Recently the mayor and council members for the small Eastern Ontario city of Cornwall had a sit-down with federal immigration officials which had probably never occurred to them until mere weeks beforehand. It was about setting up a compound on municipal property for asylum seekers coming across the border from the U.S., through Quebec. Suddenly thousands of people, mostly from Haiti originally, were walking into Canada. All of them will be processed under Canada's immigration and asylum laws but they are desperate to try getting status here because of the new, draconian laws in the States.
The Cornwall council isn't xenophobic, but it wants to know how many of these asylum seekers will come their way, and what resources the feds will provide. Meanwhile, the federal government is trying to figure out how to deter these Haitian newcomers, many of whom are accommodated in tents along the border or in the Olympic stadium in Montreal. They can't "jump the queue" as it were, whether in Quebec or Manitoba or wherever the next crossing spot will be.
What a reminder for Canada and Canadians of the human tide of displaced persons in the world right now. There are more people on the move in the world at the moment than at any time since WW2, more than 40 million and rising.
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We are aware of this to a degree, because of the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have been welcomed into our communities across the country. We've learned that it is a demanding task to provide the necessities of life for people who have been living in refugee camps for years in some cases. The folk we've sponsored in Belleville, didn't just need a roof over their heads and food. Their kids were out of school for years, their teeth were rotting, and they didn't know English. Some of them had experienced violence and they were lonely.
The innovative artist Ai Wei Wei has a new documentary called Human Flow which is filmed in 23 countries with a crew of more than two hundred. Reviews suggest that he has taken a highly personal yet sweeping approach to the crisis of mass migration. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVZGyTdk_BY
It seems to me that we can take the suspicious, anti-immigrant, build-a-wall approach of the Trump administration or we can ask the bigger questions of why this human flow is increasing. As Christians whose scriptures direct us to care for the alien and the outcast, this is an imperative of our faith.
Thoughts?
3 comments:
Yes, it is the imperative of our faith, but the task is mammoth .... and corrupt governments around the world are responsible for the human disasters from which we try to pick up a few pieces. How do we remedy THAT situation? I always feel we have to be satisfied with the axiom, "I cannot save all of the world, but I can help a few..." But it seems so inadequate in the face of world wide dilemmas. We all know there i a LOT of money in the world but it is the hands of very few, and most of them do not seem to care about the woes of humankind. The worst thing is these folk seem to be willfully ignorant - the POTUSA especially is dangerously and willfully blind to real issues. And now we have N. Korea poking at his ego !
Excellent post, Judy. I would add that, when people are coming to Canada under horrific circumstances, ie the Syrian newcomers, we MUST ensure there is aftercare for a significant time after they arrive. It is not good enough to bring people in, then forget them once they are here.
One example: many newcomers, especially from the middle east but from many other areas, have a deep mistrust of the police. It goes even beyond mistrust to a paralyzing fear of the police, and they have good reason. There is more than just corruption in many police forces around the world, there is widespread abuse.
The newcomers bring these thoughts with them and believe the police are like that here. When these newcomers arrive, we(the police) have an opportunity to show them we are here to help, not hurt. The RCMP has done some work in this regard, but it must not stop. We can make a newcomer feel a little more at ease, and it really isn't hard work. It's about being there to help.
Thanks to both of you for adding important thoughts & observations. Judy, you are well aware of what Roger mentions about continuing care through involvement with our Syrian refugee families.
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