I believe we are a world of immigrants. Each of us is a guest here, sharing space with others who have lived here millennia longer than we have.
As we have had relative rule over the earth for the past several thousands years, we have forgotten that fact, and considered ourselves natives here. Native like the trees are native, like the oceans, like the deep earth that has lived here as long as the world has existed. We consider ourselves masters of it all, and so we have forgotten where we came from. The Earth has shown us hospitality unheard of, allowing us to ravage and control, and to unleash powers previously unknown to its surface, yet we have reacted with pride to members of our own species who beg for the same, and have done much less.
So if we are a species of beings merely moving through this world, perhaps it is time we welcome those who have been displaced from their homelands.
Our society is at a crucial turning point for the way that we view immigrants. With wars more tragic than many we have seen before, and even the climate forcing people out of their homes, advantaged countries are in a position to be hospitable, and even vulnerable, and open their arms to those who have been disadvantaged most. The issue of immigration policy is most definitely a matter of justice. Many of the catastrophes that are driving people out of their own homes have some root in the intervention of the very countries who would consider closing their doors. The most publicized need currently is that of Syrian refugees, a prime example of the justice relationship of immigration.
However, refugees of war are not the only refugees who are experiencing the poor balance of an unjust international system. A much less-known type of refugee also experiences this justice relationship: the environmental refugee. The term “environmental refugee” was coined by Essam El-Hinnawi, who describes environmental refugees as “people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardizes their existe
nce and/or seriously affects the quality of their life.” In 2012, more than 32 million people were forced to leave their homes due to natural disasters (to immigrate to other areas of their own country, or to other countries). The biggest cause of this mass migration of environmental refugees is the numerous global effects of climate change, a phenomenon largely driven by the industries of advantaged national giants such as the United States and China. Again, a serious justice relationship comes out in many situations of environmental refuge (although there have been some environmental refugees from my own country, as seen in the relocation of people from the Isle de Jean Charles in Louisiana).
Last year, I got to see one of the victims of this injustice speak at a symposium on environmental justice, a pastor from the island nation of Tuvalu. He spoke about how rising sea levels due to glacial melt from climate change will likely put his entire nation underwater within 50 years. Most of the nation is at sea-level, with their highest point being only 15 feet. If the ocean rises as much as it is predicted to rise in the next 50 years, he will be correct and the entire nation will have to relocate, leaving behind them a country which no longer exists. On top of their impending relocation, the country is already facing problems as they are continually ravaged by increasingly stronger tropical storms, and finding that their water table, which they rely on for clean drinking water, is completely salinated. As well as Tuvalu, the island nations of Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Maldives are expected to face resettlement within the next 50 years. Will we – the nations who have been most influential in causing these massive atmospheric changes – not open our borders to welcome those we have disadvantaged? Will we not do everything within our power to reverse the effects of our harmful lifestyles?
The world is ever-gracious to us lifelong immigrants, despite our extreme dependence on its resources, sometimes to the point of depletion. Will we not act with the same compassion towards our human brothers and sisters who ask for welcome? It is time for the advantaged nations of the world to change the justice relationship, and to welcome them with open arms.