Being Church Together
Bangkok, Thailand
Bangladeshi refugees at Shousha camp on the Tunisia-Libya border. Photo: ACT/NCA/Arne Grieg RiisnaesA select group of church leaders from the Gulf region and the six main sending countries in Asia will meet in Bangkok, 17-20 July, to discern ways by which churches in the region can respond to the phenomena of increasing displacement, xenophobia and loss of dignity caused by political unrest in the region.
The Middle East region, as well as other parts of the world, has seen changing migration patterns due to economic globalization, with people from far away joining the large numbers of migrants moving within the region in search of a better life.
It is estimated that before the conflict, Libya alone was host to 2.5 million migrants: Egyptians, Pakistanis, Sudanese, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Vietnamese, Nepalese and a large population from Sub-Saharan Africa.
As protests erupted in Egypt, Tunisia and later on in Libya, Yemen and Bahrain thousands of migrant workers and foreigners were forced to flee and seek refuge and safety in and around North Africa.
The church consultation is convened by the WCC programme for Just and Inclusive Communities to help churches to give an adequate expression to the biblical mandate of hospitality.
The theological-ethical implications of “Being Church Together” will be discussed in view of church advocacy efforts as well as the impact of migration on the churches within sending and receiving contexts.
Similar efforts in other regions will culminate in a major gathering in 2012 with a view to facilitate a global ecumenical response to migration.
