International Migrants Day – Hospitality from Day One

On International Migrants Day, we are reminded of the courage of people on the move — and of Europe’s responsibility to ensure that every person seeking protection is welcomed with dignity.

During a recent Detention Visitors Support Group training in Dublin, JRS Europe visited Balseskin Reception Centre, where newly arrived and often vulnerable asylum seekers take their first steps into the Irish protection system. At Balseskin, JRS Ireland coordinates the Fáilte Project, offering early orientation, essential information, and support for health and wellbeing in the crucial first days after arrival.

Despite available reception capacity, structural gaps in the wider system continue to leave some people — particularly single men — without access to accommodation. This exposes them to prolonged homelessness or precarious living conditions and undermines their safety and dignity from the very beginning of their journey.

Experiences like Balseskin demonstrate what reception can offer when it is properly supported: clarity, accompaniment, and care. They also show how fragile these first moments can be when reception systems fall short — and how deeply outcomes depend on political choices and concrete implementation.

As Mariza Koronioti, Policy and Advocacy Coordinator at JRS Europe, states:
“Integration starts from day one. EU Member States have both a legal and moral responsibility to ensure proper reception and accommodation for people seeking protection. As the Pact on Migration and Asylum moves towards implementation, there is still time to prioritise small-scale, dignified reception systems that safeguard human dignity, privacy, and autonomy.”

On this International Migrants Day, JRS Europe reiterates its call for reception systems rooted in hospitality, where people are not merely received, but genuinely welcomed.

👉 Read our position paper on Hospitality-Driven Reception:
https://jrseurope.org/en/resource/hospitality-driven-reception/