The 6th Catalan Congress on Mental Health calls for fraternity, rights, and democratic quality in relation to migrants.
- The Minister of Health of the Generalitat highlights «Catalonia's European exceptionality» in the field of reception.
- The psychiatrist of Syrian origin, Nabil Sayed-Ahmad Beirutí, addresses migration as a phenomenon «inherent to human nature with many positive aspects.»
«We will not be a mentally and spiritually healthy society until we treat each other en masse and ordinarily as brothers.» With these words, the Minister of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya inaugurated this morning, Antoni Comín, the 6th Mental Health Congress: ‘Migrations, Exile, and Refuge: Human Rights and Mental Health’. A fraternity that has also been claimed by the president of the Catalan Mental Health Congress Foundation, Àngels Vives, in his speech, which should guide the approach to migration from the perspective of rights and democratic quality. «We must make citizens,» he stated. Oriol Amorós, Secretary of Equality, Migrations and Citizenship of the Generalitat.
Toni Comín: «We will not be a mentally and spiritually healthy society until we treat each other en masse and ordinarily as brothers.»
Government representatives have highlighted universal healthcare and job placement services provided by the SOC, even to undocumented individuals, as two examples of what Antoni Comín has described as 'Catalonia's exceptionalism in the European context» regarding integration policies. The Commissioner for Health of the Barcelona City Council, Gemma Tarafa, has recalled the existence of the Service for the Care of Immigrants, Emigrants and Refugees for almost three decades and the ‘Barcelona, City of Refuge’ plan since 2015.
The Dean of the College of Social Work of Catalonia, Núria Carrera, has highlighted the professionals' willingness to embrace community action—in the case of social work, "by issuing social prescriptions and accompanying people in their integration"—and has defended denunciation and mobilization "to generate change and ensure everyone's rights." For its part Lluís Noguera, director of CosmoCaixa – the venue hosting the Congress until Saturday, June 3 – has highlighted «the importance of culture, one of the pillars of a welfare society» in the process towards full citizenship for migrants.
The report by Nabil Sayed-Ahmad Beirutí, a Syrian-born psychiatrist, has framed the phenomenon of migration as something inherent to human nature and has championed the «myriad positive aspects» it brings: loss of fear of the other, opportunities, knowledge, learning... Sayed-Ahmad has adopted Amin Maalouf's perspective when advocating for talking about origins instead of roots: «people don't have roots, they have feet and they walk.» He has, however, lamented that today's migrations, the forced displacements that risk mental health, are the result of a certain globalization and economic reasons linked to the concentration of wealth.
Congress will feature contributions from numerous professionals and experts from various fields between today and Saturday, including the professor of Moral and Political Philosophy Margarita Boladeras, the philosopher and writer Josep Ramoneda, and the founder and director of the Psychopathological and Psychosocial Care Service for Immigrants and Refugees (SAPPIR) at Sant Pere Claver Hospital in Barcelona, Joseba Achotegui. The objective of the call is to build proposals capable of reducing risks associated with migration and improving coexistence and citizen cohesion, thereby increasing population health and well-being.
The 6th Catalan Mental Health Congress is co-organized by the Catalan Mental Health Congress Foundation (FCCSM), the Official College of Social Work of Catalonia (TSCAT), and the Official College of Physicians of Barcelona (COMB), with the collaboration of the remaining professional colleges, sponsor members of the FCCSM: the Official College of Psychology of Catalonia (COPC), the Official College of Nurses of Barcelona (COIB), and the College of Social Educators of Catalonia (CEESC).