Refugees

Refugee.  n.  a person who has been forced 

to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.

Foreigner. n. a person not belonging

 to a particular place or group; a stranger or outsider.

To live in Fear and Uncertainty
I have never been a refugee so I don't know what it would be like to be one.  But I can imagine it being 1000 times worse than some of the experiences I've had in the past.

A few years ago I was in the middle of the highlands in South America.  I was traveling in a 'red' area - an area where terrorists were known to go around.  I had heard stories of kidnaps in the middle of the road and the family traveling with me actually told me their saga of being taken by terrorists only to be released miraculously later on.

With all of this in mind, and having lived in the capital city during the years of heavy fighting between the government and the terrorists, I had a pretty good idea of what the risks were.  I had even signed a released form releasing the NGO I was traveling with from paying ransom for my release if I were to be taken hostage.

And in the middle of a dusty and dangerous bus trip we were stopped by the police.  I could tell eyes were on me as the 'foreigner' sticking out like a sore thumb.  I remembered being so afraid.  I felt helpless.  I prayed to God to take me out of this place. 

In the end, nothing happened.   They looked at my papers and moved on.  But not before reminding me what it must feel like to live in places where there is no guarantee for peace and/or where you stick out like a sore thumb (in a negative way)

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I still remember the night a car bomb blasted about 10 houses from ours, on the same street.  It shattered all our windows. Our first reaction was to go make sure everyone was ok because we knew already it was a car bomb.  When you live in places with fighting you just know it.  You have no time to be shocked.  The car bombs were no longer just on TV, they were on my street.  All of a sudden we felt very vulnerable.  

I think we slept with mom and dad for several nights after that.
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And I remember mom and dad advising us to walk away whenever we saw police and the army...not because we couldn't trust them, but because you never knew if there might be confrontations or fightings happening.

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These events are nothing compared to what a lot of people experience now in the Middle East.

I definitely do not know everything there is to know about the Syrian crisis, or terrorists, or processes by which governments in the West process refugees. 

But I've been pondering on what is happening to US here in comfortable North America as we watch these things unfold in front of our eyes.  

Conditional Love
It now seems like years ago that the world woke up to the pictures of that little boy who washed ashore.  Even though Syria had been a war zone for years, we had forgotten it for the most part until that picture.

And then the world "woke up" and we chanted that humanity needed to rally behind all these refugees.

But then the world realized there was not just 1 family fleeing; not 10, not 100, and not even 1000.  Refugees (or those pretending to be) kept coming and coming.  It was fine when they were going to Turkey but now they are coming to Europe.

And then all of a sudden it got personal, and it got uncomfortable

Love shifts to Politics
And so the rhetoric then shifts to what the governments should or shouldn't do.  You heard less and less discussions about people wanting to learn more about the history of how Syria got into this state, or What kinds of lives the refugees stuck in Turkey had been enduring with, or the challenges NGOs are facing, or how people could help.

Entitlement
We all got even more scared when we heard about the terrorist attack in France, and all of a sudden these 2 pieces of news became ONE.

People began talking about our rights to defend ourselves.  People talked about our rights to take care of our own.  After all, we all have homeless and needy people needing help.  We talked about how OUR money should be spent.

And let's be honest, it's easy to 'help' from afar, as long as they don't mess our comfortable lives.  After all, we deserve security, comfort and peace.  We worked Hard to get it.

So it became easier to just argue about what our governments should or shouldn't do.

What will YOU do?
But it hits me...why aren't we commenting on what WE want to do instead?

If we agree with the government opening its doors to help refugees resettle here, HOW are WE going to help in the resettlement process?  Do we have any idea of what life might be like for a refugee?  What kinds of needs do they typically have?


If we disagree with thegovernement opening its doors, then HOW are WE going to help the refugees from afar?  Or do we feel they just need to fend for themselves because, after all, we all 'survive' through life's tough moments?  

I have no certainty about security.  I have no certainty about my children's future.  I have no certainty about whether terrorists are disguising themselves as refugees. 

My Certainty and Confidence

But THIS I DO KNOW.

To be a follower of Christ, we are not called to preach on what we think the government should or shouldn't do.  We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  His Kingdom Come, His Will be Done.  To shine in darkness.  To be salt.

To be a follower of Christ I am not called to a life of safety and security.  What I am called to be is to do the 'dumb' and unpopular thing:  to lose your life is to gain

To be a follower of Christ is to not follow the patterns of this world.  My decisions might not make sense to most but it must come out of love.  Not because people (aka refugees) deserve it, but because even though I didn't deserve salvation, God granted it to me freely.

To be a follower of Christ is to do His will, not mine.  And to me at least, the Bible is filled with words on what His will would be for us in this situation.  

It is easy to love when the love is reciprocated, when there is merit in the action, when our actions are proven to result in 'favourable' outcomes, but I'm not called to be that.  I'm called to love DESPITE it all.  I'm called to love EVEN if they take advantage of me; even if they laugh at me; even if they threaten me; and even if it costs my life.

YES, I do worry.  YES, I do think about repurcussions of one or the other decision.  YES, I wonder and I can be cynical about governments.  YES, I get scared too.  

But that doesn't change the basis of who I am in Christ and my MISSION in life.

The issues aren't so much about politics.  If we are followers, it really doesn't matter that much whether we agree or disagree with our governments, because EITHER WAY, we will find a way to RESPOND and help.



Lest we forget

There are never guarantees in life, and yet, Canada accepted me even though I came from a country famous for drug cartels and at the time the worst Terrorist group in South America. They not only accepted me, but they helped me, provided for me and welcomed me. 

How could I forget that? 

And on the other hand, because of my race, if I had come to Canada in the 1880s I would have been condemned, mocked at, charged a ludricous amount to come in and would have (and this would continue up to the times after WWII) had to live in China town because I would not have been welcomed in white Canada.

Humanity deserves better.  But humanity is flawed and we all make mistakes.

Right now my race is on the other side.  We have more power, more presence, more everything.  The attention has shifted from Asians, or Latin Americans to the Middle East.

I now have a voice.

I pray I don't use that voice to simply protect my own.

Lest we forget goes farther than just remembering our soldiers who fought for us.  Let's not forget our history.  And Let's not forget our Calling in Life.

Matthew 25:35-40The Message (MSG)

34-36 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what’s coming to you in this kingdom. It’s been ready for you since the world’s foundation. And here’s why:

I was hungry and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’

37-40 “Then those ‘sheep’ are going to say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was me—you did it to me.’