"What do you mean by grinding the faces of the poor?" - A plea for the refugees of Syria

The above title, taken from Isaiah 3:15, represents a theme found throughout the entirety of sacred scripture. In nearly every book of the Bible, God speaks to us of the need to help the poor and needy among us. The Catholic Church has always stressed this point, from the very beginnings of its existence in the person of Jesus Christ. Millions upon millions of great Catholic thinkers and theologians have written on this reality, and the millions of saints who have walked this earth in imitation of Christ are called so because they lived out their earthly existence in service to the needy among them. The recently canonized St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a recent and shining testament of this truth.

It must be noted that the prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah noted above) are never silent on this issue. In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses tells the Israelites, “If one of your kindred is in need in any community in the land which the Lord, your God, is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your kin who is in need. Instead, you shall freely open your hand and generously lend what suffices to meet that need…when you give, give generously and not with a stingy heart; for that, the Lord, your God, will bless you in all your undertakings” (Deut. 15:7-10). Only a few chapters later this same theme is continued; “You shall not deprive the resident alien or the orphan of justice, nor take the clothing of a widow as pledge. For remember, you were slaves in Egypt, and the Lord, your God, redeemed you from there; that is why I command you to do this” (Deut. 24:17-18). God, speaking through Moses, commands the Israelite people to care for the resident alien, the orphan and the widow, and in other words, the poor and needy among them. He continually asks the very same thing of all his people today.

What then, can we say about the current horrors of the poor of our world today, particularly the refugees and prisoners in the war-torn nation of Syria? If there were ever a time to help the needy among us, now would be that time. The region of Syria and the entire Middle East is devolving into a hell on earth. There are millions of innocent civilians trapped within these countries, surviving minute by minute with so very little. Mothers, fathers and children are dying daily from starvation and disease on top of the injuries and ceaseless bombings dropped over their heads. All of us who are in places of peace have seen these atrocities on the news – directly in front of our eyes. The needy, the alien, the children, the widows - all of these poor people are dying at the hands of evil and political indifference.

Isaiah, speaking for God in the Holy Spirit shouts, “Ah! Those who enact unjust statutes, who write oppressive decrees, depriving the needy of judgment, robbing my people’s poor of justice, making widows their plunder, and orphans their prey! What will you do on the day of punishment, when the storm comes from afar?” (Is. 10:1-3). How atrocious it is that many nations are so slow to act in freeing the millions of refugees of terror and violence from their shackles of poverty. It is sad and terrible that the United States is not acting more decisively and quickly to save the innocent from blood-shed and suffering. Are we a country that ‘enacts unjust statutes’ and ‘writes oppressive decrees’? It is shameful to deny safety to people who have nowhere else to go and no one else to turn to.

Of course the situation in the Middle East is precarious. Of course there is a fear of terrorism and of terrorists landing on our soil. But why should we attribute the actions of a few extremists to the Muslim world as a whole? Is that not what so many did to the Catholic Church in light of the abuse scandals? To deny the innocent their dignity and right to a peaceful life on the basis of fear is not Christian. The European nations can only hold so many of those who are fleeing from violence. Is it not possible for the United States to open up its hand and welcome immigrants? We as a country certainly knew at one point what it was to be from a foreign land, just as the Israelites did in Egypt. We are a country founded on immigration. I am the product of brave ancestors who left their countries in search of a better and more dignified life. I am the product of a country that did not close its hands to the needy when they washed up on shore.

Why does it feel like much of the world is closing its doors to the needy? Why does it feel like the United States is not doing more for the refugees seeking freedom from death? How can it be that economic interests are yet again getting in the way of the dignity of the poor? These questions have the same answer that has wrung out since the very beginnings of time: sin in all its forms – greed, indifference, apathy, and pride among many examples.

Pope Francis has spoken at length of the need to hear the cry of the poor in these desperate times. He has stated “once capital becomes an idol and guides peoples decisions, once greed for money presides over the entire socioeconomic system, it ruins society, it condemns and enslaves men and women, it destroys human fraternity, it sets people against one another and, as we clearly see, it even puts at risk our common home” (Speech in Bolivia, 2013). How else can we interpret this slow response to free the victims of violence and poverty in the Middle East than a nuisance to economic growth? Can it possibly be that we as a country are telling ourselves it will cost more to bring them here than they are worth? Or it is that we are giving in to our fears that we will unknowingly allow terrorists on our soil? I do not believe either are legitimate excuses.

There is a selfish, maniacal power-monger at the helm of Russia who’s only interest is economic gain and control in Syria. Jeremiah speaks directly against this in his condemnation of king Jehoiakim. “Woe to him who builds his house on wrongdoing, his roof-chambers on injustice; who works his neighbors without pay, and gives them no wages” (Jer. 22:13). On September 21^st, 2016, headlines reported that Russian airstrikes were responsible for the bombing of a UN aid convoy which killed twenty people. Twenty people were killed trying to bring aid to people near Aleppo who have virtually nothing. And now the UN is withdrawing aid for fear of similar attacks. These bombings are cowardly and demonic. On October 3^rd, 2015, the United States military was responsible for the bombing of a ‘Doctors without Borders’ hospital in Afghanistan in which twelve medical personal and ten innocent civilians were killed. Over forty others were wounded. People who were trying to give of themselves and hear the cry of the poor were shot down in senseless violence.

Christ spoke of all of these things near the end of his life. He spoke of the increase of evildoing and the terrors that were bound to take place on the earth before his second coming. He spoke of the persecution his followers were going to endure, “You will be hated by all nations because of my name. And then many will be led into sin; they will betray and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and deceive many; and because of the increase of evildoing, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matthew 24:9-13). So much of what is spoken by our Lord is coming to pass at this very moment. These innocents in Syria and Afghanistan were killed and hated for doing the right thing. False prophets are rising up in the name of economics to persuade the minds of many to condone violence and indifference. The increase of evildoing at the hands of terrorists is causing many people of this country to harden their hearts to the plea of the poor and those who have lost hope. The devil wants all of these things to happen. He wants all of us to be divided and devolve into chaos, prejudice and greed. But our Lord tells us that the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

The innocents of the world who are being killed in violence are those who are persevering to the end. The children who are suffering terrible calamity in these days are persevering to the end. The leaders who are standing up for what is right in urging Congress to act quickly for the benefit of the poor are those who are persevering to the end. All of you who are standing up for justice and the rights of the poor, orphan and refugee are persevering for Christ and for love of God. And especially those men and women who have offered up their lives for the hopeless and for the Church are persevering until the end and are thus with our Lord in heaven.

There was a young woman named Kayla Mueller from Prescott, Arizona, who persevered to the end. She was working as a humanitarian aid worker at a ‘Doctors Without Borders’ hospital in Aleppo when she was taken prisoner by ISIS in August of 2013. Over the next two years she would be tortured and raped by her captors until she was killed in an airstrike by forces of Jordan in February of 2015. This poor girl gave her life and persevered in her Christian faith all while being subjected to the cruelest forms of abuse and evil imaginable. Yet it is reported by other captives that she did not give up hope nor denounce Jesus whom she loved. Rather, she lived courageously until she was killed in another brutal act of violence. As Christians we believe that Kayla is now in heaven with God, experiencing an ineffable joy and peace.

Kayla is one of many men and women who are standing up for the powerlessness and the needy. She is representative of the countless orphans, widows and refugees who have lost their dignity and have no voice to defend themselves. What do we mean by grinding the faces of the poor in rejecting their needs and hopes of a better life in a safer place? Now is the time that world leaders can be heroes and show the world what it means to live in the Truth. This article may sound angry and hostile and I am afraid to say that it is intended to be so. Now is not the time to delay. These acts of war and terror have to stop. One would have thought World War I and II and the Holocaust would have told us so, but no, this violence has not seemed to have been enough.

For all of you who are fighting the good fight and are yelling out for justice for the oppressed, you are doing what the prophets and our Lord urged us to do. For anyone whom this article speaks to in a particular way, please do what you can to encourage those around you to be on the side of the poor.

The little boy who was captured in the horrific video taken in Aleppo in mid-August 2016 is Omran Daqneesh. He is one of millions of children around the world who are being affected by the cruel decisions of the powerful and the evil that lies behind terrorism. We do not have to give in to our fear. We do not have to shun the vulnerable. We do not have to devolve into chaos. We can still be the lights we are called to be. We can imitate Kayla, stand up for Omran and heed the words of Christ to help the poor. We have to.

God forbid we allow fear to get in the way of mercy. God forbid we elect a man who desires to keep refugees out of the country for bigoted and deplorable reasons. God grant that those with the means and courage to act will act. We can always pray and hope for what is right and good. Jesus is with us, not against us. And he is in the face of all those who need us at this moment. I need to remind myself of this every day. I cannot be silent anymore.