Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers have been with us since time immemorial. Science tells us that Homo Sapiens began migrating out of the African continent some 70,000 to 100,000 years ago to Europe and Asia, reaching Australia some 35,000 to 65,000 years ago, and the Americas over 13,000 years ago.
Scripture recounts the migration of Abraham, the father of faith, from Ur, in what is now Iraq, to the land of Canaan. Much later, when the Davidic kingdom became divided, the people of the northern realm of Israel, then of the southern realm of Judah, were displaced into exile by Assyria and Babylon.
The Holy Family sought asylum in Egypt following the birth of Jesus, escaping the infanticide and jealousy of Herod.
Today, the fear of the “other”—where people are viewed as abstract entities and treated as less-than-human—has led to increased immigration controls, dehumanising socio-political rhetoric, and the construction of physical barriers along national borders. There has also been a rise in discriminatory attitudes. A recent BBC report said the Greek coast guard was responsible for the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over a period of three years.
In the UK, the Conservative government has implemented its plan—originally proposed in 2022 and passed by Parliament in April of this year—to send refugees and asylum seekers to Rwanda. It insists that the measure will deter unregistered migrants from making the dangerous crossing across the English Channel in small boats to seek asylum.
At the end of 2023, the UN reported that a staggering 117.3 million people were refugees, forcibly displaced by persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations and events seriously disturbing the public. Sadly, estimates suggest that this has only trended upward in the first four months of 2024 with the number likely to exceed 120 million at year’s end.
Has humanity lost sight of its humanity?
Perhaps there is hope. A CNN report tells of an amateur soccer team deep in the eighth tier of the Italian soccer league, made up of migrants. Known as the Rinascita Refugees [rinascita meaning “rebirth”], it is funded by social programmes through the Italian Ministry of the Interior. Education, legal protection, psychological support and health care have been crucial to helping players be welcomed into Italian society.
In Hong Kong, asylum seekers can’t be sent back to countries where they would be in danger. If they prove their refugee status they still have to wait for acceptance from a host country. Meanwhile, they are not allowed to work for a living but receive US$400 each month for housing, transportation, and food. Currently, about 15,000 people are in this situation.
Entities such as the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, International Social Service Hong Kong Branch, the Home of Love, Caritas-Hong Kong’s Social Work Services Division and others are doing their best to help
Posting on X/Twitter on World Refugee Day Pope Francis wrote, “The faces, the eyes of refugees ask us not to turn away, not to deny the humanity that unites us, to make their stories our own and not to forget their dramas.” SE
