Refugees, an Anniversary, & Hospitality

 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2 NRSVue

Ten years ago this week many of us were jolted by a photo of the lifeless body a small child on a Turkish  beach. Alan Kurdi was three years old and drowned as his Syrian migrant family fled the war-torn country and attempted an uncertain Mediterranean crossing. 

Almost immediately afterward I had a conversation with a ministry colleague in Belleville about what we might do in terms of refugee sponsorship but we were at a loss. Shortly thereafter a highly competent former military doctor in my congregation approached me about sponsoring a Syrian family and I knew that with his guidance and expertise this could happen. Although we were a few months before the Canadian government sponsorship program we soon had a wonderful team of people from different congregations and other faith groups, as well as the general public, all dedicated to this undertaking. Some had been involved in the sponsorship of Vietnamese "boat people" decades earlier. 

One of the most meaningful moments of my 37 years of congregational ministry came when a local Syrian ex-pat sat in my study at Bridge St. Church and translated the telephone conversation with a Syrian family in a Lebanese refugee camp. In early December this family of five arrived in Belleville, the first of a total of 23 members from this family who are now integrated into Canadian society with young people who are thriving here after languishing without education or healthcare in the camp. In the end 25,000 Syrians came to this country and hundreds of thousands of Canadians were part of the practical hospitality. I will always be grateful to those who worked so diligently and selflessly. 

I read a Globe and Mail article about the changes in attitude by both the federal government and citizens in recent years when it comes to refugees and asylum claimants. Sadly, it seems that we have hardened our hearts to those in peril even as the number of people seeking refuge is on the rise globally. 

I'm hoping and praying that we will not become inured to the plight of others when the need is so great. Here are excerpts from that Globe piece:

Gauri Sreenivasan, co-executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees, said this weekend that the image of Alan Kurdi “stopped the hearts of the world – even though he was one of millions.” “Somehow, out of the tragedy of his death, and that image, hearts reactivated all over the world,” she said, galvanizing people and nations to help...

Ten years on, the plight of millions of displaced people from Syria and other war-torn states, such as Sudan, is no less acute, Ms. Sreenivasan said. But openness to accepting them, including in Canada, has been tempered.

Since Alan’s photo magnified the risks taken by people fleeing conflict, many thousands of people have lost their lives crossing on small boats to Europe.

The Missing Migrants Project, which since 2014 has been tracking the tragedy of people dying while trying to reach an international destination, says the number of those attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, who include refugees from African countries and the Middle East, has risen.

It found that nearly 60 per cent of deaths documented during migration are linked to drowning. In the Mediterranean Sea, at least 3,105 lives were lost in 2023, compared with 2,411 recorded in 2022.

Last month, a boat carrying nearly 100 migrants capsized in international waters off the Italian island of Lampedusa, killing at least 26 people and leaving about a dozen missing, according to the Italian coast guard and UN agencies.