Franciscan Action Network and the Franciscan Network for Migrants ik nvite you to join us for a webinar on Root Causes of Migration (Register here), Wednesday May 17 at 4-530 pm ET (2-330 pm MT). Our speakers, listed below, include an expert on the history of migration from a global perspective, an impacted person sharing their story, and a Salvadoran friar providing support to migrants near the Darien Gap in Panama. Through these stories, we hope to enhance the awareness of our participants on the factors that cause people to migrate. There will be an opportunity to ask questions.

James West is a UK-based historian in American Studies. He is a lecturer in Interdisciplinary Societies and Cultures at University College London, and has taught the International Summer School Course in Forced Migration at Oxford University.

Fr. Rene Flores, OFM is a Salvadoran friar who has experience accompanying migrants in Panama. Fr. Rene and an impacted person who is seeking entry to the U.S. will discuss the root causes of migration through a Franciscan lens.

Jean Stokan is the Justice Coordinator for Immigration and Nonviolence for the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

“Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more.” -Pope Francis, World Day of Migrants and Refugees (2014)