Oujda is a city in Morocco on the border with Algeria, it is the first you find when you cross the border and it is here where the many migrants arrive who risk their lives crossing it every night.
It is a crossroads for those who stop to then attempt the crossing by sea or land towards Europe but also for those who wait, reflect and sometimes (very few times) decide to return to their own country, falling within the IOM protection programs ( International Organization for Migrants).
In Oujda, surrounded by many minarets, there is the Parish of San Luigi, where the Consolata Missionaries work to welcome the migrants who pass through every night, stop for a few days or a few weeks to regain energy, to eat and drink and then continue their journey.
They often arrive in very difficult human conditions, hungry and thirsty after periods of imprisonment, slavery, mistreatment and abuse of all kinds, which we cannot even imagine.
Their eyes cannot hide the torments of the journey, the wounds on their bodies are a glimpse of pain that cries out to God. The missionaries, welcoming them every day, listen to their stories of lives on the journey. Journeys that last months or even years depending on what happens along the way.
IBRAHIMA
Ibrahima left Guinea Conakry because “there is no future there, poverty bites. I studied, I have a diploma”, turning to his companions he adds “they are all graduates too and what was the point? In Guinea there is no future I’ve been here for a month but I left two years ago. I crossed Sierra Leone, Liberia then entered the Ivory Coast and then Mali, passing through the desert to Algeria and now I’m in Morocco.”
AMADOU
Amadou traveled for four years instead, making almost the same route but also passing through Tunisia, where for the first time he managed to call his mother whom he had not heard from for years and who now believed him to be dead. He also graduated and is in Oujda as a guest of the missionaries, raising money to continue his journey: his dream is to reach Spain.
FATHER EDWIN
“Those who have been here the longest talk and tell something about themselves, but not all, for some their journey will remain a secret forever, it will remain the most painful pages of their life” Fr. tells us. Edwin, missionary and parish priest who has been here for 4 years together with Fr. Patrick and Fr. Francis.
WITH 15 YOUNG PEOPLE
It was a journey of missionary spirituality promoted by the Diocesan Missionary Centre, from 21 to 29 April, and 15 young people from the “Missio Giovani” group took part. We have worked all year on the topic of migration and reception, we asked ourselves as Christians and as young people which side we want to be on, we do not want to be indifferent to what is happening in the Mediterranean.
“I WAS A FOREIGN”
The guiding theme of our journey is taken from the Gospel of Matthew: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” which the missionaries here live every day by putting themselves on the line in an evangelical and prophetic way.
STAY WITH MISSIONARIES
AND WITH MIGRANTS
The meaning of our presence in Oujda was not so much linked to lending a hand – which is also necessary – but to being with the missionaries and with the migrant children, young among young people, to share dreams and journeys, to listen to their stories and know up close what this dramatic journey means for them.
Every moment of dialogue with them was heartbreaking, our young people couldn’t hold back their tears as they listened to the testimonies of the migrant kids, while they showed them the videos recorded during the journey in the desert or in the Libyan prison camps.
The words of the missionaries are also precious, Fr. Edwin, p. Patrick and Fr. Francesco, who helped us to fully enter into every moment of the day.
THREE BOYS
One of the mornings in which we were there on a mission we witnessed the welcome of three boys, reduced to rags, evidently debilitated and hungry, who had escaped from the captivity of one of the many traffickers who had bought them as slaves from another Algerian trafficker and who he asked them for large amounts of money to obtain their release. They were beaten continuously, filmed while they were tortured and videos sent to their families so that they could send money for their ransom, which however increased with each day of delay. The three of them managed to escape by paying what was requested but they came on the mission not only to be welcomed but also to tell that their other brothers were there but they had no possibility of paying the ransom and that in the long run they would die.
There were forty of them, crowded into a small room, all lying on the floor. They were left without food, a few crumbs and a bit of sugar to keep them from dying, drops of water thrown on their lips every now and then. “They will die father” were their words. Then they were given a kit with soap, razor, toothpaste and toothbrush, clean clothes and they were sent to wash and rest in the large accommodation that the missionaries have inside the parish, where they host around 80 boys together and where over 2000 boys go around every day. year among those registered, perhaps just as many who are not registered because they stop just a few hours at night and immediately resume their journey.
THE FATHERS
“Our job is to welcome them” Fr. tells us. Edwin, “we are not here to judge their dream of life nor to discourage them from continuing, they know well what they are facing: at sea the chances of death are very high, they know it but they often tell me: Father, for me it is better to die at sea than to die in my country. They come from very poor areas, from war situations, from military dictatorships, everyone has their own story that must be welcomed.”
Over the years it has happened that someone asked them for help to return to their country of origin, so the missionaries are here for this too, to help them in this process of return, accompanying them spiritually, psychologically and economically so as not to experience this as a failure in life ( I’m going back because I didn’t make it!) but as a rebirth, as the beginning of a new phase of life.
The mission in Oujda is not easy, the work of these missionaries is very precious. During our passage they were truly a great example of life and faith for us and we will never stop thanking them. To those who read us we say visit Oujda, visit the mission of the parish of San Luigi, meet fathers Edwin, Patrick and Francesco, you will give yourself a great gift of life.
Alex Zappalà
Director of the Missionary Center
Diocesan of Concordia-Pordenone
 for many migrants a true border between life and death / Diocese / Weekly of the Diocese of Concordia-Pordenone){kind=link}