A journey of hope and acceptance?

Sep 25, 2021

By Cheryl Lee
Migration is a story of hope. Millions throughout history have migrated in search of a better life for themselves and their loved ones. Our own brave forefathers set sail from their original homelands to create a new home in this country – a melting pot of races, religions, food, and ways of life that we know today. Our Malaysia, “Truly Asia”.

Today, the creativity, the enterprise, the genius and the hard work of subsequent migrants powers the development and economic growth of our country. Many are willing to take on the low paid or unskilled jobs that are shunned by locals. They have given us a better quality of life. There are an estimated 6 million migrants in Malaysia of whom 2 to 4 million may be undocumented. While some migrate for job opportunities or marriage, there are also asylum seekers and refugees who flee from conditions of political oppression, civil unrest, violence, wars and climate crises. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported a large (108,332-person) stateless population, mostly located in Sabah and Sarawak. As of the end of July 2021, there were close to 179,450 registered refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia, of whom 45,180 are children below the age of 18.

The gifts and contributions of the millions of migrants flocking into our country have been acknowledged, welcomed and celebrated in the past. Today, can we accord these newcomers the same welcome given to our forefathers?

Hospitality to strangers is a virtue pleasing to God. In the Old Testament, Abraham and Sarah were richly rewarded with the gift of Isaac when Abraham showed hospitality to the three “strangers” who turned out to be angels of God. In the New Testament, the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the wrath of King Herod. We are reminded that God often comes in the guise of a stranger. Matthew 25: verses 36 and 40 states that whenever we welcome a stranger in our midst, we are welcoming Christ Himself. We are called to treat migrants and refugees in our midst as the brothers and sisters that they are – someone else’s mother, father, son or daughter, filled with dreams and aspirations to build a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones. They deserve to be treated with respect and given support to live full lives with dignity, safety, and hope.

Instead, we see thousands of migrants who are victims of human trafficking, especially those working in the construction, plantation and fishing industries. They are often treated inhumanely, languishing in hot, dirty and overcrowded accommodation. Many are not paid what they have been promised and have no avenues of redress. Some die in their sleep due to sheer exhaustion from working more than 12 hours a day. A large number of domestic helpers are not given a single day off and have no freedom of mobility as their employers keep their passports. The Church invites each of us to protect these vulnerable ones from unscrupulous recruitment agencies, cruel and exploitative employers and labour systems. Our Christian conscience demands that we help restore their dignity as workers, ensuring that they have fair wages and humane working conditions.

Our shared response to the Church’s invitation may be articulated by four verbs: to welcome, protect, promote and to integrate the migrants and refugees in our midst (Pope Francis’ Message for Migrant Sunday 2017). In short, we have an obligation to provide them with a home away from home. We ourselves expect warm hospitality and acceptance by locals when we visit a foreign country. Can we extend this same warm welcome to migrants and refugees in our midst? After all, we are made in the same “image and likeness” of God. Also, they provide us with essential services in our neighbourhoods and nation, whether they are guards, caregivers, cleaners, or garbage collectors.

Pope Francis stresses the importance of being attentive to uplifting the entire human family through the building of a more inclusive Church, capable of creating communion in diversity. We are invited to reach out to the most vulnerable by shifting our mindsets from hostility and exploitation to hospitality and solidarity. This deep human solidarity in turn extends to building peaceful communities and loving care of our environment, our common home. We belong to one big human family. The Holy Father’s invitation to move away from the ever divisive “them and us” mentality to an ever wider “we” is so relevant. It has to be a ‘we’ as wide as humanity.

We are invited to recognise the face of Jesus in the vulnerable migrants and refugees in our midst. May they experience the compassion of Jesus in us when we reach out to them. The challenge laid upon us is to build a more inclusive Church and society, practising universal love which transcends culture, religion and nationality. When we look at ourselves, we need to reckon that it is a long, long journey we need to embark on or continue. Let us remember Jesus’ words in the Gospel, “when you did this to the least of my brothers and sisters, you did it to ME” (Matthew 25:40). Jesus, in each migrant and refugee waits for you, waits to meet you.

--Cheryl Lee is a former staff of the Archdiocesan Office for Human Development and currently serves the Regional Bishops Conference at the Migrants and Refugees Desk