Huambo, 18 December, 2023 / 8:45 pm (ACI Africa).
On the occasion of the annual International Migrants Day marked December 18, the President of the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (CEPAMI) in Angola has appealed for the creation of a “reference structure” to assist migrants.
Addressing journalists Monday, December 18 in Angola’s Huambo Archdiocese, Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins said that the commemoration of migrants offers an opportunity for the people of God in Angola to reflect on the pastoral care of migrants and refugees.
"There is need to have a reference structure, especially in the capital of the country where immigrants can really be helped in the face of the pressing difficulties, so that they can be guided,” Archbishop Zeca said.
The migrants, he added, would be “guided in terms of Angolan legislation, guided in terms of documentation and guided in terms of looking for work.”
“It's true that in Angola there is a lot of unemployment, even for Angolans themselves, and we could ask: why give immigrants work, because in life it's always like that, a citizen of a land always has other mechanisms for self-defence, mechanisms like their family members, mechanized mechanisms like the state itself, which is the provider of the needs of its citizens,” the Local Ordinary of Huambo said.
