WE ARE “FRATELLI TUTTI” LETTER FROM THE UISG COMMUNITY OF LAMPEDUSA. Sr. Maria Ausilia, Sr. Franca, Sr. Paola Sister Florence de la Villeon, RSCJ, in charge of the UISG Migrant Project, together with Sister Maria Ausilia, Sister Franca, and Sister Paola have gifted us with this beautiful letter from Lampedusa. It is a living testimony of service, welcome, and love that has done us good; and we are sure it will do our readers good too. We warmly thank the community of Lampedusa, a great little outpost of fraternity at the “gate of Europe”!
Sr. Maria Ausilia, Sr. Franca, Sr. Paola
Letter from the UISG Community of Lampedusa
On November 30 th, 2020, we celebrated the anniversary of the foundation of the UISG community of Lampedusa. This community is composed of Sr. Maria Ausilia, Salesian, Sr. Franca, Little Sister of Jesus, and Sr. Paola, Sister of Charity of St. Jeanne Antida. We were sent by the UISG, which fosters collaboration and dialogue among religious congregations in the Church and society. We were sent to weave bonds of friendship through our presence among the island’s inhabitants, with the desire to offer them services, according to our possibilities, and with the aim of collaborating with them in welcoming the many people who arrive from the other shore of the Mediterranean. In fact, this little island is like a rock thrown towards Africa; much closer to Africa than to the Italian peninsula, it is the extreme tip of Europe: the gate to Europe! For centuries, travelers have found a haven of salvation on this island. In recent decades, throngs have been seeking to reach these shores. These are people who want to flee from wars, dictatorships, persecution, hunger, and thirst; men, women, and children who launch themselves into an exodus, without realizing the traps and suffering of the journey, in search of a better future. Before boarding boats, rubber dinghies, or barges, that risk sinking, these human caravans cross deserts where thousands have been buried.
UISG - Bulletin Number 175, 2021
Original in Italian
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