Taking Action With Emmaüs
News from Ukraine
Over 1000 days on since the start of the large-scale conflict on 24 February 2022, we bring you an update on the actions taken by Emmaus Oselya (Lviv). The group continues to run projects to assist the most vulnerable thanks to their determination and the support of all the Emmaus groups through the Ukraine Fund, managed by Emmaus Europe.
Since the start of the conflict, Emmaus Oselya has been there to help different groups of extremely vulnerable people. This includes homeless people, who have increased in number since 2022, and people from the east of Ukraine, displaced persons and families from conflict zones.
Every Thursday, the group distributes hot meals (soup, tea, bread) to around one hundred people.
The number of people who come every day to the social support centre is constantly on the rise. At the centre, they can find something to eat, have a shower, talk to the organisation’s psychologist or see a doctor. They can also get a haircut or find warm clothes for the winter. This centre, which is one of a kind in Ukraine and was financed to the tune of €285,000 by Emmaus Europe via the Ukraine Fund when it was built in 2022, has become a benchmark praised by the public authorities. Some doctors come from Kyiv to provide free treatment at the centre.
Every week, some twenty families take part in workshops set up by the organisation’s psychologists to address the trauma caused by the conflict.
Lastly, the organisation still needs to make more room to welcome companions forced to flee the conflict. There were 15 in 2020, 30 in 2022 and the community is now home to 36 companions.
The ongoing, unwavering support from Emmaus Europe and European groups
Every month, the Ukraine Fund (managed by Emmaus Europe and replenished by the Emmaus groups) finances the distribution of hot meals, and a large part of the operating costs of the social centre (€4,000/month), which amounts to approximately €50,000/year.
In addition, the financing of longer-term projects enables the group to develop economic activities and provide better care for those being supported.
In October 2024, the Ukraine Fund financed the renovation of its furniture workshop, so that the organisation could expand its activities (€16,000). Thanks to an additional donation of €10,000 from Emmaus Longjumeau, via Emmaus Europe, the organisation was able to renovate and extend its second-hand shop and improve the therapy workshop space for families (July 2024).
Future projects
Oselya’s determination is not waning, despite the uncertainties pertaining to the election of Donald Trump in the United States, and the very challenging situation on the frontlines. In 2025, the organisation would like to renovate the apartments to accommodate 11 people (€20,000 is required for the renovation work), install solar panels to reduce energy use (approximately €6,000) and develop a solidarity kitchen project, for regular customers and beneficiaries to be able to meet and have lunch free of charge.
If your Emmaus group is interested in helping finance these projects, please contact Emmanuel ! Financial needs are not lacking and will exceed the amount in the Ukraine Fund, which currently totals €185,000.
The support of all the European groups for Ukraine is one the most treasured gifts for the Oselya group. This support boosts their determination and its effects are still being felt after nearly three extremely difficult years. Our heartfelt thanks to them for their trust.
European Commission 2024-2029 : Austerity and competitiveness
We now know the list of European Commissioners put forward for the 2024-2029 term of office. It is no great surprise that the European Commission is heading in a worrying direction for the future of our activities and our values. It is now up to the European Parliament to hold hearings with each of these candidates to decide whether or not they should be appointed to the post of European Commissioner.
The strong presence of conservative and right-wing parties is a source for concern, as at the European level, these parties are rarely receptive to our cause and share very few of our values. This raises concerns about their ability to defend social rights, equality and climate justice, issues that should be at the forefront of European concerns. Of the 27 Commissioners proposed (one per Member State), 12 are from conservative parties, five from liberal parties and one is from a far-right party. Furthermore, five are labelled as independents, but are in fact close to right-wing and far-right parties. Only five Commissioners are from social democratic parties.
With regard to content, we are also concerned about the loss of the Social and Employment Commissioner position and the appointment of three different Commissioners responsible for migration policies, with a prevalent use of terms such as “prosperity”, “competitiveness” and “security”. In the letters sent to the Commissioners to define their roles, the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, unapologetically defends a vision of Europe geared towards competitiveness, economic growth and security. At Emmaus, this choice raises alarm bells, as it promotes a Europe of increasingly closed borders and an economic model that favours big business, while neglecting social issues, human rights and crucial environmental concerns.
However, there are a few positive points worth highlighting. The establishment of a Commissioner for the circular economy, whose tasks will include working on drafting a law on the circular economy. The creation of a Commissioner for “energy and housing” now makes access to housing an integral part of European responsibilities, which has not been the case until now. Lastly, the implementation of an anti-poverty strategy has been announced, and we will endeavour to take part in it with our partners, despite the unfavourable political context in terms of reducing the causes of poverty.
Emmaus Campus: young people take centre stage!
European young people are increasingly affected by precariousness and the Emmaus movement is seeking ways to meet their needs. This idea also involves reviewing our practices to allow young activists to join us. In Paris, the Emmaus Défi group is trying to meet this twofold challenge by creating Emmaus Campus, a young and inspiring integration project! We met Mederic, its director:
Can you tell us why Emmaus Défi came up with the idea of setting up Campus?
In 2020, Emmaus Défi made three observations:
- We were at maximum capacity in our current premises, with 150 employees on work integration schemes… and yet, similarly to all the other Emmaus groups, a large number of people were still knocking on our door and we were unable to help them.
- The precariousness of young people has doubled over the last twenty years and was further exacerbated in the wake of the COVID crisis. The Emmaus movement was only partially able to address this issue.
- Young people are increasingly keen to get involved, but we have not geared our welcoming and volunteering methods to suit them.
Through the creation of Emmaus Campus, Emmaus Défi aimed to set up a scheme that would address these three issues.
How does it work specifically?
Emmaus Campus carries out “classic” Emmaus group activities. It runs a work integration project that supports people experiencing job insecurity by offering solidarity-based work involving the collection, sorting and sale of second-hand items. We simply tried to add a youth dimension to every aspect of our work:
- We welcome a higher proportion of young people among our employees, in order to meet our target of ¾ under the age of 30.
- We set up our shops near universities or places where young people gather, such as the campus at the Sorbonne Nouvelle faculty, or Forum des Halles shopping centre.
- We regularly organise pop-up sales on campuses and at universities.
- We offer special sales and discounts in our shops to enable young people to buy articles at low prices (-30% for under 30s).
- We organise solidarity donations of clothes for students facing hardship.
- We welcome a lot of interns and have launched “Pass Campus”, a voluntary scheme for young people.
- By the end of the year, we will initiate “inser-jeunes”: a mobile team made up of 100% employees under 30 on integration schemes, who will receive appropriate support and carry out collection, sales, awareness-raising and distribution activities in student settings.
What advice would you give to other groups in Europe who would like to set up a similar activity?
Go for it! The starting point is actually fairly straightforward. You just need to tailor your current activities to a specific group of people, with particular needs and constraints. Start by listening: what do they need and want? In terms of your group’s current work, what is preventing them from becoming potential volunteers or beneficiaries?
It seems obvious, but the challenge of welcoming young people in our groups is absolutely vital for the future of our movement. It’s an enormous source of creativity and energy that we cannot do without!
We could, and should, come up with many different types of Emmaus groups, tailored to specific groups of people, focussing on the most vulnerable and people whose needs we are not yet fully addressing. Emmaus for seniors, Emmaus for single-parent families, Emmaus for people with disabilities, etc. This would enable us to become even more inclusive and to really welcome everyone.
UK-Rwanda deal scrapped
Emmaus welcomes the decision, but warns about the proliferation of this type of agreement impacting the rights of migrants in Europe.
The new UK Prime Minister has scrapped the deal to deport some asylum seekers to Rwanda, following the Labour Party’s victory in the 4 July 2024 General Election. Emmaus is pleased about this decision, as it stops a dangerous agreement that would violate human rights from coming into force. However, the growing number of such agreements across Europe is concerning.
The UK Parliament adopted the Safety of Rwanda Bill on 23 April. Rishi Sunak’s government ignored the appeals made by civil society organisations, Lords and even UN experts, as well as circumventing the opinion expressed by the country’s Supreme Court (the court unanimously ruled that the Rwanda deal was “illegal” on 15 November 2023), in order to implement an agreement enabling the UK to deport to Rwanda people who arrived in the UK without authorisation. Emmaus is delighted that this plan has been axed.
However, we wish to sound the alarm about the rising number of agreements of this type. The Rwanda deal is in keeping with a dynamic similar to that which led to other agreements being adopted, such as the 6 November 2023 Italy-Albania deal. This deal allows Italy to outsource to Albania the processing of asylum applications submitted by some foreign nationals picked up or rescued at sea by the Italian authorities.
This trend is particularly worrying as 15 EU Member States[1] have asked the European Commission to adopt a similar mechanism in Europe. In a letter dated 15 May, these States went as far as suggesting a revision of the “safe third country” concept in order to further restrict migrants’ guaranteed rights. This adds to the legislative framework already applied by many Member States to prevent, whatever the cost, people from moving around and settling in their territory, demonstrating an increasing disregard for human rights.
The European Pact on Migration and Asylum adopted on 14 May is not an exception to this rule, as it openly seeks to speed up the removal of people in irregular situations and increase outsourcing of border control. Security and removal mechanisms, rather than actual reception and solidarity mechanisms, are increasingly holding sway in the Rwanda and Albania deals, and in the EU Pact. Motivated by short-term electioneering, the States are totally ignoring the lived experiences of migrants and their supporters, and are deploying policies that exclude, dehumanize, and make migrants vulnerable. Far from the advocated sharing of responsibility, successive legislative instruments are increasingly contravening international agreements and rights that the States have pledged to respect.
At a time when the European elections have led to a worrying rise of the far right, the current trend of isolationism combined with an increase in the number of authoritarian and conservative governments should be a serious warning.
The Emmaus Movement has member organisations in 43 countries, including 21 European and nine African countries, and brings to life the principles of solidarity, and shelter and support, on a daily basis. Depending on the local context, these principles may take the form of providing proper shelter and support for people who have migrated in search of a better life, as well as running social and income-generating activities involving the most socially-excluded people, enabling them to have decent living conditions, wherever they are. Emmaus champions freedom of movement and settlement for all, but also works on a daily basis to ensure that people have the prospect of a decent life wherever Emmaus is located.
These deals are in keeping with a continuum of agreements that push back Europe’s borders a little further, while viewing human lives as a bargaining chip. We refuse to stay silent in the face of these illegal agreements that threaten the integrity of migrants who are only asking for the freedom to move around, just like any human being.
Emmaus International and Emmaus Europe are calling for the following measures to be implemented:
- Compliance with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Convention.
- Abolition of the policy of outsourcing border control.
- A return to a proper visa policy.
- Migrant detention to be scrapped.
We are calling for alternative global migration governance, based on respect for fundamental rights and the principle of universal citizenship!
[1] Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland and Romania.