So first I want to start with an apology for not blogging in such a long time! Admittedly I felt that I needed to write something about the refugee situation because everyone was talking about it and asking me for my opinion, but I didn’t know where to start. I think I have been avoiding writing about it mostly because I felt overwhelmed by the wide diversity of views and responses to the issue even when we are talking about just Christians. That said it has now been a couple of months since the peak of the crisis (at least as far as people waiting at train stations here in Budapest) and I feel more comfortable responding even though there are still many questions that I could not adequately answer.
One of the best responses that I have encountered was presented by a Hungarian/ American pastor that I know who addressed the issue in two distinct yet connected letters. One letter focused on our responsibility as Christians to love those in need. It outlined that we are called to love and not judge and how we should be careful not to miss an opportunity like this to share God’s love to people who might otherwise never have heard it and who if they receive it will have much more opportunity than we will ever have to share His love with their friends and family in closed countries. In light of recent events, we cannot blame the average immigrant for terrorist attacks for that is the very thing that they are trying to escape by moving here to Europe.
The second letter was a letter or warning. It discussed the very real possibility that along with sincere refugees in search of a better life, terrorist and extremist are taking advantage of the situation to infiltrate Europe. It also described how many Muslims when they migrate to Europe choose not to assimilate, but to develop their own communities where they continue to practice their own religion and essentially set up their own societies. People living in these communities may be even harder to reach than before they left their home countries. Essentially instead of becoming a more diverse population we may be becoming a more pocketed and unstable population. This might be a wake up call to what’s left of Christian Europe.
I hope that was clarifying and enlightening to some of you, I know it helped me to resolve that both, and feeling I have had as I have encountered diverse opinions regarding immigrants this fall. As far as my involvement, for the past couple of months I have been going to a refugee camp just outside of Budapest every other Monday with a group of Christians two of whom were refugees at that very camp some years ago. When we go we mostly hand out coffee, tea, snacks and maybe some donated clothes and then talk, play games and sing songs together. The first few times I went I really wondered what we were doing and if it made any difference, but by about my third or fourth visit, I had a really deep conversation with a young woman from Africa who came to study medicine in the Ukraine and now is afraid to go home because to be a woman doctor is illegal and not only would she be not allowed to practice, but she would fear for her own safety. When she finished her schooling, her visa expired and the Ukrainian government would not renew it so she snuck across the boarder to Hungary where she hopes to receive asylum and be allowed to start her medical residency. As I talked and grieved with her over a world where even studying medicine can be viewed as a crime and where returning to your family could be threatening to your life, I realized that what she needed in that moment was just to be listened to and loved, to have someone say they were sorry for the position she was in and that they admired her strength and courage in pursuing her dreams even when they might come at a very high price. After leaving that day I knew why we went and what kind of difference we were making.
Also surprisingly enough there are a couple of Cuban families there seeking political asylum and they always love to see me, as there are not so many people here in Hungary that they can talk to in Spanish. It makes my brain hurt to try to switch between 3 languages in one night, especially since Hungarian has decided to write over all of the Spanish I even knew so it comes out only as Spunglish (Spanish-Hungarian-English) but I try and they love it. They are becoming dear to me and every time we say goodbye they say two weeks is too long!
So those are some of my thoughts and experiences with refugees here in Europe. I hope that it helped you to paint a more diverse picture of what is happening here and has in some small way inspired you to pray for these people. Please also pray for the governments and leaders across Europe as they decide what will happen with the refugees and deal with political, economical and safety concerns.
Thank you as always for your prayers!
Liz