Montana and Havre should welcome refugees

“You must treat the foreigner residing among you as if they were native-born. Love them as yourself, for you once were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”

— Leviticus 19:34

In 1939, a German ocean liner called the St. Louis set sail from Hamburg, Germany. On board were 937 Jewish refugees seeking asylum from persecution by the Nazis. The ship first went to Cuba, because the passengers had previously acquired Cuban visas. But when they arrived, the Cuban government refused to allow them entry.

The St. Louis sailed to the United States and attempted to dock in Florida, but the United States also refused them entry. Earlier in 1939, Gallup polls found that 67 percent of Americans at that time believed America should refuse to take in refugees trying to escape Nazi Germany. 61 percent did not even want to allow entry to orphaned children.

Eventually the St. Louis had no choice but to return to Europe. The majority of the passengers ended up in Belgium and France, just in time to see Nazi Germany invade and occupy those countries. Ultimately, most of the families of the St. Louis lost their lives in the Holocaust.

Right now, Syria is in the process of totally collapsing. On one side is the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, a dictatorial regime. On the other side is ISIS, a jihadist extremist group attempting to take over the region through brutal violence, terrorism and ethnic cleansing. About a quarter million people have been killed so far in the violence. 6 million people have become displaced and homeless within Syria, and another 4 million people have fled the country and are refugees.

The United States of America seems to be on the verge of repeating the shameful behavior of 1939 by closing its doors to innocent families in need of safety and a new life. In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks — for which ISIS has claimed credit — 26 state governors have said they will refuse to accept Syrian refugees.

Though states cannot legally close their borders, they can make themselves very unwelcoming, by withholding state funds that would help refugees learn English, find jobs, or integrate their children into public schools. Our own governor, Steve Bullock, has so far given a lukewarm statement saying he was reviewing Montana policy about accepting refugees.

In the last week I’ve read many comments on news articles and Montanans’ Facebook profiles regarding the issue. The comments range from cautious compassion to outright bigotry.

Part of the problem is fear and misunderstanding. There is a lot of false information being thrown around, either through ignorance or malice. Some politicians have claimed that the Syrians seeking refuge are “mostly young men,” the unspoken implication being that they are all terrorists in refugee clothing, trying to infiltrate our borders.

The countries currently housing most of the 4 million refugees are keeping a careful tally of who these people are. 50 percent of the refugees are women and 51 percent of the refugees are children under the age of 17. Just 22 percent of the refugees are men between the ages of 18 and 59. They aren’t an army of military-aged men with AK-47s strapped to their backs. They are desperate families — mothers bringing their children, fathers carrying babies.

77 percent of Montanans claim to be Christian, and the Bible is explicitly clear on the matter of refugees and foreigners.

The Old Testament tells us to show justice and mercy to the foreigner seeking refuge among us, because the Israelites knew full well what it was like to be strangers in a strange land. They were commanded not simply to show compassion privately through individual charity, but also publicly as a nation.

As we approach the Christmas season, I’m reminded of a young middle-eastern couple and their newborn baby, fleeing their home country as refugees escaping a violent regime.

Simply put, our faith demands that we take in the orphan and the widow and the foreigner and the refugee. There is no room for interpretation, uncertainty or argument. We can accept it or deny it.

What if we welcomed some Syrian families into our community? Let’s imagine that 10 families were resettled in Havre, parents and children. Some would be Christian, most would be Muslim.

By the way, we already have a number of Muslims in Havre, though many people may not know it. Some work at the hospital and care center, possibly caring for your parents or grandparents.

These newcomers would be looking for jobs, but there are more than enough opportunities in Havre for people willing to work — the Havre Job Service website currently lists about 160 job openings in Havre.

They would also need somewhere to live. Temporary housing and rentals in Havre are a challenge, but there are many properties for sale in the area — around 60 at last count. Many are cheap, some have been vacant for a long time. There are neighborhoods in town that would greatly benefit from new families settling down.

In fact, all of Montana could benefit from an influx of new families. 130,000 older Montanans are expected to retire in the next 10 years, and only 123,000 younger Montanans are expected to join the workforce. Our state actually has more jobs than workers.

It’s easy to make generalizations about 4 million people sitting in refugee camps across the ocean. It’s different when a family moves in next door, different when you see their children playing outside.

Would you bring over a casserole and welcome them to the neighborhood? Would you give them a bag of hand-me-down winter coats or toys, knowing that they came here with nothing but the clothes on their backs? They may not speak the language yet, but a smile of gratitude is universal.

If we as Montanans are so proud of our neighborliness, so respectful of others and appreciative of hard work, we should put our money where our mouth is. There are many places in America that are struggling to take care of their citizens, but Montana isn’t one of them. We could afford to give some desperate families an opportunity to make a new life. Gov. Bullock could offer a warmer statement, say that we are willing to accept some number of refugee families, and welcome them with open arms.

He could say that it was the the right thing to do. The moral thing to do. That it is the Montana thing to do.

(Caleb Hutchins was elected to the Havre City Council in November. He will take his seat when his term begins in January.)