Estimates suggest there are thousands of people amassed at the U.S. southern border. They come from points south, from Central America and elsewhere.
Currently, flights have been arranged through the federal government to escort Haitian refugees back to their homeland, from whence they came. For those of us who live as persons of faith, I ask: Is there not something wrong with this action, as in those who seek refuge, asylum and relief from desperate conditions, by insisting they be returned (forcibly) to their land or origin? Is there not another way to explore this unsettling dilemma we face with our southern and Caribbean neighbors? Have we exhausted all possible alternatives?
I am appealing for diversity of opinions, alternative suggestions as we take into consideration, regardless of religious background, that those seeking refuge are God’s children, as much as any one of us are. Indeed, these are times which “try men’s (people’s) soul.”
In advance, thank you for struggling with this ongoing disappointment I am feeling. I look forward to replies and broad points of view.
THE REV. DR. RONALD E. SHELLHAMER
Williamsport
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