Natalia Naman Temesgen: Immigration happens everywhere, not just the U.S.

As politicians begin their campaigns in earnest and spew talking points on hot topics, we’re hearing a lot of perspectives on the issue of immigration. Some among them have already become infamous for their comments on the subject.

Regardless of their stance on the issue, there’s something about hearing it in the context of a political debate that sucks genuine empathy from the topic.

And while Americans are spending a lot of time thinking about our borders, there is an incredible amount of fleeing, border crossing, and life-risking attempts at a bright future happening across the world right now.

Europe is currently experiencing the largest wave of refugees since World War II. Of those crossing treacherous waters to reach a safer shore, most currently come from Syria, Eritrea, and Afghanistan. War, tyranny, and religious extremism are the main reasons for these individuals to flee — in Syria’s case, all three are a factor.

I’ve read many stories this week from representatives of these groups currently living in refugee camps outside of their countries. While they have successfully escaped their own dangerous borders, the refrain from various refugees is that things are far from rosy in their new situation. 

A Syrian refugee says after a wayward trip on a dinghy with 40 other men, women and children, he reached land and walked nine hours to the nearest refugee camp.

There, he felt conditions were the worst he had ever seen. Toilets had no water in them and were overrun with waste. Stale biscuits were the sole option for food.

Refugees seemed hopeless with no options — most had little to no plan or ability to transition to another reality. He, however, had not yet lost hope. He had a good education under his belt and believed he could eventually find employment in the United Kingdom.

Reader, you and I may have little in common with this man.

But we do share the human impulse to strive for something better, to get a foot in the door, to survive. The same impulse to get out of a dead-end job to find something more lucrative for our family is a fraction of the drive that many feel when they risk their lives and give traffickers their life savings at a chance at a better life.

And like us when we take that new “dream job” that isn’t what it seemed, many soon realize that the dream they were sold is damaged goods.

Even upon entering a safer country, they are still treated poorly, living in poverty, and desperate for a sense of rootedness. 

As the politics around these issues continue to ramp up, I will remember that home is home, precious in its way, to each of us around the world. It takes a great ambition or a greater fear to propel us away from home.

And I’m reminded of the charge for empathy in Exodus 23:9: “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.”

— Natalia Naman Temesgen is an independent contractor. Contact her at nntemesgen@gmail.com

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 8:37 PM with the headline "Natalia Naman Temesgen: Immigration happens everywhere, not just the U.S.."