Julie Mughal, associate director for Humanitarian Action, organized an eye-opening retreat to the Encuentro Project in El Paso, Texas for JUHAN members and colleagues from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS/USA).
This past June, Julie Mughal, associate director for Humanitarian Action within the Center for Social Impact, organized a trip to the Encuentro Project in El Paso, Texas for faculty and staff from seven member schools of the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network (JUHAN). Mughal holds the leadership position of convener of JUHAN.
The Encuentro Project is a Jesuit-run encounter program that hosts retreats to facilitate learning and promote peaceful, effective action for greater justice and compassion for migrants and refugee persons at the El Paso-Ciudad Juarez border. Encuentro staff arranged for the JUHAN group to meet with frontline workers who provide care and accompaniment to asylum seekers at the border, including men, women, and children who have survived harrowing experiences to reach safety.
“The numbers of people forced to flee are increasing every year, and humane, ethical solutions need to be explored," said Mughal. "It is clear that globally and nationally, refugee and asylum systems are broken, and a paradigm shift to care for the world’s displaced populations is desperately needed.”
Mughal shared the powerful Encuentro Project experience with 11 JUHAN members and two colleagues from the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS/USA). Representing Fairfield alongside Mughal were Suzanne Marmo-Roman, PhD, associate professor of family therapy and social work, and Karl Uzcategui, associate director of the Office of Student Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.