@jrsromania.bsky.social
https://jrsromania.org JRS seeks to accompany, serve, and advocate the cause of refugees and other forcibly displaced people, that they may heal, learn and determine their own future https://www.facebook.com/jrsromania
JRS Romania asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs for transparency and real consultation on Romania’s draft law implementing the EU Migration and Asylum Pact, plus safeguards for vulnerable people. We urge an impact assessment before adoption.
SMART UA workshop in Romania brought institutions, academics, NGOs and Ukrainians to discuss jobs, barriers and long-term solutions. Work means dignity, but post-2027 uncertainty blocks plans. Watch the video: youtu.be/IEEflwruGOY
A Ukrainian mother shares Vika’s story: war trauma, regression, shifting diagnoses, and real progress only after years of specialised, Ukrainian-speaking support at JRS. Funding ended, many children lost vital therapy. Please share to reach funders.
“My name is Mohammad and I am from Afghanistan. For me, language is very important because I am a refugee in Romania, so I have to learn Romanian in order to integrate into the community in Romania. I know that without a common language I will not be able to find a job or find my place here.”
In 2025, #OneProposal supported 7,053 people (6,440 Ukrainians) across 11 cities in Romania and Vinnytsia. We prioritised the most vulnerable and combined emergency aid with education, health support, and integration steps toward stability.
We referred refugees for entry-level hospitality jobs but none were hired. The stated reason was “no English,” yet the real barrier was “fit” and first impressions. Many arrive after trauma, hardship, but even minimum-wage roles often expect people to be fully “work-ready”.
Ukrainian athlete Vladyslav Heraskevych honoured the memory of 660 Ukrainian athletes killed by Russia by wearing their photos on his helmet. The IOC disqualified him at the skeleton start. Vladyslav refused. Dignity and principles matter more than a medal.
JRS Europe warns: the EP is backing faster asylum rejections and transfers to “safe” countries. Risks: fewer safeguards, more detention, removal to places with no real link, possible non-refoulement breaches. More: tinyurl.com/jrseurope
Romanian language courses remain essential 📚. Through SMART UA (EU co-funded 🇪🇺), JRS Romania supports Ukrainians new to Bucharest and those here for years to learn Romanian/English, build confidence, and manage daily life: work, doctors, documents, stability. 🤝💬🌍
Oct–Dec 2025: JRS Romania & UNICEF supported 4,486 Ukrainian refugee children with learning hubs, Romanian classes (1,984), materials (3,000), psychosocial support, and certified school mediators guiding parents into Romanian schools.
5 Feb 2025: 34 years since Fr Pedro Arrupe SJ died. Founder of JRS (1980), he cared for Hiroshima’s victims and urged action for Vietnamese boat families: not just compassion, but organized presence—lives of faith and love for the poor.
Today, JRS Romania staff and families join the Prayer Vigil at Saint Joseph Cathedral, Bucharest, for the International Day against Human Trafficking. We stand in prayer and solidarity for every person’s dignity, freedom and protection. 🕯️🙏🤝
This week your donations helped 11 undocumented refugees (3 women) at the JRS center buy food (500–700 RON each). With no state support, they’re pushed from place to place. JRS remains their safe shelter; Sergiu supports them daily.
SMART UA partners met in Brussels at JRS Europe for an in-person kick-off to align objectives and next steps in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. They reviewed findings and workshops, highlighting barriers: language, discrimination, skills recognition for UA refugees.
New article on migrant worker exploitation in Romania by Balkan Insight -Migrant Workers in Romania: Dreams of Freedom Exploited for Profit, shows that work visas offer little real protection. Many workers move on or return home to escape abuse. These are the same stories we hear everyday.
5 Feb 2025: 34 years since Fr Pedro Arrupe, SJ, founder of JRS. He tended to the wounded in Hiroshima and urged action for refugees: lives, not words.
JRS Romania joins monthly Immigration Office coordination to review vulnerable cases, co-design solutions, and coordinate complex support for severe Gaza medical cases.
𝐉𝐑𝐒 𝐃𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐌𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬
Working with people always requires special effort and a big heart.
Every day we listen, support, look for solutions in difficult situations, offer guidance, and simply stay close.
But we also know: it’s not always possible to help in every situation.
Valentyna, 68, fled Mykolaiv. In Bucharest, her savings are almost gone and a €50/month pension can’t cover rent, food, and medicine. She urgently needs support.
Hospitality starts at home: speak kindly, listen, hold the door, give a seat. If we want to welcome refugees, let’s first welcome each other today.
Let’s tell everyone what refugees truly want.
We’ll start first:
• Peace
• Safety
• Freedom
• Protection
• Dignity
• Education
• Work
• Community
• A future
• A home
What do you think they want?
👇Reply in the comments.👇
#Refugees
#HumanDignity
#Peace
#Safety
#solidarity
#Hope
In recent times of increasing global crisis, JRS has remained steadfast, accompanying more than 1 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people each year. Together, we can build a world where every displaced person finds protection, opportunity, and participation.
The Voice of Hind Rajab in cinemas from Feb 6. On Jan 2024 Red Crescent volunteers took an emergency call: 6-year-old Hind trapped in a car under fire in Gaza, begging for rescue. Her voice echoes our “A New Home” refugees in Romania. Stay attentive and human, don’t let suffering fade into noise.
Wasfi is our colleague and he came to Romania from Syria as a refugee. 🧳 He has been working with JRS Romania for almost three years. He helps other refugees find a home 🏠 and has taught robotics courses to Ukrainian children 🤖. This is his story. www.facebook.com/share/p/1CEC...
Two elderly refugee pensioners have ended up homeless in Romania. They are not the only ones. They are just two faces of a reality we see more and more often. What stays with us is a bitter feeling. Powerlessness. Despair. Full story www.facebook.com/share/r/1Ara...
🤖💻🎓Robotics, IT, coding, digital design, and 3D printing courses. Certificates, diplomas, progress, and joy. 🌟
Well done, refugee kids—you’re an inspiration! 👏
Support EDUCATIONAL programmes for REFUGEE CHILDREN
jrsromania.org/ro/doneaza
Ludmila, 66, from Odesa, lives in Bucharest alone. A knee injury and worsening vision make walking painful. Without a registered address she can’t access disability support, and she’s often forced to move. Sometimes she goes hungry. It is hard. She has no one to turn to.
Please donate to cover essential medicines for Palestinian families medically evacuated from Gaza to Romania. Not all prescriptions are reimbursed. Help them hold on. jrsromania.org/ro/doneaza
27 ianuarie 2026 Ziua Internațională de Comemorare a Victimelor Holocaustului
Pentru noi, înseamnă faptul că demnitatea și drepturile nu sunt negociabile, niciodată, pentru nimeni. Vedem cât de repede frica dezumanizează, iar memoria Holocaustului ne obligă să reacționăm la ură.