A difficult journey
World Refugee Day could also be called World Forcibly Displaced People Day, but that doesn't have much of a ring to it. "Refugee" is a recognizable word that isn't too difficult to define and grasp.
The technical definition of a refugee is someone who, owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail themself of the protection of that country. These are generally “life or death” situations. They are not situations related to weather or economics, though those are other reasons that might prompt someone to migrate through other pathways.
There are two other major groups of people who fit into closely related categories. Asylum-seekers are generally expected to have the same basis for fear of persecution. The process is just different for entry into a country of potential resettlement. Rather than being approved BEFORE arrival, they are seeking approval UPON or AFTER arrival. The other group is Internally Displaced People. They also have the same fears, but they remain somewhere in their country, at least for a time. Many of them hope to return home. Some settle in a new area within their country. Others eventually leave.
There are new statistics that just came out! It is exciting to get numbers that are more current, but the numbers themselves aren’t very encouraging right now. They keep getting worse.
As of the end of 2023, there were approximately 117.3 million forcibly displaced people around the world. That means more than 1 out of every 69 people in the world has been forcibly displaced from their home. A huge percentage of those people are young people; about 40% of them are under the age of 18.
Have they all come to the United States? Definitely not. Iran hosts the most with about 3.8 million, followed closely by Türkiye with 3.3 million people. About 75% are hosted in low- to middle-income countries (e.g., Lebanon, Chad, Tanzania). In FY 2023, the U.S. admitted 60,014 people for resettlement, a good help but a small number when looking at the scale of numbers around the world.
When I wrestle with my personal thoughts related to borders and migration, what becomes most important to me in terms of perspective is to think of individual people and families – real people with faces, fears, struggles, and hopefully some dreams for the future. Conversely, when thinking of things more generally, I struggle to think clear, fair thoughts. I’m grateful for the many personal things I’ve learned from friends like Salvador, Maalin, Fahim, Faisal, and Abdullahi.
My heart breaks for people in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country close to where I used to live in Tanzania - a beautiful country, a country that just occasionally gets into U.S. news reports, a country where there is so much conflict and pain. Large-scale displacement of people has been happening for decades. In 2023, several million people were newly displaced within the country and more than 6 million people remained internally displaced at the end of the year. That’s just one example. I could talk about the numbers of people from Haiti who have arrived in Fort Morgan recently. I could reflect on the two Venezuelan families I worked with earlier this year. It's hard.
What can we do? “Not much” is the easy answer. The scale and complexities are overwhelming. But… I’ve been learning more and more about the importance of little gestures. Even if we are super busy, there are things we can do, whether specifically towards refugees or more generally to the people around us. Be informed, and choose to do something, even if it is small. Be ready to pause and help the lost or confused person around town or at the airport. Be open to and possibly even seek out a cross-cultural friendship. Offer to give a ride to someone needing help getting to an important medical or court appointment. Consider spending a couple hours a week working with someone on language learning. Smile. That simple smile might mean a lot to someone in an uncomfortable situation.
I’ve been spending quite a bit of time in Matthew 5 lately. Though the end of the chapter is focused on people categorized as “enemies,” I think it also teaches us to love those who are hard to love. “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?” Pair that with what is taught later in Matthew: “Which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Take the challenge. Love well.
If you want to spend more time on the topic of refugees, here are a few links you might find interesting, some of which were used to acquire information discussed above:
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