Pastoral with the face of migrant childhoods

Abstract

The Migration has become a global crisis with serious impacts for all people who have been forced to embrace human mobility. In Latin America, this phenomenon has worsened even more in recent months, putting the lives of hundreds of people at risk every day. Children who migrate, whether accompanied by adults or alone, continue to be one of the most vulnerable groups. For this reason, this article has been prepared with the objective of motivating churches and Faith-Based Organizations, mainly, to develop some strategies of pastoral accompaniment that provide containment and assistance to these disadvantaged children. We consider of importance that this accompaniment contains a biblical-theological and pastoral support. To this end, we propose a rereading of two biblical texts from Genesis where the stories of Hagar and Ishmael are narrated as migrants, facing the danger of abandonment, injustice, and death. With some inputs that are rescued from this re-reading of the biblical text, a theological-pastoral proposal is elaborated that allows us to become aware of the reality of migrant children in our Latin American contexts. It is intended that, by becoming more fully aware of this reality, spaces of welcome and pastoral accompaniment will be promoted in an integrative way. Although this article does not address each of these areas in depth, it is hoped that, based on this proposal, there will be a more intentional search for tools to strengthen the pastoral work directed to migrant children.