The message below was published as an opinion piece in the Tri-City Herald recently. It’s not the message you might expect to read at holiday time, but reminds us that ‘peace on earth, goodwill toward men’ is a calling for all of us today. We’re sharing the article through B5 social media with gratitude for the many people in our community who do that daily and have joined with us to welcome the stranger.
For over 15 years I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the refugee community here in the Tri-Cities. Through the nonprofit we now call B5, I’ve helped people from all over the world learn English and make a new home here. Recently, more and more people have been asking me how the refugees in the B5 community are doing. I sense that, beneath this question, they’re really asking: Are they afraid? Do they feel safe?
What might they be afraid of? Are they worried about losing their greencards? About being sent back to a place where their lives were in danger? Or perhaps they fear being taken by ICE and deported to a country where they don’t belong? Or is it something closer to home, like fear of their neighbors, because their neighbors are being encouraged to see them as the enemy?
For months now, I’ve stayed silent. But how can I remain quiet when the policies and rhetoric from the highest office in the land are encouraging us to collectively blame and punish refugees and immigrants for the regrettable and unlawful actions of a few? This tactic is nothing new—it’s been used throughout history, most recently during the Holocaust. When our leaders frame refugees and immigrants as dangerous people to be feared, they justify removing them, claiming it’s for the sake of safety. They are disregarding the contribution that some of these people made to American safety. The Afghans who came to our country when we pulled out of Kabul supported our efforts against the Taliban. To leave them behind would put their lives in danger. It’s important to remember that refugees undergo the most rigorous vetting procedures of any individuals entering the United States. This vetting process is also being applied to those who came as parolees from Afghanistan.
The truth is the newcomers in our community aren’t voicing any unusual concerns to us. That doesn’t mean they have none, but living in fear and uncertainty is something they’re all too familiar with. It’s safety and stability that are new to them. So, here at B5, we are afraid for them. We’re afraid that they will lose their right to live here, yes. But we’re also afraid that their neighbors will stop treating them with kindness. We wonder if we should protect our friends. It might be safer for them if we keep quiet. One friend of B5 suggested that it might be better if we removed all the stories and references to our friends from certain targeted countries, so yesterday I asked one Afghan father if he would like us to do that. Would he feel safer if our social media didn’t have stories about the wonderful things his children were doing? He didn’t think that was necessary, because he doesn’t think people will hold him responsible for the actions of one bad man. I hope he’s right.
Years ago, Martin Luther King envisioned a country where people would not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. We’re still a long way from achieving that vision, but it’s a worthy one.
B5 was founded on the belief that those of us born in this country have an opportunity and privilege to bless these newcomers by walking alongside them, advocating for them, and welcoming them into our community. This contributes to their successful integration, growing their commitment to shared American values. We’ve seen firsthand how strangers can become friends when we embrace them with compassion and respect. I’m incredibly grateful for the many people in the Tri-Cities who’ve joined us in this mission. Together, we’ve turned the act of welcoming into a shared experience that benefits us all. My hope for the Tri-Cities in this season where so many are sowing seeds of hate and division is that we embrace the B5 mission of welcoming the stranger.
