We are outraged by the current treatment of refugees massing and being turned away at our southern border. The greatest offense comes from the abhorrent, immoral, abusive and destructive separation of children from their parents. The God who welcomes little children and who over and over again, tells us to care for widows, orphans and “strangers”. Will not look kindly on how our nation acts today—and none of us are innocent.
Today, on World Refugee Day, I put my outrage aside for a few moments to celebrate the refugees I have come to know and to encourage readers to follow the advice of Pope Francis to “Share the Journey” with refugees.
For almost 12 years I visited immigrants in detention in our NJ jails with First Friends. A few have been characters who I will not miss, but the overwhelming majority have been people whom I enjoyed sharing hours with speaking on a phone and looking through a plate glass window under the strict supervision of the jailers. About half of those who I met were deported, the others have been returned to their former lives. Although I visit only in New Jersey facilities, none of those I visited came from New Jersey. They either lived in New York City of were refugees who arrived at the Bergen County Jail from the borders where they asked for asylum. I have brought wives and children to the jail to say good-bye before deportation, brought parents to visit, given a few bucks to their —accounts and helped post a bond a couple of times.
The large majority of those I visited do not keep in touch and I understand because that time is one they want to forget. A few have kept in touch over the years through Facebook and phone calls, and one lived with us for nine months after his release.
I was also blessed by the four weeks I spent at a refugee camp in France where I met so many good people looking to start their lives in places where (relative) peace reigned.
Each of these men and women have helped open my heart and helped me to see how blessed we are in the US, and to realize the truth: that I did nothing to deserve my birth to a good Irish-American family in America. No one has anything to say about the country into which they were born or the color of the skin they will live with. We all have a right to live in peace. That realization helps keep me humbled and aware that I should be sharing the good news I have received.
Pope Francis, last September asked us all to “Share the Journey” with migrants and refugees. He recommends we learn four verbs to govern our responses to migrants and refugees who now number over 65.6 million worldwide. That number is still growing.
First, we are asked to welcome them, to make it easier and simpler for them to come to our country…working to put a stop to separation of mothers and children at the border is a start. Secondly, we are asked to protect them, an ongoing effort to defend their rights as newcomers. We do not want them detained indefinitely even with their children. Thirdly, to promote them is to create paths they can follow to achieve their potential as human beings. Finally, we are asked to integrate them into our society in a way that is respectful of, and does not cause them to lose, their own cultural identity,
Over the years, I’ve had many opportunities to share the stories of refugees so I am so happy to pass on the pontiff’s suggestions. You can read about some encounters of my friends and I in earlier blog posts such as The Tables Turned.
One practical way to “Share the Journey” is to sit down and “break bread” with migrants or refugees. You can do it in your home, or in a larger group, such as your congregation. Pope Francis hopes we will listen and hear some truth they have to share that we may need to hear. Get beyond discussing what we do for a living and how many children we have to sharing what our dreams and hopes are and what fears we have. If we are honest in our sharing, we will see that the hopes and dreams are the same. When real listening takes place, the walls that already exist between us begin to crumble and the need to build more walls becomes just a bad memory.
What is most exciting is that sharing the journey present an opportunity for “us and them” to become “we”.
One human family.
Happy World Refugee Day!