A selfless life dedicated to welcoming migrants and refugees

Defender of the rights of migrants; Sister Telma Lage, played an essential role in welcoming Venezuelans to Roraima

Irmã Telma foi uma das primeiras a oferecer apoio e acolhida a tantas pessoas que viam em nosso país uma oportunidade de recomeçar a vida (foto: divulgação)

On Wednesday the 23rd of June, we received, with deep regret and sense of loss, the news of the death of Sister Telma Lage, a key defender of the human rights of migrants and refugees.

Head of the Center for Migration and Human Rights, Diocese of Roraima, Sister Telma has played a vital role in welcoming Venezuelans to Boa Vista since the beginning of the humanitarian crisis that affected the neighboring country and forced the displacement of tens of thousands of people across the land border with Brazil.

Sister Telma was one of the first to offer the needed support and welcome, to so many people who saw in Brazil, our country, an opportunity to begin again. She was relentlessly dedicated to the cause even before the advent of humanitarian organizations in Roraima and the federal government assumed charge of the management of the inflow of Venezuelan refugees.

A perfect example of love for the most needy, Sister Telma combined assistance, when necessary with a firm oppositional action, to fight for migrants recognition as subjects of rights, as determined by our Constitution and legislation on refuge and migration.

This great activist used Law, as a tool to achieve the social justice that she practiced and emulated so much, in her daily life. As a lawyer, she worked in partnership with Conectas on different court cases demanding the end of flagrant discrimination by local authorities in adherence to the rights of the migrant population.

A combative voice in the face of injustice  also conveyed words of comfort and optimism around her. Your wide smile and warm hugs will be greatly missed as well as your vision of a more welcoming world. With no iota of doubt, the human rights movement loses one of its fiercest defenders, but her examplary life will remain a legacy to all.