I first posted this five years ago. It is a re-post: "I am so fed up with so-called xenophobia. In the most recent incident, a young congregant was ordered to get out of his room because the other tenants didn't want foreigners in this country. They seized his cell-phone, but he managed to save the rest of his property. However, a cellphone is a crucial tool for a refugee, and he lost half a month's rent, with no savings in reserve. OBSERVATION: If there were not extraordinary ministry pressures, I might seek a meeting with the offenders. As it is, I have asked for the name and number of his landlord. The Bible says: 'Love the alien as yourself' (Lev 19:34). I took the photo of displaced refugees at the height of the xenophobic violence in 2008."POSTSCRIPT: I did in fact go to meet with the offenders, arriving just as they confronted some foreigners. What I witnessed was frightening, and I abandoned my mission.
2 comments:
Yes, it's still rumbling away beneath the surface, like a dormant volcano. Then it'll erupt again and spew ash everywhere and jam up the works of society.
It's a very unfortunate problem. With our Church being situated in "refugee heartland", the stories of xenophobia are always bubbling under. Something really should be done to address it. But in so many things our country seems to stumble along blindly.
Post a Comment