Why The Church Could Play A Part In The Migration Debate

Guest Blog By S. B. Browne

August 2024, Bradford, United Kingdom

The subject of illegal and clandestine migration to the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States has become a rather thorny political issue across different segments of international boundaries. What peculiar about this issue is how Western politicians have taken ownership of this subject. They have assumed the authority to hold, regulate and enforce refugees and migration policies and the power to introduce new laws in order to curb illegal and clandestine migration to Western countries. However, a counter informative debate is missing here, and what or which institution can position itself and gain credence to participate in such debate remains elusive. The government and the opposition parties cannot sufficiently engage this problematic interchange when so many voters maintain a one-sided argument about illegal and clandestine migration to Western countries. The sentiments of Western electorates about migration shift between political parties depending on who is offering the louder voice in return for votes to gain power at the same time as scapegoating migrants as if they are the problem. Migrants are thus blamed for a host of societal ills such as pressure on public services, housing, jobs, integration, demographics changes, culture clashes, crimes, and other adverse social patterns.

While it is important to counter argue this one-sided migration debate, it is also helpful to establish an understanding of a problem that is grounded in European political and economic history. Nowhere else will we find solutions apart from understanding European historical relations with the rest of the world. The public also has the right to know about this historically entrenched problem partly created by Western governments who now feed their electorates with strong anti-immigrant rhetoric as if European political and economic history are not tied to migration. While people from different conflict zones and places of economic hardship risk their lives to enter the European Economic Area, Great Britain and the United States for a better life, Western electorates are blinded by ill-informed political rhetoric hiding the root causes as to why people migrate to Western countries. It is now time for an alternatively forceful voice to be heard especially from the Church. Western civilization is founded on Christian teachings and the Church needs to use its voice to frame a positive and informative engagement about this subject. If the architectural framework of Western heritage is rested on Christianity, fundamental structures such as Human Right laws, the welfare system, science, civil rights, and employment laws are all rooted in biblical canon, given this, it is imperative now for the church to counter argue the rhetoric of right-wing politicians who are failing to offer a broader solution to address illegal and clandestine migration.

Arguably, there are two fundamental reasons why people migrate. One is because of conflict and the other is economic hardship. However, migration is not exclusive to people in conflict, and neither is it restricted to people from the southern hemisphere. Historically, Europeans have exported their civilization, influence, and power through migration. Driven by the quest for resources and economic advantage they have tragically engaged in the commercialization of slavery, colonization, and economic exploitation. While the tide on slavery, colonization and economic exploitation are being turned, the consequences on an ill equipped already colonized global south are economic deprivation and conflicts with localised legacies, culture, and institutions historically pivoted towards European influence and intervention. Colonization created cultures of leadership across Africa, South America, Asia and the Middle East where those who rose to power opposing European imperialism in fact became instruments of suppression of their own people, thus further delaying any democratic ambition and economic progress. Some of these strong leaders were also favoured by European governments. The aftermath of these hegemonic authorities resulted in civil conflicts within these countries that destroyed the entire fabric of civil societies along with the economic infrastructures leaving them decades behind of any already achieved social and economic progression. In retrospect, almost all of the conflicts in these colonized countries can be directly or indirectly linked to Western historical relations. Colonization and the dictates of trade terms are linked to economic exploitation. Most of the colonized countries are rich in natural resources whereby Western powers or corporations exploited the natural resources, abuse the labour of the inhabitants, and gave very little back to benefit the entire population of these countries for social and economic development relative to the necessities of life. Western governments and corporation also continue to influence, control, and direct the economic and political agenda in these countries. The results of this unbalanced relationship with Western engagement are civil conflicts and economic hardship, the very drivers of the enforced migration about which so many in the West are upset. Culturally, African, South American, Middle Eastern and Asian Countries have strong family ties embedded in their respective societies such that it is unusual that people are to leave their traditional community for another country. It is only because of conflict and economic hardship that people are driven to leave these knitted communities. Appropriately controlled migration can allow peoples from different parts of the world to live, settled, emigrate, and travel safely thanks to the ingenuity of modern travel techniques. The success of such regular migration has created the benefit of rich cultural diversity through family reunion, studies, exchanges, tourism, and research whereby peoples of more than 200 countries from around the world are represented in Europe and North America. Nowhere else is such cultural diversity so rich and attractive. This rich diversity arguably reflects the Christian conviction attributed that ‘all’ of God’s children are accepted to be part of a community.

The social and economic divides with the rest of the world relative to that enjoyed by Western countries in the 21^st century provide reasons to question this troubling inequality. It is worryingly unsustainable that the people in the northern hemisphere are privileged with such enormous wealth while majority of people in the Global South struggle just to make ends meet. The question as to why 90% of the wealth only circulates amongst only 10% of the global population remains inadequately explained within popular discourse. This continuous economic disproportion continues to drive clandestine migration to the north. Conflicts that are influenced by Western countries are a failure of Western international politics and these acts similarly propel perilous migratory decisions by people who see no other alternative for a better life than fleeing a conflict zone or economically impoverished society to migrate to a safe and stable country.

In essence, if Western governments could be challenged to relinquish the monopoly on the migration debate to acknowledge the ways in which their actions have propagated the rise of conflicts around the world to engaging in conflict resolution to bridge the economic gap proportionately, there would be less illegal and clandestine migration to Western countries driven by conflict and economic hardship.

Why The Church Could Play A Part In The Immigration Debate

Fundamentally, the anchor of western civilization is rooted in Christian history. However, the Church has not sufficiently argued its ownership of this Judaeo- Christian heritage in the 21^st century as this presents enormous challenges. The new reformation and social revolution which encompasses civil rights, LGBT rights, education, science, medicine, the welfare system we now enjoy and the continuous quest to seek knowledge are all rooted in Christianity. The migration debate offers the Church a timely opportunity to propagate a message of love, peace, and economic justice. The Church has fostered the rights of the have nots in its history and championing the rights of those that are weak and poor against those with enormous wealth and power. These fundamental principles of the Church gave rise to the International declaration of Human Rights, and have the capacity to still speak powerful to the present day. ‘That the rich had a duty to give to the poor was, of course, a principle as old as Christianity itself. What no one had thought to argue before, though, was a matching principle: that the poor had an entitlement to the necessities of life. It was – in a formulation increasingly deployed by canon lawyers – a human ‘right’, argued Tom Holland^*[1].

A comparative reflection of the conflicts of Rwanda, South Africa, and Iraq

There are three compelling examples of conflict and economic exploitation which serves as a catalyst warranting a historical reflection. These are the Rwanda genocide, South Africa apartheid, and the invasion of Iraq.

Rwanda

The country Rwanda often conjures in the Western mind a stark example of conflict on the African continent. It is a telling example of European political influence and economic exploitation. The tribal division that fuelled the killings of millions of its citizen has its roots in European colonialism. The fact that Rwanda was a while totemic in the British government asylum policy in terms of the deportation of ‘Boat Migrants’ often raises eyebrows. The question many ask is why Rwanda? This country suffered an unspeakable genocide within recent African political history, yet by 2023 it was being touted as a beacon of political, social, and economic transformation. What those who decried the inhuman policy of exporting refugees and asylum seekers often failed to recognise what that choice of Rwanda was a positive choice that emphasizes the need to prevent conflict and the success of eliminating it. Rwanda marked a new ambition of western foreign policy to engender political stability and economic capacity building. For decades there were compelling reasons for the people of Rwanda to seek to migrate to any safe country. However, currently, these reasons have been diminished and Rwanda has become a functioning icon of stability and economic progress. Similarly, Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Nicaragua, The DR Congo, Haiti, Libya, Angola, Sudan, and many other countries that have suffered protractive conflicts deserve meaningful support in terms of conflict resolution and economic support. The lack of such economic and political support drive people to continue to take perilous journeys to seek a better life elsewhere whereas a better life could be fostered in their home countries.

The Rwanda paradox requires a voice, and that voice could come from the Church as it has the moral credibility to direct humanity as it has done over the centuries. A Strong voice against conflict, poverty, and economic exploitation can help resolve the problems of illegal and clandestine migration. Our elected representatives and people that seek to assume political power through their Western electorates should be encouraged to agenda a foreign policy that values lives in other parts of the world rather than denigrating migrants in a monopolized debate.

South Africa

South Africa was for many years on the precipice of disaster and a long civil conflict. It was the Christian teaching of ‘Forgiveness’ articulated by, amongst others, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, that mended and diminished the will to power and fulfilment through the means of violence to a political end. Nelson Mandela knew of Christ’s teachings and came to embrace nonviolence as the best resistance to oppression. As Gandhi said, ‘an eye for an eye will make the world go blind’. Christ message of forgiveness resonates harder when we are on the brink of disaster. A conflict in South Africa rooted in European economic exploitation, marginalization, racism, segregation, and discrimination would have seen the majority of the South African population migrate to different parts of the world, leaving behind the destruction of the infrastructure and tearing apart the fabric of civil society. Thanks to Mandela and Tutu’s work for peace and reconciliation such a situation was avoided, and this work found its ultimate foundation in the teachings of ‘Jesus Christ’.

Iraq

The devastation in Iraq caused by Western intervention, ostensibly to destroy chemical weapons or curtail the use of weapons of mass destruction left a huge scar on the human consciousness. The destruction caused by this intervention are the deaths and displacement of almost 1 million Iraqi people, rendering the infrastructure to some extend inoperable, the breakdown of civil society, and a chaotic transition to stability in post conflict Iraq. The consequences of the war in Iraq brought about a long-term instability with the rise of ISIS, and series of intertribal conflicts. Most importantly, the conflict has had a devastating effect on human capital as most Iraqis experienced no alternative but to leave their homeland for a relatively safe country either to the West or to other parts of the world. Yet, the people of Iraq, almost none of whom took perilous journeys for a better life during the pre – conflict era found themselves universally rejected by Western asylum systems.

The damages inflicted on Iraq under the pretext of disarming it of weapons of mass destruction to make the world safer was however counterproductive to this goal. After the fall of the regime, the world became less safe with the rise of ISIS, uprisings in the Middle East and loose attacks on Western soil. There are other conflicts and potential conflicts around the world where little attention is given. The resources, both material and human capital, used in Iraq in addition to the infrastructure it had accumulated over decades of stability cannot be quantified. In monetary terms, the operation in Iraq alone may have cost trillions of dollars considering the destruction of existing infrastructure and resources spent to carry out the war. The results of the war are the dispersion or displacement of Iraqis, and the destruction of the fabric of civil society. Equally, the resources used and the campaign to promote the war could instead have been used to virtually eradicate poverty in a short space of time. As the Church continues to preach of the need to bridge the economic divide, it is also imperative that its moral stance on preventing conflicts should be equivalent to a fight against the inappropriate use of resources for causes that are counterproductive. What remarkable is that Western electorates do not seem to care about this magnitude of failure and the effects it has on migration. It must be noted that the people that propagate wars (sales of weapons and proxy) are powerful experts in communicating a narrative that sells death and destruction. These global leaders are typically rich and living comfortably with great power, wealth, and influence bestowed upon them either by Western electorates or businesses. The rhetoric on migration becomes to ‘Stop The Boats, allied to an anti-terrorist style exercise of power designed to infiltrate the plans of the smuggler gangs, to ‘Create Fences’, ‘Build The Walls’, and promote Far Right immigration policy. The message to Western electorates needs to change, and become instead: Stop Propagating War, Promote Peace and create Economic Justice’. The estimated 2 trillion dollars spent, along with the destruction of civil society, the prolonged instability, and the rise of the Islamic state in Iraq, all argue powerfully for the need for a new narrative of international engagement. Could Western politicians now justify that the decision to go to war was the right one given the aftermath in Iraq and the region? The moral impetus is on the shoulders of the Church. How can the Church remain silent amid allocating such enormous resources to destroy rather, than voice its views against costly wars that produce illegal and clandestine migration and human suffering. The enormous resources spent on wars could be used to end poverty, and to promote peace and stability around the world.

Comparatively, North Korea is one of the most contained regimes in the world and given its fragility and military provocations faces similar challenges to that of Iraq during the 90s and early 2000s. Any attempt to used force to change the status quo in North Korea will surely have a far worse outcome, not least creating yet another unbearable and unimaginable refugee crisis.

Lessons can be learned from countries in Africa, Asia, The Middle East, and South America that were previously engulfed in conflicts, with root causes traced to failed Western foreign policy and which resulted into illegal and clandestine migratory routes across the globe. It becomes clear that people will often choose to remain within their own country if they have a sense of political stability and good economic outlook, with a focus on home country development. It is therefore important to acknowledge the policies that allowed people from different parts of the world to travel legally and settle in Western societies, policies that have their roots in Christianity, implemented with the help of organisations that work tirelessly to influence policymakers in finding acceptable approaches to legal migration. A controlled migration policy that allows family reunion, work permit, travel visas, exchanges, studies, and research should be fostered and balanced with the need to prevent conflict and alleviate poverty through overseas development and a fairer foreign policy in economically deprived parts of the world. The solutions to illegal and clandestine migration are within grasp, and the only way to genuinely address this historically entrenched problem is to understand the root causes. The Church has the moral responsibility to add its voice to the subject of migration as migration is part of the human condition. Through its congregants, the Church is able and should provide this message to all Western electorates. The Church should also share ownership of this debate that is monopolized by Western politicians’ understanding where cordial exchanges are used as a channelled through which God’s love is expressed boldly.

If nothing in human history has been so forceful and universally transformative as Christianity, then for such transformation to spread and become impactful, migration is one of its core by-products. Jefferson’s declaration of independence ‘that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights’ is profoundly and purely for Christian reasons. It resonates with those far and near who may wish to experience this form of equally expressed by Jefferson in the new world. The ‘New World’ of Jefferson’s forefathers was created out of a context of migration, symbolising the strength and vision of equality, justice, freedom, and the desire to coexist as different peoples from different sphere of life. The consolidation of a Christian alliance to resist evil, and promote equality, and freedom, will resist ideologies of hate and exclusion, and sow the seeds of a peaceful world without prejudice, with freedom of expression, liberty, and a democratic will for the people. Such a world will encompass migration to freedom of those fleeing prosecution on the basis of race, ethnicity, political views, conflicts, and religion. Given that European political and economic systems are historically transplanted into four out of five of the world’s geographical areas, and this based upon inherited Christian values, it is therefore incumbent upon us all to ensure that peoples of countries that embraced such values should receive similar aspirations to enjoy the necessities of life, liberty, and freedom. If challenging the premise of dictatorships aided by Western governments are manifested to promote democratic values around the world, then the by-product is migration.   

[1] *Tom Holland, Dominion, Making Of The Western Mind