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Women's Report - May 2010

MCC U.S. Women’s Advocacy

 

Far From Home

by Linda Gehman Peachey

 

“…there was a famine in the land, and a certain man of Bethlehem in Judah went to live in the country of Moab, he and his wife and two sons.” (Ruth 1:1)

 

It’s amazing how many people in the Bible were immigrants. In fact, all of the well-known Hebrew foremothers and forefathers left their homes at some point because of famine. This included Abram and Sarai, who traveled to Egypt; Isaac and Rebekah who went to Gerar and lived among the Philistines; and Jacob, Leah and Rachel and their extended families who finally settled in the land of Egypt after a prolonged drought. Here, Elimelech and Naomi, and their sons Mahlon and Chilion, were compelled to seek food and a new life far from home, in the land of Moab, on the other side of the Dead Sea.

Others in the Bible left their homes as a result of threats and fear. For instance, Hagar had to flee the wrath of Sarah; Jacob ran from his brother Esau; Moses had to escape from Pharaoh; Mary, Joseph and Jesus fled from Herod; and Priscilla and Aquila, as well as other Jews were expelled from Rome by the emperor Claudius.

Given all these experiences, it is not surprising that the Bible emphasizes care for strangers and sojourners. For the Hebrew people knew what it was like to be a foreigner in a strange land. God also told them to remember this story. Every year, when they brought offerings to God, they were to recite their history, beginning with the fact that their ancestor was a “wandering Aramean.” (Deuteronomy 26:5)

We can do something similar on May 1. In the past few years, May 1 has become a time to honor immigrants, and call for more humane treatment and reform of immigration laws. Mennonite Church USA and other groups are encouraging Christians to especially engage in prayer vigils with and for immigrants.

Of course, this is a contentious issue and many voices have been calling for immigrants to be rounded up and sent home. Yet, these measures have led to families being torn apart, parents taken from their children and people imprisoned without basic rights. People are also being exploited or not paid for their labor, since they fear speaking up or going to the police. Women and girls are also very vulnerable to sexual assault and sexual trafficking.

Root Causes: If the risks are so high, why do so many people continue to come? Just as in Biblical times, the central reasons continue to be poverty and fear. While natural disasters such as drought, earthquakes or hurricanes sometimes play a role, economic policies can also have a devastating impact. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), for example, has been very harmful to Mexican farm families. It forced them to compete with cheaper imports from Canada and the U.S., and required Mexico to end many of its agricultural programs. Over the past fifteen years, two million farming jobs disappeared and another eight million farmers abandoned their land because they no longer had access to credit, government subsidies or a guaranteed price for their products.

For the farmers who managed to hang on, monthly income fell from 1959 pesos a month in 1991 to 228 pesos a month in 2003. Meanwhile, food prices increased nearly 600% from 1994-2000. It should not be surprising therefore that the number of Mexicans migrating to the U.S. increased dramatically since NAFTA came into force in 1994. Two-thirds of undocumented Mexicans currently in the U.S. came since then. (See Witness for Peace, “Broken Promises: NAFTA at 15,” http://www.witnessforpeace.org and Women Thrive Worldwide, “Mexico Case Study Fact Sheet,” http://www.womenthrive.org.)

Naomi and Elimelech were fortunate to find a home in Moab, and their sons married and settled down. Still, the cost was high and Naomi felt compelled to go home after her husband and sons died and she could no longer rely on their support. Today, people continue to be uprooted and end up far from home. May we remember the Biblical witness which honors strangers and immigrants, and reach out with compassion. May we also find ways to work at prevention, so that people can live in peace and well-being at home.

For discussion and reflection

  • What is your family history? Did any in your family flee hunger or fear? If so, what did they experience in their new home?
  • What resources are available to newcomers in your community? How are churches involved, or not, in providing assistance and safety?
  • What role can the church play in advocating for more just economic and immigration policies?
 
 

Resources

 
 

Recommended

Enrique’s Journey, The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with His Mother, by Sonia Nazario, Random House, 2007. Unable to earn adequate income, Enrique’s mother left him with family members in Honduras in order to work in the United States for a short time. But when this stretched into 12 years, Enrique joined thousands of children and teens who try to enter the U.S. in order to find their mothers. This book follows the journey of these young migrants who are often preyed upon by gangsters and end up injured or killed along the way. (For more information, see www.enriquesjourney.com.)

 

Your views

Please share your responses, suggestions and thoughts about this or other topics. Send to womensadvocacy@mcc.org.

Poems and Prayers

 

God of the widow and the stranger,

you are made known in our Savior Jesus Christ.

Born as a migrant,

exiled as a refugee,

he knew the pain of homelessness

but taught his friends the meaning and challenge of love.

Lead us as we build communities

rooted in hospitality and justice. Amen.

- World Council of Churches, “In Solidarity with Uprooted Peoples,” November 1997

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