Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Providencia (Agenzia Fides) - About 10,000 Haitian emigrants residing in Chile were able to take advantage of the administrative and legal processes regarding passport, identity card and criminal record verification, thanks to the joint work between the parish of Providencia and the Consulate of the Haitian Embassy in Chile.
The initiative began on August 23 and will end on October 29, but is expected to resume after the November-December electoral period, as reported by the note sent to Fides by the Chilean Bishops' Conference.
Father Jean Gaby, Director of the Human Mobility Department of the Archbishopric of Santiago, says: "We started with passports, then we moved on to regularization procedures, such as fingerprints and identity cards. There were a lot of people every day, the most important thing is that we offered the space and we were able to work with volunteers in order to help the work of the Consulate".
The Haitian priest underlines that this initiative is a great sign of reception, "because we want to give an opportunity to all migrants, to be of help, since we saw many people waiting at the Haitian Embassy, and that space had become small".
Many of them were happy, at ease, in sorting out the documents with greater comfort and tranquility in the parish premises, whereas previously complaints and impatience were frequent.
Garly Joseph, Counselor of the Consular Service of the Embassy of Haiti in Chile, thanked the Latin American parish for the collaboration, which allowed to decongest the consulate and increase the number of daily procedures.
Gadiano Gabriel, a Haitian for five years in Chile, was part of the parish team for this initiative. "It was a very important collaboration - he underlines -. Among all the difficulties we have every day for the attention towards Haitians, this help is a blessing, because we have been able to multiply the number of users who need attention for the their regularization process. It is really very important and urgent for us". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 27/10/2021)
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