Lament and Longing

by Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach

How lonely sits the city
    that once was full of people
Judah has gone into exile with suffering
    and hard servitude;
She lives now among the nations,
    and finds no resting place.

These words of woe, from Lamentations 1:1–3, reflect the desperation of a people uprooted from their homes.Written 2500 years ago by a poet lamenting the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon, these words could be spoken today by countless people forced from their homes by war, poverty or natural disasters.

In the Middle East, a crisis of displacement has been unfolding for several years. More than two million Iraqis have fled to neighboring countries, primarily Jordan and Syria. Another two million are “internally displaced”—still in Iraq but unable to return to their homes due to the ongoing violence. This crisis will continue long after the war has ended.

As policymakers inWashington and elsewhere debate what should be done about the war in Iraq, the needs of these refugees have been nearly forgotten.

Each week the war in Iraq costs the United States approximately $1.4 billion. That figure exceeds the yearly budget for the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees to do its work all around the globe—not just the Middle East.

U.S. funding for those displaced by the conflict in Iraq has been inadequate, and the United States has been reluctant to open its doors to Iraqis seeking asylum. Between October 2006 and October 2007, “1,636 Iraqis were resettled in the United States at a time when as many as 3,000 a day were fleeing Iraq” (Washington Post).

In October Sen. Kennedy (D-Mass.) added an amendment to the defense authorization bill that would make it easier for Iraqis who have worked for the U.S. government or a related agency to enter the United States as refugees. The House did not include similar language, and as this goes to print, it is unclear whether the provision will be included in the final bill.

MCC has supported this provision as a step in the right direction, but it still falls short of providing refugee status for vulnerable Iraqis not connected to U.S. operations there. Furthermore, most Iraqis would prefer to stay in their homeland rather than migrate to the United States—if they were only able to live in relative security, with basic needs met.

Recently, small numbers of refugees have begun to return to Iraq from Jordan and Syria. Some point to this as evidence that security levels have improved enough for people to feel safe. But UNHCR numbers reveal that 70 percent say they are returning either because they can no longer extend their visas or have exhausted their resources.

Sadly, it appears premature to celebrate the return of Iraqis to safe and secure homes. But, without doubt, that remains the dream of many who are uprooted.

Several chapters into Lamentations, the writer pens these words (3:22–23):

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases,
    [your] mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
    Great is your faithfulness.

God’s love and mercy extend to exiles far from loved ones. I pray that we—in our congregations and as a nation—will find ways to make that love tangible to those longing for home.