All the good

Refugees are opportunities, not the problem

It’s not a radical idea, at least in its vocalization. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” is one way of putting it.

“Not one of you truly believes until you wish for others what you wish for yourself,” is another.

And yet another suggests “treat not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

In practice, however, it’s a radical idea indeed. And its appli- cation day in and day out particularly tends to test the bounds of radical compassion when those “others” are much different than ourselves. Really? A Syrian? Really? An Afghan? Really? A Samaritan? The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates the world’s population of forcibly displaced people number more than 65 million, the highest level of displacement on record. The agency has been around since 1950, so that’s a significant record.

So what might it look like to do onto or wish for others as we would ourselves?

Canopy Northwest Arkansas is an organization that relies on what many religions or value systems call on adherents to do — to welcome those in need to the extent one can.

So often we hear of the bounty of Northwest Arkansas, about how blessed this place is. And we believe it. We embrace it. We tout it to others in furtherance of the region’s economic successes. But the riches, the opportunities, don’t they call us to do something more?

Canopy NWA last year “re-settled” 55 people from other countries who were in search of places to not just survive, but thrive. The organization works to create places where refugees can live, find employment and work toward assimilation in their new country. Despite new barriers and tighter limits on which refugees are permitted into the United States, Canopy NWA hopes 2018, its second year of operation, will permit it to guide 75 people through the settlement process.

It would be the kind thing to do, right? That’s particularly true when advocates for helping to rescue refugees have put together a fine organization such as Canopy NWA. They’re willing to devote the time and energy to easing the transition for people whose lives have been uprooted, disrupted. Imagine, after years of uncertainty and anguish, having a secure home in a region where they do not have to worry about persecution by government authorities or others in power.

It’s not in vogue these days to be a welcoming place, if the rhetoric out of Washington, D.C., is any gauge, but here’s hoping Canopy NWA can give new hope. As one John Wesley suggested, “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”