'ALIENS' ARE PEOPLE TOO

Have just finished an interesting novel, The Air we Breathe by Andrea Barrett. Set almost a century ago in a tuberculosis sanatorium in the Adirondack Mountain region in the US, close to the border with Canada, the patients feel far removed from the events of the First World War in Europe. However, things begin to change in this rural community when President Wilson brings the US into the war in 1917.

One of the patients, whose friend’s son dies as a result of being gassed on the battlefront in Europe, joins the local branch of the American Protective League and takes on what he believes is his duty to keep a watchful eye on all German nationals living in the region. The parallel to the bulletins aired some years ago in the Australian media about things to look out for which might arouse suspicion of terrorist activity on home soil were quite striking. Too easily, the mindset can become one of suspicion, distrust, blame, doubt, expecting the worst, pigeon holing people because of their race, religion or cultural practices, assuming their affiliation and behaviour will go against our national interest.

I’m all for being diligent and I wouldn’t want our defence forces and security agencies to assume there are no credible threats out there to our country’s national security. For me though, if I operated off that sort of mindset I think I’d go crazy. If you looked hard enough you could probably find likely suspects anywhere, under every rock, in every workplace, lurking in every corner and under every streetlamp. So how do you walk the fine line between good sense and hypersensitivity?

In times of war, internment camps have been full of foreign nationals, herded up and isolated from the general population regardless of whether they are a threat or not, often in diabolical conditions. These people became as much ‘prisoners of war’ in the country in which they chose to live, as those captured on foreign soil in the midst of battle.

With asylum seekers now fleeing the violence and persecution of their homelands searching for a spot somewhere, anywhere on the planet they can feel safe and make a new start, Australia has become a destination for many. Whether going through the correct channels or attempting to enter the country ‘illegally’, the promise of what the Land of Oz offers can sometimes be a long time coming for those lingering in detention centres, sometimes for years. They pretty much equate to the internment camps of the past, people groups fenced off and isolated, hoping against all hope their stories of horror will be believed and that those in authority will eventually allow them entry to a new country and a new life.

With the major parties on the election trail ensuring they will “stop the boats”, who speaks up for those in the interminable queues? I’m no strategist or formulator of foreign policies, but it’s obvious national security needs to go hand in hand with showing compassion and providing sanctuary for displaced refugees. Somewhere in there the humanity of the whole predicament has to be paramount.

Justice, mercy and compassion are central to the Christian message, and should likewise be central to any nation‘s dealings with those who are vulnerable. More than a few centuries ago the prophet Jeremiah spoke out to those in authority in a similar vein, reflecting how a nation’s character can be seen in the light of how it responds to the needs of its widows, orphans and aliens. You could easily include today single parents, homeless young people, those with disabilities, immigrants (both legal and illegal), and probably many more categories of vulnerable people who feel marginalised.

I would hate to think Australia would become a nation of closed doors, where we would be judged by others as a hard hearted people, interested first and foremost with the protection and preservation of our own lifestyle. If for some reason I faced a crisis of the proportions so many are dealing with on a daily basis right around the world, I would like to think there would be someone somewhere with open arms only too ready to provide the physical and emotional support such a situation requires.

Surely it doesn’t have to be that hard.