Better World Magazine - May 2022 Edition

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WORLD 2022MAY

Power of a Passport Stranger in the Pews Scott Higgins: Coming to Australia, Who Decides?

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(Printed on responsibly sourced paper) We acknowledge and honour the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we are privileged to work and live. Cover image Imali fled her home in Syria to Lebanon , and received support from our local Christian Partner. © Better World Magazine is the quarterly magazine of Baptist World Aid Australia. CEO Melissa Lipsett Publisher Rebecca Oates Managing Editor Jo Kadlecek Writers Bethany Cliff, Amelia Ceroni, Sienna Corkill, Chantelle Mayo, Sophia Russell, Meredith Wright Campaign Consultants Hannah Moeda, Tish Maier Design Grant Sparkes-Carroll Design Assistance Lasso Creative, Matthew Huckel Baptist World Aid Australia has been the heart and hands of Australian Baptists since 1959, and today serves 73 projects with 38 local Christian Partners in 18 countries. Address Locked Bag 2200, North Ryde, NSW 1670 Australia. To find out how to support the work of Baptist World Aid, please contact E hello@baptistworldaid.org.au P 1300 789 991 Deuteronomy 10:18-19 ‘He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.’ RAISING A BETTER WORLD 3 Welcome from CEO Melissa Lipsett BETTER WORLD BRIEFINGS 4 News and updates from across the globe THE POWER OF A PASSPORT 6 How basic IDs can make—or break—your life POSTCARDS FROM OUR PARTNERS 8 Our work in action HOME IS WHERE THE MOTHER’S HEART IS 10 What would it take to build a new life for your family? STRANGER IN THE PEWS 12 How churches are welcoming those far from home CURLY QUESTIONS 14 ‘How do we decide who comes to Australia?’ – Rev. Scot Higgins BOOK REVIEW 15 The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri DEVOTIONAL: JESUS ON THE MARGINS 15 Really sick and really tired

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families. COVID-19 has threatened families’ access to food, education and health care, and consequently, increased a girl’s value only in terms of the price she might attract.

Being a mum is relentlessly hard with equal measures of joy and pain. I say that as someone who’s always had access to exceptional health services and material support. And I’m grateful that my children had excellent opportunities for education and advancement.

Celebrating Mother’s Day, we know a mum’s heart—wherever she lives—reflects that same call to sacrificial care. If anyone understands how to make a Better World for All , she does.

But because of our work in development and disaster response, I hear too many stories of mothers forced to decide between selling a daughter and feeding their other children. Or instead of a road trip for fun, I learn of the woman shielding her child from snipers as she fled a war zone.

Of course, raising my son and daughter wasn’t without its challenges, but I never had to worry about providing food, clothes or shelter for them. The many joys we had in Australia—carefree days at the beach, fresh mangoes, fun road trips—always lightened any struggles I faced.

After all, God’s heart has always been for the stranger, the widow, the orphan—those without a place to belong. Throughout scripture, God’s instructions have been clear: love the foreigner as yourself, for you were once foreigners (Lev. 19:34).

Because of Jesus Melissa Lipsett CEO Baptist World Aid

In this issue of Better World Magazine, we look at the responsibilities we have as privileged Australians, where simply owning a passport gives us opportunities many in the world don’t have (‘The Power of a Passport’, page 6). We visit the countries and issues our Christian Partners face as they care for vulnerable families, those who’ve frantically left their homes for safety and refuge, families the world now calls refugees (‘Home is where a Mother’s heart is’, page 10).

EBTTER WORLD MAGAZINE! WELCOME TO THE

My children, now adults, know God blessed their childhood with safety, love and opportunities. But I hope they also know that with privilege comes a responsibility to elevate those around them so others can flourish too.

Back in the relative comfort and security we enjoy, we get a glimpse of how some of God’s people are helping immigrants and refugees in their local churches (‘Strangers in the Pews’, page 12). And in our ‘Curly Questions’ guest column (page 14), Rev. Scott Higgins helps us better understand how Australia can reflect the same type of sacrificial hospitality to the stranger that Jesus offered.

Today, a record number of children are growing up in temporary camps for displaced

Raising A Better World

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* Source: Peace Team Cambodia Organisation Annual Report 2020-21, Source: The World Bank, Source: UNHCR

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February, local churches were prepared with resources ready to provide for fleeing families. As of late March, over three and a half million people have been displaced. Our Christian Partners are providing food, hygiene items, medicine, generators, gasoline, blankets, pillows, and shelter for displaced people.

participated in an Anti-Child-Trafficking community awareness program in 2021.*

THE REFUGEE CRISIS SHOWING HOSPITALITY

MYANMAR PRAYING TOGETHER

people—now I’m chairperson of the disability committee. I was never invited to social occasions but now I’m treasurer of the school management committee and people [listen to] me.’

UKRAINE STANDING WITH UKRAINE

Born into the Madhesi minority in Nepal, Radha has always lived on the margins. When she married a man with a disability and their son was born deaf, the challenge became greater. Stigmatised and excluded from community, Radha carried the weight of caring for her family.

When Radha* (pictured above far right) tells her story today, it’s clear she’s a long way from the quiet recluse who joined our Christian Partner’s disability program four years ago.

With over half a million people in Nepal living with a disability, families like Radha’s are often excluded from education, health care and job opportunities. As part of our Christian Partner’s program, Radha received training in women’s rights, literacy, and income generation.

Having fled genocidal violence in Myanmar, approximately 1.2 million Rohingya refugees now live in camps in Bangladesh Overcrowding, frequent threats of fire and COVID-19 increase the vulnerability of these families. Our Christian Partners are providing agricultural training and support to refugee families so they can grow vegetables to eat and sell.

‘I thought my life will end like this but doing something and being something has added a ripple of hope,’ Radha said. ‘I was a woman who couldn’t speak a word among

NEPAL

At least 82.4 million people* are displaced because of conflict, natural disaster and threats of persecution across our world. Twenty-six million are refugees— half of whom are children—who’ve found relative safety in a foreign country. Our Christian Partners care for groups of displaced Rohingya in Bangladesh, South Sudanese families in Uganda and Syrians in Lebanon. Read more on page 10. BRIEFINGS

BETTER WORLD

Image: Medair/DaleMacMillan

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BANGLADESH SERVING ON THE MARGINS

As conflict rages in Myanmar and over 800,000 people are displaced, our Church Team is fostering relationships with the diaspora here in Australia, asking how best to pray, advocate and draw attention to this crisis.

Before, Radha rarely left her house. Now, she travels outside her community advocating for people with disabilities and women. She’s also opened a shop that’s funding her children’s schooling and enabling her to save for the future. No longer living in silence, Radha has found her voice. *name changed

A OFRIPPLEHOPE

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PEOPLE IN CAMBODIA

On 24 April 2013, the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh killed 1,132 workers. The tragedy catalysed long-overdue conversations about working conditions millions of garment workers endure. COVID interrupted progress and proved catastrophic for garment workers. Our Christian Partners in Bangladesh are supporting families of garment workers during the pandemic, while our Advocacy Team lobbies for change in the fashion industry.

The infant mortality rate in Nepal has IMPROVED BY NEARLY 30% in the past ten years.*

PLACES FOR AFGHAN REFUGEES were secured in the Federal Budget with the help of Christians United for Afghanistan.

The eruption of Hunga-TongaHunga-Ha’apai in January devastated the Pacific Island of Tonga . The tsunami and volcanic ash left businesses and homes damaged or destroyed, leaving over 2,400 people displaced. Our Christian Partner responded to immediate needs, providing food, repair and reconstruction of damaged property, COVID prevention education and installation of community water tanks. 16,500

SAFEGUARDING FAMILIES

PHILIPPINES REBUILD AND RECOVER

More than nine million people have been displaced in Afghanistan since last August. COVID, earthquakes and a harsh winter exacerbated the crisis. Our Christian Partners support mobile health clinics in southern Afghanistan providing healthcare, maternity support, mental health services, screening and treatment for malnutrition, and health and hygiene training. Families on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border have received food and winter essentials.

In December 2021, Typhoon Odette (Typhoon Rai) swept through 11 provinces in the Southern Philippines , damaging 1.7 million homes, displacing over 144,000 people, and leaving many vulnerable to disease and homelessness. Our Christian Partner responded with basic shelter kits for families rebuilding homes and recovering livelihoods. And a program designed to foster their resilience is supporting children.

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LEBANON

HOLDING ONTO HOPE

TONGA RISING FROM THE ASHES

CAMBODIA

AFGHANISTAN

COVID has strained families in Cambodia . The pressure of income loss, lockdowns and school closures has left children vulnerable to violence, child trafficking and psychosocial damage. Our Christian Partner is working with families to safeguard children and support parents—raising awareness about child trafficking, family violence, COVID prevention, and supporting children to learn remotely.

BANGLADESH RANA PLAZA

SAFE HAVEN

Almost 11 years since violence escalated in Syria, around 1.5 million refugees remain displaced in Lebanon. Around 250,000 Syrian children aren’t attending school. The media has largely moved on, but our Christian Partners in Lebanon continue to serve Syrian families—providing critical healthcare, education, and livelihood support while Lebanon fights for its economic survival.

IMPACTGLOBAL

The Power Of A Passport

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AIDWORLDBAPTIST FEATURE | STATELESSNESS

But not everyone has access to such documents. Countries where we partner–Lebanon , Cambodia , Bangladesh , Nepal rank in the bottom ten of 112 countries in

‘Walking out of the airport in Greece, I realised my hands were empty,’ Tish said. ‘Our passports were somewhere inside. Fortunately, the Australian embassy organised replacement emergency passports within a week.’

When Tish Maier, Baptist World Aid’s Campaigns Coordinator, and her husband lost their passports on their honeymoon, it was scary—for a moment.

By Chantelle Mayo

It’s not just our passports that make us privileged. Australians can easily obtain documents often taken for granted: birth certificates, driver licences, Medicare cards, bank statements. Each business day, in fact, 7,000 passports are processed for Australians who have such identification. These documents open doors for health care, aged care, education and of course, travel.

How basic IDs can make—or break—your life

from concerns that our nationality will set off alarm bells.

Now an adult with children of his own, awhichcountryhewhich‘stateless’,isLebaneseidentifiesSamerasbutofficiallymeanshasnoinheiscitizen.

Tish quickly found out the privilege Australians have as holders of the seventh most powerful passport in the world. Out of 112 countries whose passports are ranked yearly*, our seventh-place status means we can travel to 185 countries without visas, free

Without documentation, refugees face increased risk of arrest or fine, making it more difficult to find work or send their children to school. If they do have documentation, Syrian refugees in

Now an adult with children of his own, Samer identifies as Lebanese but is officially ‘stateless’, which means he has no country in which he is a citizen.

‘Our passports allow us to enter different cultures, to work with Partners without jumping through hoops they might have to when crossing borders,’ said Fiona Smith, Director of International Programs. ‘Travel for us is a privilege because we have Australian passports as well as the necessary documents to get them.’

Samer’s stateless status is not uncommon in Lebanon or other parts of the world. Thankfully, our Christian Partner in Lebanon helps families like Samer’s attain documentation so they can access essential services: education, healthcare, and critically, birth certificates for children to look forward to a future with opportunities. Last year, our Partners helped over 250 people secure identification documents.

He identity.confirmhevote,inherit,property,travel,cannotownorbecausecannothis

And sometimes a basic document can make all the difference in a child’s life. For instance, children in Nepal need a birth certificate to enrol in school, which many in vulnerable communities don’t always have. With support from our Partners, though, seventy new Child Partners in our Child and Youth Clubs there received birth certificates from their respective ward offices last year. The impact in the community is great as others are encouraged to register with their government office to receive identity documentation, crucial steps to employment or health care.

*Sources: Australian Government: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade https://www.passports.gov.au/2019-20-passport-facts; The Henley Passport Index 7

Lebanon are restricted to three job sectors, construction, agriculture and cleaning.

Consequently, he has no passport, and no right to acquire basic identity documents that allow him to work or give his children access to healthcare or education. He cannot travel, own property, inherit, or vote, because he cannot confirm his identity with documentation. Though he was born in Lebanon , he was not awarded nationality, so even his basic wants seem impossible.

‘Sometimes, I look at my home and I find emptiness,’ Samer said. ‘If I could only have water, a washing machine, good light, a closet. I would feel more like I have a home.’

‘I couldn’t provide my children with birth certificates because of my status, but with the Partners’ help, we are working on a birth certificate for my daughter,’ Samer said. ‘I want her to grow up educated, and maybe work one day. I feel motivated just motivating her.’

terms of passport opportunities, which means our local Partners are only able to travel to 41 countries or less without a visa.

But obtaining legal residency documents isn’t always easy, especially for displaced families like Samer’s (pictured below). Samer’s parents fled Syria before he was born, settling in Beirut, Lebanon .

Postcards From

CELEBRATING MOTHERS

Lebanon: Carine runs mother-child groups supporting new mothers in Lebanon . She has also recently become a mother herself.

Cambodia: Oung serves in a Child and Youth program, and is mum to a new baby girl born in February 2022. Here she is conducting an annual survey with a Child Partner in Cambodia .

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MAGAZINEWORLDBETTERAIDWORLDBAPTIST | 2022MAY COMMUNITY WORKS CONSERVATION EDUCATION

Uganda: Lydia (far right) works with our Partner’s Child and Youth program. Here she is visiting the family of a Child Partner as they dry beans post-harvest after livelihood training.

Cambodia: Here, Jarai, from our Partner staff in Cambodia , is teaching (children) literacy skills.

Our Partners

Lebanon: Hanadi is the Coordinator of our Partner’s ILearn@Home Program supporting adult education for mothers. ‘It is great to notice the positive changes in mothers’ lives as I meet with them weekly,’ Hanadi said.

Bangladesh: As a staff member with our Christian Partner in Bangladesh , Saleha facilitates SelfHelp groups for women as part of a DevelopmentCommunityprogram.

LIVELIHOOD TRAINING CHILD AND YOUTH PROGRAMS COVID RESPONSE

‘Being a mother is a tough job, and being a working mother is probably the toughest job in the world. I’m proud and privileged for the gift of doing the work that I do, at home and in the office.’

SALEHA

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MAGAZINEWORLDBETTERAIDWORLDBAPTIST | 2022MAR FEATURE WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO BUILD A NEW LIFE FOR YOUR FAMILY?

By Bethany Cliff

HOMEWHEREIS MOTHER’STHEHEART IS

Over four million people from South Sudan are displaced and almost 400,000 have been killed since the civil war began in 2013. Rose’s husband stayed behind to fight on the frontline. She hasn’t heard from him since.

In October 2020, Rose joined a program that our local Christian Partner runs in northern Uganda . She improved her farming and savings skills, and her passion for agriculture grew. After taking a loan from her savings group and investing in seeds, she harvested 300kg of maize grains and can now afford to pay her children’s school fees. She can also provide them with nutritious food, clothes to wear and a safe home.

Dalila, too, received similar support. ‘I had never put a foot in a church before, but I was warmly welcomed,’ Dalila said. As Christian Partners with Baptist World Aid, the church in Beirut listened to her and asked what her family needed. They provided blankets, hygiene kits and fuel vouchers to help Dalila’s family survive the harsh winter.

*Source: UNHCR 11

s a young mum, Rose (pictured below in green) gathered her children and fled their home in South Sudan—a country ravaged by civil war—seeking a safer life for her family.

‘I didn’t know how I would make ends meet as a single refugee mother,’ Rose said.

‘We believe that no amount of darkness will be able to overcome God’s light shining through the relief efforts of our team,’ Sophie said. ‘Despite everything going on, we see God working in these families, and that’s clear.’

‘I didn’t know how I would make ends meet as a single refugee mother.’

A

Today, many refugee mothers like Dalila and Rose long for a safe home for their children. Each situation is complex and unique, according to Sophie Nasrallah, our local Christian Partner in Beirut and mother of two. She said although COVID has made their situations more challenging, our Partners have still been able to support those who’ve fled their homes and lost everything.

ROSE

Like Rose, Dalila (pictured left) fled as bombs inched closer to her family in Syria . Once in Lebanon , Dalila and her husband struggled to find a place to live or work to provide for their three children.

Rose and her children are just one family amidst the nearly 82.4 million refugees and internally displaced people in the world today*—many of whom are women, children and the elderly. War, persecution and climate crises tear families apart and people from their homes and livelihoods.

With support from God’s people in Australia, our local Christian Partners are offering hospitability, care and new homes for those caught in the global refugee crisis. This means immediate support for those fleeing Ukraine; long-term community programs helping families in Lebanon and Uganda establish safe and secure homes; and prayer gatherings bringing the cries of those in Myanmar and Afghanistan before our God.

By Sophia Russell

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The benefits flow both ways. ‘I’m amazed at the bravery and resilience of people who left their country to find somewhere safe for themselves and their family,’ Steve said. ‘My friend from a persecuted minority left Afghanistan years ago and works six days a week, 12 hours a day. He sends most of what he earns to family in Afghanistan’. We just had a todesiremake

compassion.’wayprovidedanddifference,aGodatoshow COMMUNITY | AUSTRALIA

It started with the offer of a free washing machine.

MAGAZINEWORLDBETTERAIDWORLDBAPTIST | 2022MAY

Steve Woods, Baptist Pastor and Baptist World Aid Church Relationship Manager, had just moved with his family to Ottoway, an Adelaide suburb where Asian grocers rub shoulders with Halal butchers. His family decided to give away their unused washing machine on Facebook. This simple act connected him to a new community.

Stranger In The Pews

trauma and uncertainty. Acts of love, like a free washing machine, can be hard to find.

But some churches are turning things around. SoulSpace Community in Adelaide, which Steve pastors, runs Random Acts of Coffee: a free coffee cart in the local carpark. Every Saturday morning around 60 people, many of whom are refugees, chat over a cuppa.

‘Five guys, refugees from Afghanistan , came to pick it up,’ he said. ‘That was three years ago; we’ve been good friends ever since.’ For refugees or asylum seekers, life in Australia isn’t easy. Often living on the margins of our communities, many have experienced

How churches are welcoming those far from home

After learning about Kelvin’s struggles Eric Martin, who leads Riverton’s Catalyst group—a justice program for Australian Baptists, said the church raised enough funds for Kelvin to study physiotherapy at university. ‘He’s now completed his course and has a job in Australia,’ said Eric. ‘We just had a desire to make a difference, and God provided a way to show compassion.’

One of their members, Kelvin (pictured centre left), was born in a refugee camp in Tanzania after his parents fled Burundi during the civil war, along with over 300,000 displaced people from the troubled nation. Kelvin was eventually granted asylum in Australia but was financially unable to return home when the war ended or establish a life here.

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‘There’s something about walking in makeshift houses and shelters that moves you,’ Rachel said. ‘I heard stories of families and individuals who experienced God through people working on the ground—especially Christians going into the community.’

These followers of Jesus—and many like them—welcome those who are displaced, giving time, financial support, and sometimes a free washing machine.

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Make connections. Get to know people who have been displaced and spend time with them in local walking groups or playgroups.

Missions Coordinator Rachel Edwards saw the impact of this giving when she visited our Christian Partners in Lebanon in 2019.

Coffee carts aren’t the only way churches are building bridges with those far from home. When Riverton Baptist Community Church in Perth wanted to love those seeking refuge, God provided an opportunity.

As Steve said, ‘there’s plenty of opportunities to show love, if you just look for them.’

Sign up for Catalyst. This Baptist World Aid program equips you and your church to respond to issues of justice. Visit bwaa.co/sign-up-catalyst

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Be vocal. Contact your local MP to advocate for policies that protect refugees and asylum seekers.

HOW TO LOVE THOSE FAR FROM HOME

Participate in refugee resettlement. Show love by meeting people’s practical needs, partnering with existing refugee programs in your area.

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Pray. Ask God to care for families who have been displaced, and pray that asylum seekers would be welcome in Australia.

By Amelia Ceroni

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Another church with a vision for loving refugees is Mt Hawthorn Baptist, Perth. Through Baptist World Aid, Mt Hawthorn supports displaced people living in Lebanon , a city with roughly 1.5 million refugees. Last Christmas, they set a target for $30,000 and exceeded it by $10,000.

Create a welcoming church culture. Consider running English as a Second Language (ESL) classes in your church to help with language barriers.

‘There’s plenty of opportunities to show love, if you just look for them.’

STEVE WOODS

Join a campaign. Sign a call for action like Christians United for Afghanistan. Visit unitedforafghanistan.com

Today we are among those nations that turn refugee boats away, preferring instead to welcome a select number of refugees who arrive in ways that we control and approve. Our ordered and controlled approach sits uncomfortably with a world in which refugee flows are large and unpredictable. Think of the millions flowing out of the Ukraine today, of the images of Afghan people desperately trying

One Sunday morning in December 1977, a boat carrying refugees fleeing violence in their homeland, Vietnam, sailed into Darwin Harbour.

At another time, in another place, a traveller such as me might have been greeted with fear or hostility, but at that time, in this place, what greeted me was a remarkable generosity of spirit.’

14 CURLY QUESTIONS | SCOTT HIGGINS

How Do We Decide Who Comes to Australia?

Almost 40 years later, in June 2013, another boat carrying refugees fleeing violence in their home countries sailed into Australian waters, but found neither welcome nor generosity of spirit. Australian governments had grown increasingly uneasy about boats carrying refugees and decided they must be stopped at almost any cost.

MAGAZINEWORLDBETTERAIDWORLDBAPTIST | 2022MAY

They had survived treacherous seas, merciless pirates, and the despair of being towed into international waters by countries unwilling to embrace them. In Darwin Harbour they were met by two fishermen in a tinnie, who drew alongside their boat and with outstretched arms shouted, ‘G’day mates. Welcome to Australia!’

Years later one of the refugees on that boat, Hieu Van Le, commented, ‘We were stunned by the warmth and good nature of this laconic welcome. And that one moment has left a lifelong impression on me. My personal navigation to Australia had been a combination of dark circumstances, accidents, fear, despair but most of all, of hope.

‘Jesus called for a community in which every person in need was to be embraced as neighbour.’

Yet we come to a story where Jesus not only touches the untouchable but stops everything in a crowd to restore a woman who’d been alienated and avoided for 12 years. This nameless woman wandered the streets, hunting for a cure from her wretched condition and searching for any relief. Until a Rabbi responded.

Scott Higgins is a Baptist pastor who has spent almost two decades resourcing Australian Baptists to advocate for justice.

The international community has promised them protection but is failing to live up to its promise.

THE BEEKEEPER OF ALEPPO

Though all Christians are called to care for those who cannot care for themselves—the poor, the stranger, the widows and orphans—it is often a challenge to consider those whom society calls, ‘the untouchables.’

to get out of Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdrew, or the millions fleeing Syria as it succumbed to civil war. Multiply that by lesser-known conflicts and outbreaks of persecution that occur regularly across the world. The result is vast numbers of people suddenly and unexpectedly crossing borders to find safety.

JESUS ON THE MARGINS

DEVOTIONAL BY JO KADLECEK

SCOTT HIGGINS

‘When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.”’—Mark 5:27-28

In the UK, the couple’s fate is in the hands of Immigration until they find healing, restoration and hope that Nuri might reunite with his cousin, and his bees. In this powerful story of the realities of refugee camps and people smuggling, the author seamlessly transitions between past and present, moving readers from a dreamlike state to harsh reality and human triumph.

The opening chapters of the Bible remind us that the universe is the handiwork of God, and that the earth and its resources are given for the flourishing of all its creatures. Human beings, as God’s representatives on earth, are responsible for stewarding the earth’s resources so that these ends are achieved. So it is that God called the Israelites to recognise the land and its harvests as God’s gift for all who reside there. These were to be accessible to every household, to those who were often marginalised within the structures of household and tribe—the widow and orphan—and to those who sat outside these structures—the resident foreigner.

The Old Testament prophets and Jesus railed against those who grew wealthy by ignoring these provisions, declaring that God’s coming would mean their judgement and the delivering of the poor from their grip. Jesus called for a disciple community in which our shared humanity was recovered, in which every person in need was to be embraced as neighbour and the resources of household and community deployed for their care.

Translating such a vision into policy in a broken world is by no means easy. What seems beyond doubt is that Australia’s policies set the bar way too low.

As nations that border conflict zones struggle to provide for the unexpected influx of thousands of refugees, more geographically distant and richer nations such as Australia shut their borders to the small number of ‘unauthorised’ refugees who dare reach their borders, and offer to resettle but a tiny fraction of those needing a new start.

BY CHRISTY LEFTERI BOOK REVIEW BY SIENNA CORKILL

The story of Nuri and Afra’s journey from Syria to the UK is heartbreaking. They live happily in Aleppo, Syria, until they face an unthinkable choice: flee or stay? The longer they delay, the more they suffer, until they lose everything— their home, their son, their hope—and begin the treacherous journey to safety.

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