Refugees: Terms, Myths, and Facts

If you read my last post, you know I have a strong desire to educate people about refugees.  There is so much I want to share, and I have struggled deciding what to share first.  I think the relevant Scriptures are very important, and I will share those soon, but today, I want to share some terms, myths, and facts.  I have taken all of these from a document that World Relief called A Church Leader's Tool Kit on the Syrian Refugee Crisis and it can be found here.

Relevant Terms (italics added):

Refugees: those who have fled their country of origin because of a credible fear of persecution on account of their race, religion, political opinion, national origin, or social group

Internally Displaced Persons: those who have fled their home but stay within the boundaries of their country

Asylum Seekers: those who flee their country for the same reasons as refugees but do not prequalify their claim.  Instead, they file a claim for asylum after they arrive in their destination country.

Migrants: those who leave their country due to poverty, natural disaster, general violence, or opportunity

Undocumented Immigrants: those who live in another country without legal authorization

Immigrants: inclusive of all of these above

Myths and Facts (italics added):

Myth: Refugees resettled into the United States are "unvetted."
Fact: Refugees undergo a multi-layered screening and vetting process, which occurs entirely before the individual is allowed to enter the U.S. and which generally takes at least 18 months, that is more thorough than that to which any other category of immigrant or visitor to the U.S. is subjected.

Myth: The recent terrorist attack in Paris exposes that the U.S. is also vulnerable to terrorist attacks from refugees or those posing as refugees.
Fact: The situation facing Europe-with nearly 1 million individuals arriving and seeking asylum just in the past year-is vastly different than that of the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which aims to accept a maximum of 10,000 Syrian refugees this year.  Asylum seekers arriving at Europe's borders or shores can only be vetted and processed after entry to the European continent, whereas the relatively few refugees admitted from Syria to the U.S. are allowed in only after a thorough, multi-layered vetting process that lasts at least 18 months.  Furthermore, all attackers identified thus far in the Paris attacks were European citizens-not refugees.

Myth: The recent terrorist attacks in California exposes that the U.S. is vulnerable to terrorist attacks from those posing as refugees.
Fact: Neither of the two alleged terrorists implicated in the tragic attacks in San Bernardino, California underwent the thorough, multi-layered vetting process of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement: one was a native-born U.S. citizen and the other entered on a fiancée visa, which involves a screening process that is significantly less rigorous than that required for refugees being considered for resettlement. 

Myth: All (or most) refugees are Muslim.
Fact: Last year, more refugees admitted to the U.S. were Christians (about 45%) than any other religious tradition.  The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program presents a vital lifeline for persecuted Christians (as well as persecuted individuals of other faiths).

Myth: All (or most) refugees are from the Middle East.
Fact: About 25% of refugees admitted to the U.S. last year were fleeing situations in the Middle East, but most actually come from other regions of the world.  More refugees came from Burma-where most admitted refugees are persecuted Christians-than from all of the Middle Eastern countries combined.

Myth: All (or most) Muslims are terrorists, or at least sympathetic to terrorism.
Fact: While there certainly have been high-profile cases of terrorism committed by Muslims motivated by extremist ideologies, the vast majority of Muslims reject those views.  For example, a recent Pew Research Center survey conducted in Muslim majority nations found, across the board, that the vast majority of Muslims with an opinion about ISIS had a negative view of the group.

Myth: Refugees are responsible for most terrorist attacks in the U.S.
Fact: Of more than 3 million refugees admitted to the U.S. since the late 1970s, none has ever perpetrated a terrorist attack within the U.S.  In fact, according to New America, the majority of jihadist terrorism cases in the U.S. since September 11, 2001 have involved U.S. citizens, most of them born in the U.S.

Myth: Most Syrian refugees coming into the U.S. are young men.
Fact: Of Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. thus far, 70% have been women or children under the age of 14.  The U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program prioritizes those cases it deems to be the most vulnerable for resettlement.

Myth: There are 200,000-250,000 Syrian refugees about to enter the U.S.
Fact: Since 2011, less than 2,500 Syrian refugees have been admitted into the U.S. through the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program, and the State Department has indicated a goal of admitting no more than 10,000 in the coming year.

Myth: Refugees are a drain on our economy.
Fact: Most economists believe that refugees, like other immigrants, have a net positive economic impact: one study suggests that, in the long-term, refugees may actually perform better economically than economic migrants.  Another study, of refugees in Cleveland, Ohio, found that, despite some initial costs related to refugee resettlement, in time those refugees accounted for more than ten times that amount in positive economic impact.

Myth: The Bible has nothing to say that would inform our response to refugees.
Fact: The Hebrew word for a resident foreigner, the ger, appears 92 times just in the Old Testament- very often in the context of God commanding the Israelites to love and seek justice for these vulnerable immigrants.  The Bible commands us repeatedly to practice hospitality-literally from the Greek of the New Testament, philoxenia, the love of strangers.  Welcoming refugees present an opportunity both to live out the Great Commandment by loving our neighbors (Luke 10:27) and the Great Commission, by making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).

My next post will focus on what the Bible has to say about refugees. 

My One Thing

I had the great privilege and honor of going to the GC2Summit near Chicago, Illinois this past Wednesday.  Debbie Niblock and I went from our church, and we had the most amazing time learning an unbelievable amount about refugees, the conditions and journeys they face, the resettlement process, and what the church's response should be based on Scripture and the life of Jesus.  To give you a glimpse of what we heard, I have listed the topics and some of the speakers who presented at the bottom of this post.



 

There is so much information to share and to be honest, it is kind of overwhelming to know where to start in sharing the information, let alone in doing the work of helping refugees.  But there are a few things that stand out in my mind as the right places to start.

Jenny Yang, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief, gave 3 clear places in which to start.  The first is educate your congregation, and that is what I hope to do in the coming months.  The second is build relationships with refugees in your community, which I also hope to do at some point in 2016.  We are fortunate to have a World Relief office in High Point and a newly opened office in Winston-Salem that is always looking for Good Neighbor Teams to help walk alongside newly arriving refugees for six months to a year (or more!).  The third is to pray and advocate on behalf of refugees.  Jenny said to advocate means to be good stewards of the influence God has given us.  She also co-wrote this book with another presenter, and I am starting to read it.

 



The other thing that stands out in my mind is a chart that I can not seem to find in my 14 pages of notes, so I may not remember it exactly correctly.  But it goes something like this: There is a continuum with 3 points on it, and we are all at different points along the continuum.  The first point is awareness, the second is engagement, and the third is investment.  We all started at awareness, and some of us have moved beyond that point, but we need to be respectful of those who are still there.  Bill Hybels urged us to remember that we can't expect other people to go from "here" to "there" overnight.  Many of us who attended the summit are further along toward "there" based upon the simple fact that we were interested and came to the summit.  Now it's our job to help energize people and give them opportunities to move from "here" to "there" in a variety of ways.

 

They had these yard signs at the summit, but we didn't think they would fit in our carry-on bags!



One opportunity I'm offering to help move people along the continuum is this blog post and some website links to further information.  Another opportunity is collecting gently used toys and books for World Relief (see requested items here).  I will collect them through Sunday, February 7th and then take them to World Relief's Winston-Salem office.  Our church is currently investigating how to become a Good Neighbor Team with World Relief as well.  World Relief's website has a lot of information that can help you learn more.  Another website that is full of factual information to read and share with others is We Welcome Refugees.  Lastly, World Vision also has a wealth of helpful information. 

*I am writing this post in response to one by Lori Harris, who is one of my absolute favorite bloggers.  She is encouraging her readers to share about the one thing you are doing right now to love your people and serve your place.  After going to the GC2 Summit and being so encouraged to find other like-minded, incredibly intelligent people, I think I have found my one thing right now!

GC2 Topics and Speakers

 

The Role of the Church (Dr. Jamie Aten, Humanitarian Disaster Institute, Wheaton College)

Domestic Refugee Resettlement (World Relief employees Maggie Konstanski, Matthew Soerens, and James Misner)

The International Crisis (World Vision employees from different areas)

Videos from Dr. David Platt, Dr. Jo Anne Lyon, and Rick Warren

Welcome (Dr. Ed Stetzer, Senior Fellow, Billy Graham Center for Evangelism)

Why the Refugee Crisis is a Key Justice Issue for the Church (Christine Caine)

Understanding Islam and Isis (Dr. John Azumah)

Video: The Crisis in Europe (Phil Metzger)

The Crisis in the Middle East (Fayez Ishak)

The Migration Crisis and The Great Commission (Stephan Bauman)

Story of a Syrian Refugee (interview with an actual refugee)

Domestic Refugee Resettlement (Jenny Yang)

Justice Fatigue (Dr. Vincent Bacote and Ken Wytsma)

Leading Through Crisis (Bill Hybels and Rich Stearns)