Commentary: Xenophobia and grace

Displaced people amount to 60 million worldwide

A few weeks ago, I traveled to South Africa.

On the 16-hour Atlanta-to-Johannesburg flight, I watched the movie, "Selma." I had previously seen clips, but this was my first time to view the entire film.

Watching that film about the U.S. civil rights movement in the 1960s and then being in South Africa, which cast off apartheid in the early 1990s after years of struggle, it was hard not to think about race relations and what has happened -- and what hasn't.

There is also the important perspective of current events and trends around the world -- where geopolitics, nationalism, and ethnic and religious divisions have created an unsettling and, in some cases, explosive fusion.

Across the globe, we see numerous examples of displaced populations, of people literally without a country, of violence and terrorism, often along sectarian or ethnic lines, and of integration and union being threatened by assertive nationalism and xenophobia -- the fear or intolerance of "foreigners."

Almost 60 million people worldwide are displaced, the highest number since World War II and 60 percent higher than 10 years ago. If a "nation of the displaced" were a country, it would be the 24th largest in the world.

Anti-immigrant sentiments are evident in many regions and anti-immigrant political parties are growing.

In Europe, politics are entangled in immigration issues and 2,000 or more have died trying to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe. The United Kingdom isn't all that united and there is a strong push to withdraw from the European Union or further reduce its role. Hungary has become a hotbed of anti-immigration attitudes and Prime Minister Viktor Orban announced plans for a high fence along the Serbian border. Danish voters ousted the sitting government, leaving an anti-immigration party as the largest force.

Refugees driven by politics and economics abound. Thousands have been stranded at sea in Southeast Asia., where the crisis involving the Rohingyas, a persecuted Muslim group, is especially acute. Myanmar (Burma) is accused of treating Rohingyas as badly as the old South Africa treated blacks. Similar patterns are occurring in Africa with the ongoing humanitarian crisis in South Sudan one of many examples.

The upheaval in the Middle East has created large numbers of refugees. About 11 million Syrians have been displaced, 4 million abroad. One-fifth of Lebanon's residents are refugees. Jordan is also dealing with a huge concentration of refugees and there are 2 million in Turkey.

Xenophobia shows up in American politics as well. We have presidential campaigners and media blowhards who talk tough about Mexico or China, trying to make them whipping boys and blame problems on them. And, as we were painfully reminded by the murder of the nine churchgoers in Charleston, the United States, despite significant advances in diminishing discrimination, is hardly immune from racism.

I recently attended a program where Roy Reed, who covered Selma in 1965 for the New York Times, recalled the civil rights milestone and a segment of the "Selma" film was shown. Only a few hours later, I learned of the murders at the Charleston church by a deranged young man who had stoked himself on vile racist dogma.

The killer had posed for a picture wearing a jacket with the flag of apartheid-era South Africa, which he had posted online.

The turn-around in South Africa ended apartheid and rule by a brutal, racist minority. Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years and in 1994 became the nation's first democratically elected president. Taking office, Mandela insisted on peaceful, non-vengeful change. It was a classic example of grace.

In words inscribed on the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg, Mandela said, "To be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." That comment could apply to many of the civil and human rights issues in this country and globally.

South Africa today faces significant challenges. Almost one-fourth of its people are unemployed and some young South Africans blame foreigners for taking jobs from them. This led to an outburst of xenophobia and some violent attacks on immigrants, many of whom were fleeing desperate circumstances in nearby countries, hoping for a better life. However, in response to the attacks on immigrants, other South Africans responded with a "say no to xenophobia" movement, another example of grace.

We also saw sterling examples of grace demonstrated by family and friends of those slain in Charleston and by some South Carolina officials.

And President Obama's rendition of "Amazing Grace" at the Charleston funeral for State Sen. Clementa Pinckney, the church minister, was in itself a moment of grace, unexpected but fitting, reinforcing the theme of his eulogy. Amazing Grace involves hope, light, vision, and overcoming blindness. In a world plagued by odious examples of bigotry and xenophobia evil and terrorism, we need grace to guide us through dangers, toils, and snares.

Commentary on 07/01/2015

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