Refugees, migrants and transit migrants – do Christians have a responsibility?

Gottlieb Blokland, March 2019

Many people wonder about the motives of the refugees. Are they all really refugees, who are really in danger in their country, or are there also many people fleeing poverty? The latter do not appear to be entitled to a residence permit. Should the government help them?  And should Christians commit themselves to them?

And there is another difficulty: many refugees/migrants we meet here, with or without access to an asylum procedure, wish to travel to England anyway. The main reason for this is that living illegally in the UK is relatively easy: Great Britain has no identity card and therefore a greater de facto tolerance towards people without residence papers. In the long term, living without papers is difficult, but for most refugees these are minor problems compared to what they experienced in their countries of origin. But should they help people who plan to travel illegally to England?

The government’s dilemma

Should the government in Belgium or France provide shelter for people who may not have the right to asylum and who are only seeking illegal transport here? Britain? It is very understandable that the government does not want to do this. The government must first and foremost apply the law and therefore cannot grant residence to refugees or migrants staying here illegally. Transports to England must also be prevented as much as possible.

Yet the actual situation now is that large groups of refugees and migrants are staying in Brussels. What the Belgian government does do, certainly partly for humanitarian reasons, is only prosecute refugees/migrants if they are caught breaking the law, for example when entering a truck bound for England. Otherwise, the refugees are usually left alone. The result of this is that many refugees in Brussels now camp more or less permanently: hundreds of people stay in and around the Maxiliaan Park and in the bus station of Brussels North, with all the inconvenience that entails. A bad side effect of this tolerance is that it also attracts many other refugees: Brussels is certainly recommended as a place of residence for those who have not received a residence permit in Europe and now want to go to England. Human smugglers have free rein here.

The government also recognizes that tolerance is problematic. Strict measures (raids) are not an option, and people are now opting for a form of semi-official shelter: subsidizing a citizens’ initiative that provides a temporary shelter. But this also has disadvantages: citizens are actually charged with a government task, without the government accepting real liability. Without real guidance, this shelter means support for illegal residence.

It seems inevitable that the government will work out a scheme here in the long term. Instead of hoping that people will simply leave and disappear ‘naturally’, it seems necessary to receive people officially and explore the real options with them: return to the country of origin, return to the country of the first asylum application or also temporary right of residence (without asylum). The latter in particular may be politically difficult, but one can wonder what is better for society: camping migrants and refugees or people who at least stay somewhere and also work somewhere. In every ethical consideration, the Biblical principles apply to Christians, in this case we find them in legislation from the Old Testament: Exodus 22:20 ‘You shall not oppress a stranger, nor oppress him, for you were refugees in the land of Egypt’, and in Jesus’ teaching to his disciples in Matthew 25:35, ‘I was a stranger and you took me in.’ Important in this context is also respect for the government, ‘in the service of God you for good, as an avenger of him that doeth evil’ (Romans 13:4).

First of all, we see that the Bible uses the word ‘stranger’ (‘ger’ in Hebrew, ‘xenos’ in Greek), someone who is foreign to the land, who therefore has no family there who can protect and help him. No distinction is made between foreigners because of the reason why they ended up in the foreign country: whether they have fled, or are traveling, or in search of a better place to live – in all cases there is a duty to provide assistance. They should not be oppressed or intimidated, as was done with the Israelites in Egypt, but rather should offer them help. Jesus’ words also concern the situation of people who are without help or protection: strangers are like people who are hungry, who are sick, who are imprisoned, they need other people to help them. For Christians, this makes the principled attitude very clear: whether people are ‘refugees’ or ‘migrants’, ‘legal’ or ‘illegal’, they need help and it must be given to them.

It is important that this principled protection did not mean that a foreigner could evade the laws of the country. The law of Moses did make a difference between those who had entered into the covenant with God (circumcised Israelites) and those who had not. Foreigners were only allowed to participate in the Passover meal if they were circumcised. Yet according to the law of Moses, foreigners were also required to keep the Sabbath. Foreigners had to be protected, but at the same time they had to recognize that they had to follow the law of the land. Applying this principle in the current circumstances, one could say that Christians should also help refugees and migrants to respect the laws of the land.

In a situation where a government persecutes foreigners, it would be the duty of a Christian to protect people, as Rahab did with the spies sent out by Joshua. But in a situation where a government does indeed protect foreigners, Christians should encourage refugees and migrants to take advantage of this. Helping people to live illegally when there are alternatives is certainly not the right way.

Approach to our non-profit organization

Open Deur wants to help refugees and migrants without distinction, whether they have a legal status or not. For the time being, our assistance is limited to food and clothing, some housing and some social guidance. Temporary shelter is certainly a possibility in the future. What Open Deur cannot help with is anything that is illegal, especially traffic to England. To the extent possible, Open Deur activities will always encourage people to apply for asylum or seek another legal solution. Open Deur sees it as its task to provide as much assistance as possible in this regard.

Open Deur calls on the government to revise the no-reception policy because it actually facilitates illegality, but also calls on churches and municipalities to show more compassion for people who have left their country, even if they were not always personally persecuted there. The words of Christ apply without distinction: “What you did to the least of my brethren, you did to Me.”