I attended another commemoration tonight.
Two days ago a small boat sank in the English Channel again. This time twelve people died and two more are missing. And the reporting is the same. The articles about it use the same language as they always have in the past. Consider, for example, the headline of the New York Times:
And that’s it. As I’ve said many times before, the people created in the image of God are remembered as nothing more than “migrants.” This is the same in the English and the French papers. There were journalists at the commemoration tonight, and one of the speakers condemned their use of the word “migrants,” and asked that they choose to use a more respectful term that acknowledges the humanity of the people who died.
In addition, the articles lay the blame for this tragedy at the feet of the smugglers. And truly, the smugglers do deserve some of the blame. They have no concern for the well-being of the people they transport; making as much money as possible is their sole goal. But the top-level, less recognised culprits are the governments whose policies cause the smugglers to have a market in the first place. Without inhumane and harmful policies, the smugglers would cease to exist. I said as much during my presentations over the summer, when we visited churches across America. As long as the governments of France and the UK fail to provide safe routes for asylum seekers, the smuggling industry will continue to thrive. Policy makers, the blood of these innocent women and children is on your hands, and one day you will be held to account for the times that you have treated people as pawns in your political game.
Another speaker at the commemoration made a good point as well. She said, “I invite those who say, ‘We can’t welcome everyone’ to spend one week in Eritrea or Iraq or Sudan.” People don’t flee their home countries without a good reason. Just because you’ve never experienced oppression or violence doesn’t mean that thousands of people don’t live with that reality on a daily basis.
And then there was the banner. When I first came here in 2022, it was much shorter than it is now. It’s had to be replaced twice during these two years because it’s grown too short to hold the names of every person who’s died here as a result of the inhumane policies of the governments.
Yet, it’s easy for me to cross the border. With my American passport I can go nearly anywhere. People who were born in Western countries like the USA will never truly understand what it’s like to be forced to take unsafe routes between countries, simply because of our citizenship. This little book is what separates “us” from “them.”
I know that I’m not saying anything new here, nothing I haven’t said many times before. But every time there’s a death at the border I am struck anew by the suffering of people who committed no crime other than being born in an unsafe place and with dark skin. Until policies change and safe routes are created, the darkness and the deaths will continue. And blood will continue to drip from the hands of those in power.
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