Immigration is a prominent and integral aspect of our global society, yet it remains a deeply contentious and polarizing issue. Countries are struggling to manage their borders as people take dangerous and irregular paths to cross them. Many believe that immigration needs to be reduced or restricted, leading to protests and counter-protests in various nations. Concerns are also rising about the rapid cultural and societal changes immigration can bring.
Recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Syria, along with ongoing crises in Ukraine and Gaza, have resulted in a surge of migration from these regions, as well as from various countries across Africa and Asia. According to the UNHCR, over 117 million people worldwide are forcibly displaced and seek safer places just to survive.
We could agree that some concerns about immigration are valid. However, our experience at Philoi and the Refugee Highway Partnership has led us to believe that the core issue is not immigration itself, but rather the challenges immigrants face in integrating into their new societies. There is often confusion between assimilation and integration, and many Australians feel that multiculturalism is failing.
Recent concerns have emerged regarding the influence of foreign nations within Australian diaspora communities. There is growing anxiety that these external influences might foster extremist ideological sympathies among some immigrant communities. There is also a broader worry about how the arrival of immigrants from various conflict zones might bring with them ideologies that are at odds with Australian values.
The rising tensions surrounding immigration are generating fear and division within communities. This presents a significant opportunity for the Australian Church to make a meaningful impact.
Churches can play a crucial role in bridging divides by actively supporting and welcoming new immigrants. By engaging directly with immigrant communities, churches can help to alleviate fears and build understanding. Their involvement can demonstrate that the real challenge is not immigration itself, but rather the process of helping newcomers to integrate into our societies, bringing benefits to us all.
In Christ, there should be no divisions based on ethnicity, social status, or gender. Together, churches have the potential to demonstrate unity and inclusion, helping to bridge divides and support immigrants in new communities. If churches engage with and support newly arrived refugees and asylum seekers, to see them flourish in their new neighborhoods, followers of Jesus can prove in this way that the real crisis lies with integration, not immigration.
Originally published by Philoi Global. Republished with permission.
Jude Simion is CEO of Philoi Global and serves on the Core Leadership Team of Refugee Highway Partnership. Philoi Global responds to the humanitarian gaps of persecuted minorities through relief, relocation, and resettlement; cultivating compassion, unity, and support for the displaced.
