My Summer Experience with JRS Europe

Less than a week after I celebrated my first Mass as a newly ordained Jesuit priest at San Quentin State Prison, in California, I was off to Belgium to work with JRS Europe. Part of my priestly formation brought me to JRS Malta and Romania to accompany refugees and learn about the complexities of international migration and humanitarian issues that profoundly affect global, national, and local economic, political, social, and cultural issues. Therefore, when the opportunity to join JRS Europe this summer materialized, as part of their projects team, it was an easy “Yes.” 

The JRS Europe team is international with members from Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Venezuela. During my first week, they went out of their way to give me a comprehensive orientation, ranging from projects, advocacy and communications, detention, fundraising, to collaboration with other JRS country offices in Europe. I learned about their good and important work in different areas. For example, the four priorities of “access to protection, ending detention, social integration and inclusion, and raising awareness.” I also had the opportunity to know granularly their featured programmes such as “Change” to bridge the gap between society and refugees, and the “One Proposal” to support the ongoing migration crisis in Ukraine. 

From the second to the fourth week, I collaborated with the team on two separate projects. First, being part of a consortium with JRS Europe country offices and other organization partners in submitting a funding proposal to the EU to fight human trafficking primarily within the refugee and migrant population. Second, with the Change project database determining survey insights from hundreds of participating students in Europe. During this time, I also learned more about migration issues that impact the daily lives of refugees during our multi-stakeholder meetings, was introduced to the JRS Strategic Framework roadmap, and participated in a project call on digitalization by the EU, among others. All of these enriched my summer experience as I start my MA in International Migration and Refugee studies at Georgetown University in August. 

I consider myself honored to have worked with a highly exceptional, kind, and dedicated team and am grateful to JRS Europe for this opportunity. As a result, my commitment to continue serving refugees through JRS is now “full, complete, and settled.” I look forward to joining JRS Europe again next summer and, in the long term, after Georgetown. 

¡Adelante! 

Fr. Raymond Anthony Parcon, SJ