People will always move

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Borders can’t prevent fear

Human beings have been, and always will be, on the move, out of necessity and curiosity, in order to escape peril and suffering, and to pursue aspirations for a better life. That will not change.

The picture of a Syrian father handing his toddler over the border into Turkey was taken in mid-2015. In the coming months, the civil war in Syria created 4.9 million refugees seeking escape to Europe. The crisis for Europe didn’t start in Syria. Human beings have been, and always will be, on the move, out of necessity and curiosity, in order to escape peril and suffering, and to pursue aspirations for a better life. That will not change. Nor does the crisis stop at the border. If political power is based on fear of the “other”, and it succeeds in keeping out people on the move, other groups will be identified as a threat by those in power. In Hungary and Poland, for instance, anti-refugee sentiment has led to increased antisemitism and Islamophobia, as well as the criminalization of the homeless, disabled, mentally ill and LGBTQ—extending even to those who assist or advocate on their behalf. No doubt such policies will have a corrosive effect on the values and norms of any society. Nevertheless, as noted in the broadly ecumenical message from the conference on xenophobia, racism and populist nationalism (Rome, 2018): We must “… recognize that the concerns of many individuals and communities who feel threatened by migrants—whether for security, economic or cultural identity reasons—have to be acknowledged and examined.”

These challenges will only intensify in the future—not only for Europe, but for the entire world. As projections for migration related to global warming estimate between 150 million to 250 million climate change refugees by the year 2040, it is crucial that responsible actors in civil society come together to forge a path towards greater social cohesion. This work must be done from the grassroots level up, while advocating for a broadly shared vision that is diverse, humane and inclusive in order to meet these challenges.

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