I have been closely following the
European refugee crisis due in part to my regular teaching of mission courses
in the UK and around the world. Two years ago I visited the refugee camps in
Calais, France, where I met refugees from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan,
Iraq, Iran and many other countries (see update)
who were seeking entry into the UK.
Months before visiting Calais I had
run into Ismahan, a friend from Ethiopia living in Paris. She had visited us at
Tierra Nueva back in 2009 before moving to France. It was then that I connected
her to a church in Paris where we have close ties. When I saw her I told her
about my plans to visit Calais and asked if she had any contact with East African
refugees in France.
Ismahan became distressed and told
me that her 15-year-old brother was being held captive in Libya and was in
grave danger of being killed. She shared how her brother had paid a trafficker
to bring him from Ethiopia to Europe. In Libya he’d been captured by pirates,
who were demanding $12,000 ransom. She asked if I would accompany her to a part
of Paris where there were lots of refugees. She hoped to find someone who might
know how to effectively get ransom money to the traffickers to secure her
brother’s release.
That afternoon we headed to a metro
stop where East African refugees are known to congregate. Almost immediately we
met an Ethiopian man who introduced us to Eritreans who’d arrived that day from
having just crossed over by boat from Libya to Italy. He guided us to an abandoned
school where over 500 refugees from many countries were squatting in crowded,
miserable conditions. We ended up praying for a number of people there, and the
reality of the European refugee crisis suddenly became all too real for me (see
past update). We raised
some funds to help pay the ransom to free Ismahan’s brother, and she was able to
arrange her brother’s release.
On our recent trip to Paris this
Fall, Ismahan introduced us to her brother Aydarusse, now 17, who has finally
made it to France (photo above). He told us how his captors held him in a
shipping container full of other mostly young migrants in the desert for three
months (read more here).
His captors regularly tortured him and the other prisoners, some to the point
of death. They would hang him and other hostages by their wrists and whip them
on a daily basis—calling their family members threatening to sell them as slaves,
or sell their organs if they didn’t send money immediately. When his captors finally
received their ransom Aydarusse was released, put on a boat full of migrants.
“There was nobody to guide the boat
full of refugees,” he said. “They just gave us the GPS coordinates for Italy
and sent us across the Mediterranean.”
The boat behind them capsized and
hundreds of people drowned, including one of his close friends. He made it
across to Italy and spent a year in a refugee resettlement camp before Ismahan
was able to arrange his passage to Paris. Since his confinement in Libya, he
has been suffering from anxiety and seizures. Though he considers himself a Muslim he
asked us to pray for him. What a privilege to have this opportunity to hear his
story and minister the love of Jesus to him!
On November 5 during a layover in Paris
from Ethiopia I preached at a special international service with French,
Japanese and Egyptian congregations gathered at Eglise Protestante Unie du Marais
(watch here in English
and French). I had been asked to preach on Isaiah 58, the biblical text at the
heart of my pastoral call.
I shared how I’ve been struck afresh by
God’s word to the prophet: “Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a
trumpet, and declare to my people their transgression and to the house of Jacob
their sins” (vs. 1).
Why is the prophet to speak so strongly about the people’s
sins?
The people considered themselves in active pursuit of God
through spiritual practices, but they were frustrated: “Why have we fasted and you
do not see? Why have we humbled
ourselves and you do not notice?”
God, too, notices his people’s spiritual quests. “They
seek me day by day and delight to know my ways.” They ask me for just decisions, they delight in the nearness
of God” (58:2). However God is not impressed, seeing and exposing social sins
blocking their relationship with him and with each other.
“Behold,
on the day of your fast you find your
desire, and drive hard all your workers. Behold, you fast for contention and
strife and to strike with a wicked fist.”
Isaiah
exposes and denounces spirituality devoid of social compassion and equity. Here
God dismisses religion practiced by people who’ve hardened their hearts to the
plight of the poor. Isaiah’s message seems highly relevant to our times.
I
wonder what the equivalents of this would be today. I know how easy it is for
me to justify consumerism, and hostility around politics. Today’s growing lack
of civility sadly includes many Christians, and tough attitudes towards
immigrants, certain kinds of transgressors and national enemies are certainly
on the rise.
Through
the prophet God calls the people to a spirituality that involves them becoming agents
of freedom to people who are oppressed.
“Is
this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo
the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? Is
it not to divide your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into
the house; when you see the naked, to cover him; and not to hide yourself from
your own flesh?”
According
to Isaiah 58, abundant life, recovery and deep spiritual connection with God will
happen when we take action against injustice and engage concretely with people
in need around us.
“Then
your light will break out like the dawn, and your recovery will speedily spring
forth; and your righteousness will go before you; the glory of the Lord will be
your rear guard. Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will
cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.”
Hearing
God’s voice and being guided spiritually are intimately linked towards acting
compassionately to hurting people around us.
“And
the Lord will continually guide you, and satisfy your desire in scorched
places, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.”
As
I shared these thoughts and the story of Aydarusse, Ismahan suddenly noticed
that her brother was standing at the back of the church with a big smile on his
face. The whole congregation broke out in cheers. Many had contributed so he
could be released.
Currently
I am in contact with a Salvadoran pastor named Giovanni who had to flee El
Salvador due to his prison ministry to gang members. He himself is a former
gang member and was being targeted and persecuted by law enforcement. Upon
entering the United States this past August he was arrested by Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, and is being held in detention. Giovanni
continues to share his faith with fellow detainees and is making a big impact.
However he has just been given the opportunity to bail out to pursue his claim
for political asylum, but needs $5000 for bail. Consider helping him bail out
so he can rejoin his wife and son, now in Washington State (see our Gofundme
campain here).
May you open your heart afresh to
the living God and to vulnerable people around you during this season, as you
celebrate the birth of Jesus, the world’s Savior.
