by Cassandra Champion

During the Christmas season, we remember the story of Jesus’ birth and recount the long journey of Mary and Joseph from Nazareth to Bethlehem. At the end of their trek across the desert and through the rocky hills, the time came for Mary to give birth. But the holy family found no room at the inn and had to take shelter in a stable. They wrapped Jesus in swaddling clothes and made a cattle trough, or manger, his first bed.

While Jesus was still very small, Joseph learned that Herod sought to destroy the Messiah. To protect Jesus, the holy family fled to Egypt, a land of refuge, where they remained until it was safe to return home.

Here at the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth he was an alien, a stranger, a refugee. We are reminded:

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2).

Always with Hope
Immigrants around the world are forced to make the hard decision to leave their homelands. They leave behind their families, cultures, communities, their houses of worship, and their homes — everything they know — in search of better lives. They endure great hardships yet hold onto hope, knowing that God’s purpose for them is greater than that which they leave behind.

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the LORD, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Today, there are more than 12 million refugees in the world fleeing from persecution, seeking safe homes. A refugee is a person who is unable or unwilling to return to his or her country of origin because of past persecution or a well–founded fear of persecution, based on the person’s race, religion, nationality, social group, or political opinion.

Many refugees flee with no more than the clothes on their backs. They escape from war, tyranny, oppression. They leave because of fear or famine, but always with hope.

Somali Bantu Refugees
The civil war in Somalia, which began in the early 1990s, led to the collapse of not only the government, but also society as a whole in this coastal nation in East Africa. Millions of displaced Somalis sought asylum in neighboring countries. Most crossed the border to Kenya, where the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees established refugee camps. Among the most affected by the civil war were the Somali Bantu, a marginalized minority group that had long been afforded very few educational or economic opportunities.

In the late 1990s, the United States government offered resettlement to more than 14,000 Somali Bantu refugees then living at the Kakuma Camp in Kenya. The first group of Somali Bantu arrived in 2003 and they continue to resettle in America today.

Meskhetian Turkish Refugees from The Former Soviet Union
Originally from an agricultural region of Georgia along the border of Turkey, the Meskhetian Turks were deported primarily to Uzbekistan by Stalin during the 1950s. As the Soviet Union began to fall apart in the late 1980s, ethnic tension in Uzbekistan forced the Meskhetian Turks to disperse throughout Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. The Meskhetian Turks, most of whom are Muslim, were not allowed to become citizens, own land, or have full access to education.

Karen Christian Refugees in Thailand
There are more than 100,000 refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) now living in Thailand. Thousands more have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India to escape the ruling Burmese military regime. The Tham Hin refugee camp, whose name literally means "temporary shelter," houses nearly 10,000 Karen Christian refugees in severely crowded conditions.

Hope and Help
Khadijah, Aynura, and Nwe, their families, and other vulnerable immigrants come to us from all over the world with boundless hope. With the help and hard work of caring, committed people, they are given the chance to start their lives over in the United States.

For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever. Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you. Put them in fear, O LORD; let the nations know that they are only human (Psalm 9:18–20).

Critical Time for Newcomers
This is a critical time in our nation’s history, as our leaders debate whether America’s doors will remain open to newcomers. The world’s immigrants and refugees need our prayers. They need our voices. They need our welcoming embrace.

As Christians we bear a special responsibility to live out the word of God shared in Matthew 25:35–36:

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.

As you gather around the warm hearth with your loved ones this Christmas, remember that Jesus, too, was a refugee. We are called by him to welcome the stranger, to care for the vulnerable, and to stand with those unjustly accused — ever hopeful.

Cassandra A. Champion is the director for communications at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).

Khadijah
Country of origin – Somalia
Current home – United States
Early one morning while Khadijah and her family were still sleeping, the war came to their village. She and her husband, Farah, were awakened by gunfire and soldiers’ shouts. They were horrified to witness the brutal murder of her parents and sister, who lived next door. Khadijah grabbed their two babies and Farah carried their five–and eight–year olds. They directed the eldest two children to stay with them and run as fast as they could.

In the panic and chaos of flight, Khadijah and her husband were separated. They never found each other. She crossed the border and lived for 13 years at a refugee camp until finally being approved for resettlement last year. Khadijah is now a single mother living in the United States with three of her six children. She works as a hotel housekeeper, the children attend school, and the family is picking up the pieces of their lives.

Aynura
Country of origin – Turkey
Current home – United States
Aynura arrived in the United States a few months ago with her husband, Viktor, and their five children. With the help of a Lutheran social service agency and sponsorship by a Lutheran congregation, Aynura has been able to settle into her new community and adjust to her new life. She and Viktor have both taken English courses and have found jobs to help establish their roots in America.

Nwe
Country of origin – Myanmar
Current home - Thailand
Nwe, age 15, lives with her parents and four brothers and sisters. She was five years old when the family fled their burned and battered village, seeking protection.

For the past 10 years — most of her life — Nwe has lived in the Tham Hin camp. Her family has applied for resettlement to the United States, but awaits our government’s intervention. Unfortunately, the family’s hopes are stymied by U.S. policies on "material support" for certain refugees and asylum seekers.

Before the family was forced to flee, Nwe’s father had resisted the brutal military junta, fighting with the Karen National Liberation Army. His opposition to the existing government brought him under broadly defined "material support" provisions of the Patriot Act and the Real ID Act. Because he fought against the standing government, he was labeled a terrorist. Opposition to brutal military regimes and totalitarian dictatorships, even those the United States opposes, can disqualify a refugee for entry into our country. Many thousands of refugees and asylum seekers are thus disqualified from the protection they deserve.

Through a national network of individuals, congregations, local agencies, and partner organizations, LIRS leads the effort to create welcoming communities in America for immigrants and refugees. It resettles refugees and assists asylum seekers who flee war and persecution in their homelands in search of peace, justice, and opportunity. LIRS works to find loving homes for unaccompanied refugee children, who arrive without parents and without protection. LIRS reunites families who are torn apart by our broken immigration system. It advocates for fair and just treatment, and seeks alternatives to detention for those who are incarcerated during their immigration proceedings. Since 1939, LIRS has welcomed the most vulnerable immigrants to our shores — bringing new hope and new life to America’s newcomers, rebuilding families and homes, providing safety and protection, and lifting up the voices of uprooted people. For more information about the work of LIRS, visit www.lirs.org.

Photos courtesy of Lutheran immigration and Refugee Service.