Solidarity with people held in detention

Brussels, 22 January 2020 – Last weekend several entities of the network of our JRS partner in Spain, Servicio Jesuita a Migrantes (SJM), celebrated prayer vigils to denounce the existence of detention centres (CIE – Centros de Internamiento de Extranjeros) and to give visibility to the situation of migrants held in detention.

Seville, Madrid and Barcelona hosted these events of denounce, awareness and solidarity, in which Asociacion Claver, Pueblos Unidos and Fundació Migra Studium actively participated.

In Seville, around 70 people celebrated a “Silence Circle” in tribute to the migrants detained in those centres. Participants read real testimonies of detainees, and how it has affected their lives. 

In Madrid around 140 people met close to the CIE for a moment of reflection and prayer under the slogan “More Hospitality, Less Hostility”. Some former detainees joined Catholic organizations working to promote the rights of migrants. 

45 organizations and 250 people met in the detention centre of the city of Barcelona to celebrate the vigil “You are not alone, stop hostility”. During the event, participants read sacred readings from Christianity, Judaism and Islam that invite to reject hostility against migrants, and testimonies of people that have fostered hospitality through hosting refugees and migrants at their homes.

Three vigils in three cities with the same aim, the closure of the CIEs. 

More Hospitality, Less Hostility