On Monday, the 31st January, 2022, news of an anti-immigration march in the city of Iquique, Chile, attended by about four thousand people, went around the world. Some protesters attacked a refugee camp, inhabited mainly by Venezuelans, destroying its tents and burning its personal belongings. A similar episode also occurred at the end of September 2021.
In response, the Bishop of the Diocese of Iquique, Mgr. Isauro Covili, OFM, since his installation in mid-2022, has launched continuous appeals to stop all forms of violence, inviting everyone to be "instruments of peace" and to live a culture of welcome with migrants in the area.
Iquique is a city in the Tarapacá region (on the border with Bolivia), in northern Chile, 1,800 kilometres north of Santiago. It has an estimated population of 233,228.
The Franciscan Network for Migrants (RFM) of Iquique has carried out several activities since its founding in 2023. The beginning of 2026 has been particularly intense.
The first of these activities took place from 9 to 11 January. The RFM, together with the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, organised the three-day initiative "Space of Fraternal Joy" with the aim of creating a safe and fraternal space that would promote joy, play, learning and integration for the migrant children of Paso de la Mula during their holiday period. January and February are, in fact, holiday periods in Chile, which coincide with the austral summer of the Southern Cone. Paso de la Mula is one of the migrant settlements in Alto Hospicio, Iquique.
On the first day of the event, the 9th January, the brothers and sisters playfully explored the theme "My Emotions," and on the second day, "My Cultural Identity." Games, songs, painting, prayer and theatre were the pedagogical tools used to entertain the children gathered at the Vincentian Sisters.
The third day was the most awaited. The program included an excursion to one of the city's beaches. At seven in the morning of the 11th January, about 30 children returned to the place arranged by the nuns. A delicious breakfast awaited them. Two hours later, they were enjoying the waves of the Pacific Ocean.
On the beach, a two-meter-long plastic inflatable whale was the main attraction for the children. Everyone wanted to get on it or, at least, hug it. The black and white whale was only able to rest during lunch, whilst the children enjoyed the meal prepared by the nuns. After a break, the sand and the sea welcomed the children again.
Alto Hospicio is located on one of the desert coastal mountain ranges of Iquique. Following the violence that erupted in 2021 and 2022, many migrants occupied land and have since built precarious housing without basic services.
Another activity carried out by RFM took place in February 2026. A small portable pool has been installed in the Vincentian Sisters' courtyard that will be available until the beginning of the school year: "The pool is for girls on Tuesdays and for boys on Wednesdays," explains Sister María Isabel Ruiz, FDC.
For her part, Sister Totty Bórquez, FMM, a member of the RFM in Iquique, acknowledges that migration is a topic discussed with suspicion and distrust in the city. For her, the RFM is a welcoming hand, and, in the silence of listening, the migrants learn not to be alone and to believe in them.
On the afternoon of the 17th February, in the room where breakfast was served on the day of the outing, while the girls enjoyed the pool, their mothers participated in a meeting to define the program, days and times of the three-month thermal printing entrepreneurship workshop for ten migrant women. Outside, Sr. Jeanette Martínez, FDC, took care of the girls and offered them a light snack.
The participants come from Bolivia, Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua. This project not only aims to train them in the production of various products, but also to provide resources for brand development, social media management for product positioning, and legal advice for the establishment of a cooperative. The subtitle of the workshop is "Woman, you can!".
Fr. Julio Campos, OFM, parish priest of the parish of St. Anthony of Padua in Iquique and facilitator of the RFM of Chile, says that working with migrant children and adults "is an opportunity to enrich my vocation as a younger brother who follows Jesus in his poverty and innocence."
In addition, RFM plans to increase its support to the Chilean Catholic Institute for Migration (INCAMI) of the Chilean Bishops' Conference, through its pastoral work with migrants.
Listening and spiritual accompaniment are offered to migrants passing through or residing in the city. Among the services offered by INCAMI are legal advice, immigration guidance, a shelter, health services and a listening and spiritual accompaniment centre. Br. Vicente Taji, SVD is the Director, while Janett Gómez Calle is the Director and Coordinator of the Iquique office.
"Working with migrants is a daily challenge because it involves going out of oneself, looking towards the other, listening to someone one does not know and acting with trust," says Fr. Julio Campos. "This attitude towards life is healthy because it means living with the hope of believing in others and, therefore, of believing in God," he concluded.
Br. Daniel Rodríguez Blanco, OFM
JPIC Office Director – Rome
