Author Matthew Soerens Addresses the Refugee Crisis Via His New Book & This Exclusive Interview

Stephan Bauman, Matthew Soerens, and Dr. Issam Smeir have extensive experience with refugee issues through their work with World Relief, a global organization authorized by the U.S. State Department to serve in the resettlement of refugees. 

Understanding the complexity, confusion, and conflicting opinions, they have authored Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis (Moody Publishers) to offer practical and in-depth research that brings a biblical perspective to this controversial and emotional crisis. We are honored to be able to speak to Matthew Soerens about this important issue and his new book.

Q:  Matthew, we are so grateful for your time.  You have a great passion for refugees and refugees re-settlement, what prompted you to give so much of yourself into this cause? 

When I was in college, a friend asked me if I'd join her in volunteering with a refugee family from Rwanda through World Relief. It seemed like a good thing to do, and I could spare an hour each week. Over time, that family became good friends, and when I graduated from college, I moved into their apartment complex, where I had neighbors who were refugees and other immigrants from more than twenty different countries of origin. I lived in that remarkably diverse and vibrant community for eight years, and over that time, as refugees became some of my best friends, the media-driven stereotypes of the term "refugee" started to melt away in my mind. I also realized that, though I grew up on a wonderful Christian home and have been reading the Bible since I was a small child, I'd somehow never noticed how much the Bible has to say about the topics of refugees and immigration. The more I searched the Scriptures, the more I became convinced that the arrival of refugees and other immigrants is a God-ordained opportunity for the Church, but one that I fear we're too often missing if we've only considered this topic from a political, economic, or cultural perspective. 

Q:  Who is a refugee?  And what were some of the factors that caused this crisis? 

A refugee, under both US and international law, is an individual who has fled his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution. That persecution, under the law, must be based upon their race, religion, political opinion, nationality, or social group. 

Tragically, there are an estimated 21.3 million people in the world today who meet that definition, according to the UN's refugee agency, and that does not include more than 40 million others who are "internally displaced," meaning that they have been forced to flee their homes, but remain within the borders of their country. Those numbers are unprecedented in recorded history, and each represents a human being whom, as Christians, we believe is made in the Image of God with inherent dignity. 

While refugees come from many parts of the world, just three conflicts are responsible for about half of the refugees in the world right now: Syria, Afghanistan, and Somalia. Civil wars and persecution both from governments and from non-state terrorist groups are the reasons that most have been forced to flee. 

Q:  Who are the ones chosen for re-settlements? And how does this strategy of re-settlement work? 

It's important to acknowledge that, of more than 21 million refugees in the world, the vast majority will not be resettled. Last year, globally, just over 100,000 refugees were resettled to any country, 70,000 of which were admitted to the US. In any given year, more than 99.5% of the world's refugees will either remain in the first country to which they have fled or, in some cases, may be able to return to their home country when the threat of violence subsides. But, on average, it takes 17 years from when a refugee first flees their country until they reach a permanent, safe place they can consider home, whether that's going back to their country when it's safe, staying with permanent status in the country to which they initially fled, or being resettled to a third country such as the US. 

Because so few are even considered for resettlement, the US government uses several criteria to select individuals and families for consideration. Most of these criteria are based on the refugees' relative vulnerability, as the US government wants to help protect those refugees who may not be able to survive in a refugee camp or living in an urban context as a refugee. So, for example, the US government might prioritize cases with single-mother-headed households, individuals with particular health conditions, or those who have faced further persecution or discrimination in the second country to which they fled. Those who already have family members living in the US are also given special consideration. From there, each refugee is subjected to a thorough vetting process-it usually takes at least 18 months, and often much longer-that is coordinated between the US Departments of State, Homeland Security, and Defense as well as the FBI and the National Counter-terrorism Center. Only those whom are government is fully convinced will not present either a national security or a public health risk are allowed in. 

The few who are ultimately approved are then lent the money for plane tickets (they're required to repay it as a no-interest loan after they arrive and begin working in the US) and are met at the airport by representatives by one of nine national resettlement agencies, one of which is World Relief, who are responsible for helping them to adjust to a new culture, become economically self-sufficient, and integrate into their new communities.  

Q:  So, what do you think is the solution to this crisis? 

Our conviction at World Relief is that the Church-in its many local manifestations at every point of this global crisis-must be at the center of the solution to the global refugee crisis. We help local churches in Jordan and elsewhere in the Middle East to care for refugees fleeing Syria, about half of whom are children, by meeting basic needs and providing safe spaces for kids to learn, play, and find healing for the trauma they've experienced. We coach churches in Germany on how to most effectively serve the many who have sought refuge in their country in the past year. We work with churches in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Cambodia, and Haiti to proactively address the root causes of hunger, poverty, and marginalization that can ultimately contribute to situations of forced migration. And, for the few refugees selected for resettlement to the US, we train churches and volunteers to help welcome and accompany refugees as they adjust to life in a new country. 

Q:  How can churches and individuals do? 

In the US context, one of the greatest needs is simply for friendship. Through our offices in about 27 locations around the US, World Relief trains teams of volunteers from local churches (we call them a "Good Neighbor Team") who commit to walking alongside a refugee family. That process begins even before the family arrives, by helping to provide a "Welcome Kit" with the various items necessary to furnish an apartment. Then, that Good Neighbor Team is usually present at the airport as the family arrives to provide a warm welcome, and from there commits to visiting the family on a regular basis for (at least) the first several months they are in the country, helping them to navigate their way through a new language and through basic daily tasks like banking, grocery shopping, understanding bills and other mail, and getting kids into school. More than anything, they're there to be friends. Q:  In your new book, I was glad that you mentioned that Jesus himself was once a refugee.  Why do you think it's important for us to understand this? As Christians, we worship a Refuge: the Gospel of Matthew tells us that, as a small child, Jesus was forced to flee persecution in Bethlehem and go with Joseph and Mary to seek refuge in the foreign land of Egypt. We don't know very much, from the text, about how Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were treated once they arrived in Egypt, but it's interesting to speculate: were they welcomed, or feared? Did the Egyptians in that community go out of their way to ensure they had a safe place to live, or did they suspect Jesus of carrying diseases and insist on keeping Him away from their children? Did they see that these newcomers would buy things and contribute to their local economy, or did the local carpenters accuse Joseph of "stealing" a job? We can only guess. But the questions are not purely theoretical, because Jesus later makes clear that how we treat the "stranger" is actually how we treat Him: "Whatever you did to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine," Jesus says-specifically referencing "strangers" among "the least of these" along with the hungry, the sick, the imprisoned, and others-"you did to me" (Matthew 25:40).  

I personally don't want to be told by Jesus one day that He showed up as a vulnerable stranger in my community, perhaps as a persecuted sister or brother in Christ from Burma, Iraq, or South Sudan, but that I was too busy, afraid, or cautious to welcome Him. 

Q:  How do you think your new book "Seeking Refuge" can help us understand (and act) on this refugee crisis?

We have three major goals with this short book: to provide a biblical foundation for thinking about this complex topic; to tell the stories of a number of refugees, to help us put a human face on this huge crisis; and to help address some of the most common concerns about refugees that are present in our culture right now. Our prayer or the book is that it is a tool to equip the Church to respond in ways both informed by the facts and by the truth of Scripture, so that we can follow Jesus' instructions to let our lights shine before others, so that they would see our good deeds and praise our Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16). Millions of people in our world today-refugees as well as the broader society around us-are forming their opinions about who Jesus is based on the response of those who profess to be His followers. Will our response be one of love, compassion, and advocacy, or fear, apathy, or scapegoating? I believe it's an important moment to let our light shine. 

You can purchase the book by clicking here.

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