Church World Service

[Dill]

(12-30-2016, 06:29 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: All things considered equal, Refugees from the Middle East where the only difference is Christian vs Muslim.

Zaidi Christian or Muslim?
Russia is not a part of the Middle East.
Christians in Bethleham are prosecuted by both, extremist Jews and Muslims and barely make up 1% of the total population in Gaza, so yes I would welcome them.
The Chaldeans have a strong presence in Iraq, but I don't know much about them.

I didn't know people were fleeing Jordan, Qatar and Lebanon. So were not talking Refugees then are we? Because they certainly are in the OP.

Were you aware that there is an ethnic state called Israel in the Middle East, which calls itself a homeland for the Jewish people? Most of the rest of the world thinks the Jew vs Muslim is a "difference" in the Middle East--the central cause of conflict for the last 68 years.  The establishment of this homeland created millions of refugees, both Christian and Muslim.

ISIS makes the traditional place for Christians in its Islamic state, where they pay a tax. Zaidi, neither Muslim nor Christian, are considered Pagan and killed on the spot, the women enslaved. Shia are considered heretics, and, unlike Christians, must also be killed. Persecution of these groups is not equal.

The question about Russia was a question about principle. If you give preference to Christians because they are a persecuted minority in one case but don't give preference to Muslims when they are a persecuted minority in another case, then protecting minorities is not really the premise of your suggested refugee policy.

Gaza?? There are about 200,000 Christians in Israel, Gaza, and the West bank.  That is quite a number. So-called persecution by Muslims is minimal, hardly the main problem. It wasn't Muslims who drove them off their land and now hold them under military occupation. Every Christian Palestinian I have ever known was very clear about who his/her real oppressor was. They also don't understand why American Christians aren't more sympathetic to their plight.

Yes, there are Christian refugees from Lebanon, though not so many now as there were in the 70s and 80s. I mentioned Jordan and Qatar to establish the Christians are only persecuted minorities in specific places in the Middle East, not everywhere. And I mention Israel to establish that where they are persecuted, it is not only by Muslims.

[Dill]

(12-30-2016, 07:42 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Our government bases their decisions on what refugees to accept on, surprise surprise, politics. A refugee fleeing a war-torn country like Syria is an easy decision after vetting because of the situation of their home. But someone fleeing other countries have to be looked at in the political capital that could be gained or lost through their acceptance. Their home country will find out, and by accepting them as a refugee our government is saying that their state is either incapable of protecting the person or complicit in the persecution. That is a diplomatic pond that has a thin layer of ice upon it which our government must tread.

I would love to see our government take every refugee that needed the help. Unfortunately, politics play a role in everything, and so it is a large factor in this.

LOL, that is why we are not accepting Christian "refugees" from Israel.

When I lived in Germany I helped an Assyrian (Chaldean) Christian apply for asylum at the US embassy on grounds of political persecution, because Saddam had killed some of his family. But that was in 1987-88, when Saddam was officially not a tyrant, but our bulwark against Iran, and the application was rejected. Germany granted him a temporary residence, but also refused to consider him a political refugee. He was eventually given US Asylum in the mid -90s, after Saddam was ejected from Kuwait. Last I heard he was living somewhere in Chicago.

[Belsnickel]

(12-30-2016, 08:57 PM)Dill Wrote: LOL, that is why we are not accepting Christian "refugees" from Israel.

When I lived in Germany I helped an Assyrian (Chaldean) Christian apply for asylum at the US embassy on grounds of political persecution, because Saddam had killed some of his family. But that was in 1987-88, when Saddam was officially not a tyrant, but our bulwark against Iran, and the application was rejected. Germany granted him a temporary residence, but also refused to consider him a political refugee. He was eventually given US Asylum in the mid -90s, after Saddam was ejected from Kuwait. Last I heard he was living somewhere in Chicago.

This is the unfortunate truth of public policy. Everything one segment does can impact another, and so the political dance must be engaged in. When you decide whether to accept a refugee or not it can have an impact on international relations, much more than you'd think based upon the person in front of you.

[Rotobeast]

I think we're all missing a huge opportunity in this situation.......