BGAV Partners
Serving Refugees in a Time of Crisis by Will Cumbia It’s astonishing how quickly the world can change. Looking back, it is almost difficult to remember what the world looked like before the COVID-19 crisis. In only a matter of months, our reality has completely changed along with any certainty of what the future may look like. Though the present circumstances are very different, much of our global experience sounds familiar to me: disruption, displacement, fear, distance, uncertainty, pain, innovation, prayer. These are the themes that run consistently through the stories of refugees with whom I have the privilege to interact. The rest of the world is only now getting a taste of the reality of the world’s millions of displaced people.
through the crisis to distribute food and hygiene materials to vulnerable refugees and other marginalized groups within Lebanon. Though there were relatively few cases reported within refugee communities, the squalid conditions within which many refugees live exposes the inability to contain the virus should it spread.
In these difficult days, we have much to learn from refugees. Many refugees have had to live creatively and innovatively for years in order to survive. Faced with constant uncertainty and no promise of security, safety, or health, refugees have had to build up incredible stores of resilience. For many refugees, this resilience is drawn from deep wells of faith and prayer. Refugees around the world hold profound wisdom that testify to the tenacity of the human spirit when faced with hardship.
While public health remains an important area of concern, it is the economic repercussions of the global pandemic that presses more heavily on the Lebanese. Before the health crisis hit, Lebanon was already experiencing one of its worst economic crises in decades, including widespread unemployment. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation, causing the value of the Lebanese pound to plummet and prices for goods to skyrocket. These developments will continue to especially impact refugees and other vulnerable people as the purchasing power of what little they have decreases.
Yet, refugees, especially those recently displaced and on the way, are particularly vulnerable in this time of global pandemic. BGAV’s focus:refugees mission partners are continuing to tirelessly serve refugees even in the midst of crisis.
The next months will be extraordinarily challenging for our brothers and sisters in Lebanon. Yet, they continue to ground their hope in a resurrected king, trust in God’s grace, and remain steadfast in serving and uplifting the least of these. For the Lebanese Baptists, dark days are an opportunity for Christ’s Church to shine brighter.
Lebanon: A Crisis Within a Crisis
The Lebanese Baptists are accustomed to trusting God in the middle of uncertain circumstances. From 15 years of civil war to foreign occupation to hosting millions of Syrian refugees to recent mass government protests and economic crisis, the COVID-19 crisis is just the latest occurrence in a string of challenging circumstances. Indeed, the Lebanese Baptists are well practiced in trusting in God as their constant no matter how difficult the reality.
Croatia: Shaken Foundations
At 6:30am on March 22, 2020, Croatia was hit by a 5.3 magnitude earthquake. Only days into government ordered lockdown, the country was rattled. Even in the midst of crisis, the Croatian Baptists doubled down on their mission of preventing human suffering and serving those in need. While travel across the border into neighboring Bosnia was limited, this meant serving the elderly in their community and caring for refugees in a refugee housing center in Zagreb. Though COVID-19 has been
During the lockdown, Baptists did their best to continue to serve their communities through the work of the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development (LSESD). MERATH, the relief and aid branch of LSESD continues to work tirelessly 12
