Hospitality Transformed Ali Jamshidifar’s Life and Art

During the Regional Coordination Meeting that took place in Brussels in October 2025, Alberto Ares Mateos presented his book, “Ser Puerta Abierta: La hospitalidad en el corazón de la espiritualidad” (Being an Open Door: Hospitality at the Heart of Spirituality), an urgent invitation to rediscover and practice hospitality in a time marked by fear and fragmentation. Its authors—Alberto Ares, Jennifer Gómez, and María del Carmen de la Fuente—propose recovering this ancient virtue as an attitude capable of transforming lives, communities, and entire societies.

Hospitality, as one of the cornerstones of JRS Europe’s mission, breathes life into every page of this book. Within its chapters echo the voices of migrants and refugees—their journeys, their traditions, their unique perspectives on existence. These are the stories that fill this volume. Across Europe, our communities of hospitality flourish in countless offices, standing as beacons of hope in our richly diverse societies.

The lives of migrants and refugees have not only nourished the pages of this book but also its cover. The book’s cover features a drawing by the Iranian-origin artist, Ali Jamshidifar.

Who is Ali Jamshidifar? 

How does hospitality shape the story of his life? Ali Jamshidifar, also known as JAM, is a cartoonist of Iranian origin whose life embodies the transformative power of hospitality. A refugee in France since 2015, he regularly collaborates with JRS.

His journey to France was marked by profound hardship. After graduating from the Tehran University of Fine Arts and building a successful career as a political cartoonist, artistic director at Iran’s largest publishing house, and professor of visual arts, Ali was forced to flee his homeland in 2014 due to his activism and critical work. What followed were some of the darkest days of his life—living on the streets of Paris, unable to speak French, cut off from his art, and separated from everything he had built.

It was during this period of vulnerability that Ali encountered the true meaning of hospitality. JRS France became a turning point in his life. Through the organization’s Welcome program—a network of families and religious communities that provide temporary accommodation to asylum seekers—Ali found not just shelter, but dignity, connection, and hope. He was welcomed into French homes where volunteers opened their doors without distinction of nationality, ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation, offering him a safe space to rest, learn French, and begin to rebuild his life.

“For me, finding JRS France was like a miracle,” Ali shared in his testimony. “Through JRS I realized that there were other people in a similar situation and that I was not alone. In JRS I feel like I can begin a new life, through the Welcome Project each family and each person is a new chance to better understand life and culture in France”.

This experience of being welcomed—of finding “open doors” when he most needed them—profoundly shaped Ali’s perspective. After obtaining refugee status and French citizenship, he reconnected with his art and discovered a new purpose. The hospitality he received transformed him from a man living on the streets into an engaged member of French society, able once again to use his talent to serve others.

Today, Ali embodies the principle of “being an open door” for others. He contributes monthly cartoons to JRS France, illustrating current events affecting refugees and migrants, using his artistic talent to raise public awareness about the challenges faced by people in exile. His drawings have appeared in several French daily newspapers and international publications, and he has become a powerful voice for displaced people.

Beyond his artistic contributions, Ali serves as a member of JRS France’s Board of Directors, helping to shape the organization’s strategic direction and policies. He also facilitates workshops for JRS France, Emmaüs, and Cartooning for Peace, working with young people in secondary schools, prisons, and community centers. In these workshops, he shares his experiences as a refugee, discusses freedom of expression, and helps young French people—especially those from Muslim backgrounds—explore questions about interculturality, identity, and migration.

Ali’s commitment extends beyond JRS France to the broader refugee community. He actively participates in events and conferences focused on refugee integration, using his art to document and advocate for better reception conditions. His presence at events like the Agora, organized by France’s Inter-ministerial Delegation for the Reception and Integration of Refugees, demonstrates his ongoing engagement.

JRS Europe’s hospitality work has accompanied hundreds of thousands of migrants and refugees for decades. Our hospitality communities are present from Spain and Portugal to Ukraine, from the UK to Greece, passing through the Balkans, Romania, Poland, Austria, Germany, Belgium and France itself. Programmes such as the ‘Welcome’ project in France and the Hospitality programme in Spain are two examples of initiatives with extensive experience over recent decades.

Ali’s journey from the streets of Paris to his current role as an artist, board member, and workshop facilitator demonstrates how hospitality creates a ripple effect. When we open our doors to those in need, we don’t just provide temporary shelter—we offer the possibility of transformation, dignity, and renewed purpose. Ali received this gift from JRS France and its network of volunteers, and he has spent the years since paying it forward, using his art and his voice to open doors for others.

His cover illustration for “Ser Puerta Abierta” serves as a visual testament to this philosophy—a reminder that hospitality is not just about providing physical space, but about creating conditions where human dignity can flourish and where people can discover their capacity to become “open doors” for others. In Ali’s words and in his art, we see the truth at the heart of JRS Europe’s mission: hospitality has the power to transform not just individual lives, but entire communities and societies.