Cammarata (Agrigento). “Humanity at the center of society” is the theme on which the annual magazine “Ambe Bekele” focuses, drawn up on the occasion of World Refugee Day, celebrated on 20 June 2023, by Mary Help of Christians Accommodation Community – Longo in the province of Agrigento, of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians of Mother Magdalene Morano Province (ISI).
The small magazine contains articles that talk about life in the community that welcomes unaccompanied foreign minors (MSNA) aged 14 to 18, and immigration in general. Sr. Nella Cutrali, Animator of the Community, in her article, contextualizes the expression “humanity is at the center of our society”, understood as respect in welcoming and valuing the human being as such:
“We as a team are called into question because our work takes place every day in giving meaning to what we do, welcoming young people from various parts of the world. We take charge of their dreams, their efforts, their needs, their defeats, their challenges, their migratory plan, sometimes difficult to understand according to our parameters.
Our daily work is continuously woven from all of this. Taking charge of a humanity that is heavily abused but capable of recovering its dignity thanks to a good dose of resilience is not simple or even obvious. But if all this takes place in an atmosphere of solidarity, of acceptance of the different, of respect for human dignity, of attention to the human being as a child of God, this means that ours is a work capable of welcoming, of giving, and of considering others in their dignity.
Our work is inspired by two examples of humanity who guide and support us: Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello. They have left us an example of humanity and are our points of reference for an educational activity that rests on the foundations of the Salesian educational system, and on these foundations we “pay attention” to the family spirit with an open and supportive heart.
The words of Pope Francis also urge us to a humanizing path of our daily actions. He affirms how important a very concrete action plan is today: ‘Communicating with the heart, in truth and in charity’. He uses a metaphor making the distinction between the biological heart, as a vital organ of our body, and a spiritual heart, the center of true humanity, the source of all human feelings and emotions.
Speaking from the heart essentially means feeling for the other and feeling with the other. Humanity can be learned. It can be lived in everyday life through an education attentive to affectivity, emotions, empathy, comparison, resilience. Humanity is the universally recognized sentiment, which identifies each of us, which makes us alike, similar, close, supportive, united, in short, humans. We believe in it and we try.”
The Christian community is called to safeguard the humanity of society, as Sr. Angela Maria Maccioni, ISI Provincial, underlined in the editorial of the little journal, recalling the importance of the contribution of educators:
“The crisis of the meaning of life (and the anthropological crisis) does not appear as a passing phenomenon but is marking the new generations who, since childhood, have been experiencing bewilderment on several fronts, from identity to economic and existential. Therefore, it is urgent to also reflect on how to educate young people to protect the human and to build the future society with respect for human dignity and the authentic values that characterize the cultures and traditions of peoples.
Our concern as adults, men and women educators, must be able to go well beyond legitimate fears and objective diagnoses. It must translate into bold commitment, first of all starting to change ourselves (ideas, attitudes, behaviors) and clinging to the strength of the Gospel with an even more active fidelity and trust than in the times of social Christianity. Many young people will benefit from it, believers and non-believers of today and tomorrow, but also the identity of the Christian community and the sense of its presence in history will be more evident: to keep humanity at the center of society!”
