18/12/2014 (Agence Europe) - International Migrants Day. Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos, marking International Migrants Day on Thursday 18 December, said in a statement that migrants are an important part of our societies and that “migration has helped us grow stronger economically, culturally and socially”. He said that, in these bleak economic times, the biggest challenge is the rise of xenophobia. The NGO Amnesty International has chosen this year to highlight the poverty of migrants and the economic exploitation they face in many countries, such as Qatar, Hong Kong and Indonesia and expresses concern at the rise in anti-migrant feeling in Europe. (SP)