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Joint Master's Programme in 

International Humanitarian Action (Erasmus Mundus) - NOHA

Research Paper

Faith-based Organizations in Melilla

Coordinator: Cristina Churruca Muguruza

Students: Daniela Márquez Estrada


Farah Faisal
Isabel Goirigolzarri
Naomi Oude Lansink
Table of Contents

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1

2. Methodology........................................................................................................ 3

3. Findings ............................................................................................................... 4

3.1 Jesuit Refugee Service (Jesuit Migrant Service in Melilla and Nador) ................. 4

3.1.1 Delegación de Migraciones (Nador) .............................................................. 4

3.1.2 Jesuit Refugee Service (Melilla) ..................................................................... 5

3.2 Apostolicas del CETI (GEUM DODOU) ............................................................. 6

3.3 Melilla Acoge ................................................................................................. 7

4. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 8

5. Conclusion ........................................................................................................... 9

6. Bibliography ......................................................................................................... 9
1. Introduction

Responding to humanitarian crises is nothing new for humanitarian organisations.


There are, however, different approaches between organisations. A distinction that will be
used in this paper is between organisations that have religious ties (faith-based
organisations) and those that do not (secular organisations). There is no precise definition
for Faith-based organisations. Often, governmental institutions place Faith-based
organisations in different ‘categories’: congregations (e.g. churches), national networks
(e.g. Catholic Charities, Lutheran Social Services, YMCA), and freestanding religious
organisations (European Parliament, 2017; Mohd Noor & Md Nawi, 2016; Vidal, 2001).
However, the focal point of the present analysis will be Faith Based Non-Governmental
Organizations (henceforth referred to as FBOs) that undertake projects and programmes
related to humanitarian action.

While all FBOs referred here focus on humanitarian action, some of these FBOs
include missionary activities while providing aid (Ferris, 2005). Several studies agree that
there are many similarities between secular NGOs and FBOs (Ferris, 2005; Pascal, 2015).
Both include different types of programmes and are affected by the same economic,
political, and social contexts. Other studies even show that there can be more differences
between FBOs within themselves than differences between FBOs and secular NGOs (Ferris,
2005). Yet, some argue about the negative aspect of FBOs (UNHCR, 2014), highlighting
the more evangelical side of them.

One of the places where both FBOs and NGOs are present is the border area
between the Spanish enclave Melilla and Nador (Morocco). Here, many migrants from
different countries of origin try to cross the border into Europe. According to the
International Organization for Migration (IOM), a total of 108,246 immigrants and
refugees crossed the Mediterranean sea between January and November 2018, mainly
using the Western Mediterranean route. An estimated total of 59,747 migrants arrived
mainly to the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, either by sea (90%) or by land (IOM,
2018).

In November 2018 alone, Spanish authorities reported an increase of 8 percent in


comparison to the same month last year. Sub-Saharan Africans make up the biggest
percentage of the migrants with 30%, followed by Moroccans who made up to 24%.
Most of the Sub-Saharan migrants head to Nador hoping to cross a fence that separates it

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from Melilla. For years now, the migrants camp out in a nearby spot, Monte Gurugu, or in
surrounding forests, while they wait for the opportunity to cross the border (IOM, 2018).

The continuous increase of the migration flow in the western Mediterranean route
and the lack of attention and response from States to the current situation makes the role
of FBOs and NGOs important to the migrants and refugees. Their work has consistently
supported vulnerable migrant populations in terms of physical and mental health care,
language comprehension, and providing information on rights and legal procedures to
regularize their situation. This has made NGOs and FBOs to become a fundamental pillar
to address both the urgent needs of these populations and working on finding long-term
solutions for them.

Remarkably, there is little to no research done about FBOs and NGOs working in
the border area of Melilla and Nador. However, there is data regarding the varied cultural
and religious backgrounds of the migrants and refugees that arrive to Spain, out of which
10% come through the enclaves of Melilla and Ceuta (IOM, 2018). Approximately 24% of
migrants and refugees arriving to Spain in 2018 are of Moroccan origin, followed by
Guinea Conakry, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire and other Western Sub-Saharan countries (GEUM
DODOU, 2019, IOM, 2018). Whilst the country of origin by itself does not equal that the
migrants and refugees have a Muslim, Christian or other faith, it is useful to point out that
some of these countries have a population of primarily Islamic faith.

Even though the migrants and refugees come from various backgrounds, including
various religious backgrounds, many of the FBOs working in the border area between
Nador and Melilla are affiliated with Christianity, which poses the question of whether
these FBOs incorporate religious diversity in their programmes and, if religious diversity
affects the suitability of these programmes.

For the purpose of this research, religious diversity is understood as the


institutional and individual respect for the variety of faith and belief systems, including but
not exclusively referring to the different Abrahamic and local religions. Integrating
religious diversity into humanitarian action programming is deemed important for both
secular NGOs and FBOs, however it is a focal point in regards to FBOs because of the
underlying religious values of these organizations and the potential differences and
tensions that these values could have with the religious backgrounds of the migrants and
refugees they work with.

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2. Methodology

For this study, we conducted a literature review about FBOs and secular organisations. In
the days after we finished the literature review, we visited several organizations in Melilla
and one in Nador. The organizations were fixed by the coordinators of the Master’s
programme. These were: Servicio Jesuita de Migraciones (Nador), Apostolicas del CETI
(GEUM DODOU), Servicio Jesuita de Refugiados (Melilla), CEAR Melilla, Cruz Roja Melilla,
Melilla Acoge, Save the Children, ACCEM, and UNHCR. A visit to Religiosas María
Imaculada was canceled, and we were unable to get in touch with them for a telephone
interview. Most of the interviews and presentations were in Spanish and some were in
English. When the presenter spoke in Spanish, a student would translate to English.

In Melilla and Nador, members of the explained their role in humanitarian work at
the border of Melilla and Nador, their mandate, and their activities. Afterward, we were
able to ask questions. As we were not the only research group, it was not feasible, time-
wise, to have a one-on-one interview with the representatives from the organizations.
Also, the fact that the other research topics were mostly interconnected in terms of the
topics, the main focus of the questions asked was not in our favor. Nevertheless, we
prepared interview questions for FBOs beforehand. The questions were as followed:
 What programmes are you running in Melilla/Nador?
 Who are the clients you are working with?
 What role does religion play in your organization?
 Is religious diversity a topic that you take into consideration within your
programme planning?
 Have you encountered issues regarding the religious diversity of your staff and
clients in your provision of assistance?
 Are you working together with other organizations?

There are some drawbacks of the set up of the interviews in this situation. The first
drawback is that it is time-consuming. There was a limited amount of time, which was
shared among the different groups, and the questions were detailed. The second
drawback is due to the fact that our research topic was not related to the research topics
of the other groups, steering the conversation towards questions related to religion was
not always preferred. Therefore, there were not always enough opportunities to ask the
questions previously prepared.

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3. Findings

During the four-day research trip to the enclave Melilla and the city of Nador in
Morocco, nine organisations were visited which included three FBOs: The Jesuit Migrant
Service in Melilla and Nador and GEUM DODOU, as well as the organization Melilla
Acoge, which started as an FBO and then changed its mandate to a secular organization.
The information that was gathered from these FBOs throughout the meetings will be
presented in the following sections. Afterwards, the findings will be discussed in light of
the posed research question.

In order to present the results of the research conducted in Melilla and Nador, it is
important to consider how the aforementioned FBOs define themselves officially through
their mandates and afterwards how the same organizations presented their projects and
answered the questions related to the role of faith and religious diversity in their project
programming.

3.1 Jesuit Refugee Service (Jesuit Migrant Service in Melilla and Nador)
On their website, the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) states that they are inspired by
the generous love and example of Jesus Christ and introduce themselves as an
international Catholic organization with a mission to accompany, serve, and advocate on
behalf of refugees and other forcibly displaced persons. JRS works in places where
refugees face deprivation and abuse of their basic rights: traditional refugee camps,
detention centers and prisons, conflict zones, border areas, and in the heart of big cities. It
is their aim to promote a culture of solidarity and inclusion with migrants and refugees.
The JRS carries out an intense line of work on both sides of the Spanish-Moroccan
southern border, jointly with the Jesuit Refugee Service-Europe.

3.1.1 Delegación de Migraciones (Nador)


The Delegación de Migraciones is part of the Jesuit Migration Services that
work from the city Nador located a few kilometers from the Moroccan border to
Melilla. They carry out four main interventions that take place in the camps outside
of Nador – where the majority of sub-Saharan migrants are forced to live – and in a
residence on their church grounds. These interventions are: 1) medical assistance in
the camps regarding minor injuries and relocating those who need special attention
to public clinics or the residence; 2) psycho-social support for people in the camps
and the residence, which includes sensibilization regarding rights, health or hygiene,

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but also the distribution of food or blankets; 3) social assistance, which mainly deals
with administrative work and referrals; and 4) the residence with a nursery and
living spaces that have a capacity for fifteen people in vulnerable positions such as
new mothers or patients in need of post-surgical care. Those temporarily living in
the residence have access to all previously mentioned interventions.

The organization keeps a low profile in terms of denunciations in order to


maintain a relationship of cooperation with the Moroccan authorities which they
perceive as essential for continuing to help the most vulnerable. Besides the
authorities, the Delegación speaks of a good relationship with the public medical
centers to whom they often refer people in need of greater medical attention.
According to them, it is exceptional that a Christian church can work in a public
hospital in a country of predominantly Muslim faith. However, as the role of
churches in Morocco is limited to being social agents, there are no tensions because
of religious convictions. With regard to relationships with other NGOs, there is
another NGO that operates in Nador, and both organizations work in cooperation
with each other.

Upon questions regarding the role of religion in their programmes, they


explained that faith does not have an impact on their programmes as their goal is to
support human beings, and not spread their beliefs. Furthermore, no tension
between people of different faith was reported. Any disputes were due to personal
reasons (Delegación de Migraciones, 2019).

3.1.2 Jesuit Refugee Service (Melilla)


The JRS opened a permanent office in Melilla in 2016 that focuses on
migrants in transit. Their clients are those living in the residents in the CETI, minor
centers, and new arrivals. Defending and serving migrants in Spain is their main
objective with most of their work concerning legal issues with a team composed of
lawyers. The project coordinator is a Jesuit, but faith is not a criterion of
employment. JRS’ programme in Melilla encompasses an initial legal orientation to
those that seek their services which also includes information about life in Spain in
terms of policies and restrictions. Part of their work also involves accompanying their
clients to appointments, as the JRS fears that their clients’ rights will be violated if
they are not present. Furthermore, they engage in strategic litigation, for example
with a project called ‘Operación Barco’, where they went to court because of the

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violation of asylum-seekers’ freedom of movement in Spain, as it is not possible for
them to leave the enclave unless they get transferred by the authorities. Other tasks
of the JRS in Melilla include contacting family members of deceased migrants and
publishing reports about the situation in Melilla.

The JRS has a relationship of cooperation with the other organizations in


Melilla, including UNHCR, CEAR, and Melilla Acoge. They cooperate with the
authorities when it is possible but take cases to court if it is not. There is a network
of FBOs in the city that the JRS is a part of but according to their spokesperson, they
happen to coordinate more with secular organizations. In general, difficulties do not
arise regarding faith- or non-faith-based but how close an organization is to the
authorities.

In 2018, they worked on 450 cases with clients of different profiles including
unaccompanied minors, women, and men of Arab or sub-Saharan origin. The
majority of them are Muslims, but no issues have been revealed with regard to
differences in faith. It was stated that most clients have no knowledge of the JRS’
religious affiliation before having their first meeting and that the office is known as
“Diego’s”, referring to the lawyer who is in charge of the office (JRS, 2019).

3.2 Apostolicas del CETI (GEUM DODOU)


In regards to the organization known as GEUM DODOU, there is no information in
digital format regarding their mandate, values, and goals. However, during the interview,
they explained it was formed by members of the Apostólicas del Corazón de Jesús
(Apostólicas del CETI). The Apostolicas del CETI defined themselves in their website as
apostolic women on the side of the poor, who live following Jesus, forming an
international and intercultural religious congregation. They consider their mandate to live
"contemplation in action" and get involved in the transformation of unjust structures
(Apostólicas de Jesús, 2019).

When discussing their projects, the Apostolicas through their organization GEUM
DODOU mentioned that they started their work in 2016 and have since then, focused on
two main axes: Training, which includes alphabetization and Spanish courses, and Rights
Awareness, where the organization informs the people they work with about the asylum
seeking process.

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The organization mostly works with young men of Western Sub-Saharan origin
and Islamic faith. According to them, religion doesn’t play a major role in their projects.
Even though a religious mandate drives the actions of the organization, in their field work
they try to implement their programmes through a human rights perspective avoiding
proselytism and indoctrination (GEUM DODOU, 2019). In order to integrate religious
diversity, they try to respect the religious celebrations of the migrants and refugees, such
as Ramadan and Christmas.

Cooperating with both secular organizations and FBOs to carry out their work on a
daily basis, they support the UNHCR when the migrants and refugees arrive in Melilla and
also forward people to the Jesuit Migrant Service (JMS) and the unaccompanied minors to
Save the Children. According to the members of the organization, they collaborate equally
with secular and FBOs and there are no disputes or differences based on their religious
mandate with secular NGOs, FBOs or the migrants and refugees they work with.

3.3 Transitioned FBO: Melilla Acoge


The organization Melilla Acoge has no information in digital format regarding its
mandate, values, and goals. It is part of the association of NGOs called Andalucía Acoge.
Andalucía Acoge was created in 1991 and according to their website they seek to
promote a new model of inclusive and responsible citizenship, based on interculturality
and social justice based on the principles of voluntary work, equity in the access to rights
and participation and dialogue of every person (Andalucía Acoge, 2019).

Melilla Acoge was not originally part of this association and was initially conceived
as a Faith Based Organization, after a couple of years working with a religious mandate,
the founders of the organization decided to transform Melilla Acoge into a secular
organization in order to be independent of any religious and/or political affiliation. Their
projects include cultural and language training for migrants and refugees and integration
of migrant and host communities through education. They also work with women who
have been victims of human trafficking, mostly from Moroccan origin. The organization
works indistinctly with secular and FBOs but collaborates mainly with secular
organizations.

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4. Discussion

This research project started off with the question of how FBOs working in Melilla and
Nador are including religious diversity in their programmes. The underlying assumption
was that religion, being an essential part of their organization, would play a big role in
their projects for the migrants and refugees. As mentioned in the introduction, the
literature showed that some organisations have a negative view of FBOs, perceiving them
to spread their religion alongside their efforts to support people in need. Other studies
showed that FBOs and NGOs are not that different.

Several FBOs in Melilla and Nador have explained that whilst their organisation is
an FBO, religion does not play a role in their activities, nor do they exclude people of a
different faith or urge them to convert. Their programmes are based on the needs of the
migrants and refugees, rather than religion. Due to this approach, religious diversity was
oftentimes not included in their programmes. A prior assumption was that this could have
a negative effect on the delivery of humanitarian assistance, but no supporting evidence
was gathered during the field research. On the contrary, the organizations reported that
there were no tensions due to differences in religious affiliation of staff members or the
assisted communities despite the fact that the Catholic FBOs were mainly serving Muslim
migrants and refugees.

Furthermore, the FBOs interviewed reported that there were no disputes or


differences between FBOs and secular NGOs based on their religious mandate, and that
tensions between them were mostly due to different approaches to the work, unrelated
to religious diversity. Nevertheless, all NGOs, both secular and faith-based cooperate with
one another and have monthly meetings to coordinate their activities in Melilla. Several
organizations, both FBOs and NGOs, even work closely together.

It is important to note, however, that even though it was not evident that there
was any discrimination or a negative perception towards the FBOs and their work, this is
still a one-sided conclusion due to the time limit and topic sensitivity. The population that
the FBOs and NGOs are working with was not interviewed, and their perspective is not
reflected in this research, which is a significant setback for the accuracy of the results
presented in this research. Follow-up research should be conducted in order to include the
perspective and experiences of the migrants with FBOs. Another interesting notion is how
the local community react to the presence of the FBOs in both Melilla and Nador. Some

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FBOs are located in areas where the prominent religion is different from the religion of the
present FBO. Religious tensions seem likely in these areas, and FBOs and the population
might think of each other differently. The last notion is that Religiosas María Imaculada
should be included in future research, because we were unable to interview them.

5. Conclusion

The main research question of this study is: ‘How do FBOs working in Melilla and Nador
incorporate religious diversity in their programmes?’ The main research question was not
directly answered due to the limitations faced in the process. However, it can be
concluded from the interviews conducted and previous research done on the topic that
most of the FBOs did not need to work on including religious diversity. This is because
their approaches concentrated on supporting vulnerable groups and fighting for their
human rights which could be the reason why discrimination on the basis of religion has
been prevented.

As it was mentioned in the introduction, oftentimes FBOs can be negatively


perceived because of their religious mandate, however, reducing FBOs to these notions
would be reductionistic and miss the potential that local and international FBOs have had
in understanding host communities, navigating local authorities and even promoting
decolonial ideals.

However, this topic cannot be viewed from one side only, and it is important to
consider that the side that we had access to is the one with the authority. Hence, the
research has major gaps, because there was no opportunity to interview the migrants and
refugees that these organizations work with.

6. Bibliography

ACCEM (Asociación Comisión Católica Española de Migración). Retrieved from:


< https://www.accem.es/organizacion/>

ACNUR (Comité Español). Retrieved from:


<https://www.acnur.org/noticias/press/2013/12/5b0c1af64/acnur-visita-melilla-para-
conocer-la-situacion-de-personas-en-necesidad-de-proteccion-internacional.html>

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Apostólicas de Jesús, 2019. Somos...Apostólicas del Corazón de Jesús. [online]
Apostolicascj.org. Available at: https://www.apostolicascj.org/index.php/quienes-somos-
apostolicas [Accessed 20 Apr.
2019].<https://www.luzcasanova.es/index.php/component/content/article?id=85:tercera-
carta-de-marisa-desde-ceuta>

Andalucía Acoge. 2019. ¿Quiénes somos? - Andalucía Acoge. [online] Available at:
https://acoge.org/quienes-somos/ [Accessed 15 Apr. 2019].

ASOCIACION MELILLA ACOGE. Retrieved from: <https://acoge.org/melilla-acoge/>


Comisión Española de Ayuda al Refugiado (CEAR). Retrieved from:
<https://www.cear.es/tag/ceuta-y-melilla/>

Centros Internamiento Extranjeros (CIE). Retrieved from:


<https://www.lainformacion.com/espana/cie-funciona_0_964105304.html>
https://pilarserranoferreroposicion.wordpress.com/2016/02/12/los-cie-y-los-ceti/

European Parliament, 2017. The EU and faith-based organisations in development and


humanitarian aid. [Online]
Available at:
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2017/608800/EPRS_BRI(2017)60880
0_EN.pdf
[Accessed 30 March 2019].

Ferris, E., 2005. Faith-based and secular humanitarian organizations. International Review
of the Red Cross, June.87(858).

IOM, 2018. MIXED MIGRATION FLOWS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN Compilation of Available


Data and Information November 2018. [online] Available at:
https://www.iom.int/sites/default/files/dtm/mediterranean_dtm_201811.pdf [Accessed 17
Apr. 2019].

Mohd Noor, A. L. & Md Nawi, N. H., 2016. Faith-Based Organisations (FBO): A Review of
Literature on their Nature and Contrasting Identities with NGO in Community

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Development Intervention. European Journal of Economics and Business Studies,
April.2(1).

Pascal, E., 2015. Do-It-Yourself Missions: The Rise of Independent Faith-Based


Organizations and the Changing Contours of Missions. In: 2010Boston: The Changing
Contours of World Mission and Christianity. s.l.:Pickwick Publications, pp. 193-212.

UNHCR, 2014. On Faith-Based Organizations, Local Faith Communities and Faith Leaders,
Geneva: s.n.

Vidal, A. C., 2001. Faith-Based Organizations In Community Development, s.l.: s.n.

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