16 Nov A Rapidly Enlarging Mission Frontier: Outreach and Nurturing God’s Churches among Permanent Refugees, Migrants and Stateless Peoples.
Pastor Phung (not his real name) landed in this majority world country many years ago. He was theologically trained in his home country many years ago. He now serves as a spiritual leader for a group of Christians from his homeland, stranded in this country. He is passionate about evangelism, sharing the gospel whenever he has the chance, especially with people from his own ethnic background.
However, he faces a long-standing problem that is unlikely to be resolved – he and his members are refugees. He holds a United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) card, and his passport has long expired. The country where he now resides is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol.[1] In short, people like him are very much at the mercy of the goodwill of the host country and its citizens.
Many refugees will be in permanent limbo. For the vast majority, they will neither return home nor as some may hope, be resettled in first-world countries prepared to receive refugees. Over the last 18 years (2003-2021) only 8,312 of the estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia were sent to third countries for resettlement.[2]
Refugees can also lose their refugee status over time; their children and grandchildren then become stateless.[3] In Malaysia, they hence become a mere appendix to the estimated 6-7 million migrants and stateless peoples already present (documented and undocumented). The situation is probably similar for refugees located in India, Pakistan, Thailand, and other Asian countries.
Life is especially harsh for refugee families and stateless peoples in majority world countries. There are usually no refugee camps in these places. They often live in the poorest parts of the cities – in the slums or in rented low-cost flats (as the case in Malaysia), or if in the rural areas, in makeshift shacks built on whatever land available. In countries already hard-pressed to provide basic education and primary healthcare for their own citizens, there are also often no provisions for the education of stateless and refugee children. Normal sicknesses can quickly evolve into death sentences.
Christian refugees and stateless peoples who become followers of Christ need a helping hand. They often cannot fit into local churches because of language, culture, and socio-economic factors. Christian refugees, such as the Myanmarese Chin refugees in Malaysia, become enclaves of Christian communities in permanent exile. They wrestle with what it means to live as Christians in a foreign land as a minority underclass with minimal legal rights. They do not merely face the challenges of sustaining their faith in exile, but of re-imagining, renewing, and making the Christian faith relevant, especially to their next generation.
What can churches and missional Christians in host countries do to serve?
- Education and vocational programs – these are especially needed when public schools are not open to them.
- Advocacy – for their rights with local authorities and communities who may unscrupulously take advantage of them, and where necessary, help them navigate the labyrinth of local processes.
- Christian discipleship – partner with them to develop new approaches to community faith-life and discipleship. Collaborate to re-imagine ‘church’ and develop new models of pastoral ministry and leadership-theological training because old models of paid clergy who are financially supported by members are not functional nor sustainable.
- Gospel outreach – to refugees, migrants, and stateless peoples who may have never heard about Christ in a way that is meaningful to them.
- Welfare – in an endemic Covid-19 world of uncertain economic downturns, refugees, migrants, and stateless peoples are often the last groups to receive help.
Migration and refugees forced to relocate because of wars, natural disasters and other factors are not a new phenomenon. Christian mission to refugees, stateless peoples, and migrants is, therefore, not a new frontier. However, it is a rapidly enlarging and complex frontier because of modern socio-political and economic factors and increased people movements.
We are thankful for the increasing numbers of missional Christians, churches, and NGOs already engaged with refugees, migrants, and stateless peoples. But much remains to be done.
This is thus a special plea – for intercession and missional action for these peoples. Pray for them and for those already serving with them. Pray for more churches and Christians to be involved. As the Holy Spirit moves you, get involved and pour in your resources.
Rev. Chan Nam Chen (Ph.D.)
Executive Director
[1]https://www.unhcr.org/en-my/1951-refugee-convention.html. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol “define the term ‘refugee’ and outlines the rights of refugees, as well as the legal obligations of States to protect them.”
[2]https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2021/11/742403/only-8312-rohingya-refugees-sent-third-countries-last-18-years.
[3] Kassim, Azizah. 2009. “Filipino Refugees in Sabah: State Responses, Public Stereotypes and the Dilemma Over Their Future.” Southeast Asian Studies no. 47 (1):52-88.