|
Last Resort – Migration and the Middle East
by Jonathan Andrews ISBN-13: 978-1-9997224-0-1 422 pages Paperback RRP: UK: £8.95, USA: $14.00 |
The Middle East sits at a crossroads of migration: millions relocate as migrant workers and students. The history of the region includes numerous periods of forcible displacement and migration continues to change and shape the region.
How is migration affecting religious communities? How are the region’s Christians, as well as others of goodwill, responding to the opportunities created by the disruption? Why are Middle Eastern church leaders asking Christians to stay in the region?
This book offers credible reasons why emigration should be the option of last resort.
How is migration affecting religious communities? How are the region’s Christians, as well as others of goodwill, responding to the opportunities created by the disruption? Why are Middle Eastern church leaders asking Christians to stay in the region?
This book offers credible reasons why emigration should be the option of last resort.
A central theme of Jonathan Andrews’ timely examination of migration from the Middle East is the forced exodus of Christian and other minorities who have been hunted down in a systematic slow burn genocide that had its origins in the Armenian Genocide. It is heart-breaking for communities that have their origins in Biblical times to be wrenched from the soil and the homes that they love. But violent disruption also has consequences for majority communities that lose diversity and become monochrome and less tolerant places. Anyone wanting to understand why, despite all of their suffering, these ancient communities want to stay in their homelands, should read Jonathan Andrews’ book. This timely book addresses one of the key presenting challenges of our time and manages to do so in a succinct and readable format. This is all the more remarkable in view of the complexity of the subject and the fact that Andrews has tackled all the various forms of regional migration, not just the ones that make the headlines. He also succeeds in maintaining nuance and rigour as he leads us through the subject, while using documented individual case histories to illustrate his points and add colour to the analysis. We’re indebted to Jonathan for a thorough, wide-ranging and sympathetic survey of the realities displaced people face. ‘Last Resort’ will help you understand their challenges, welcome and serve them, engage with the wider global issues that constrain them, and support Middle East Christians and Churches as they respond and minister to so many people on the move. |
In this excellent book, Jonathan Andrews takes us on a difficult journey with the refugees, the displaced, the oppressed and the asylum seekers. In this journey we see their tears, hear their groans and touch their wounds. When I finished reading this book I could not stop thinking of, “how can we stop this misery?” Last Resort is a vital resource for the global church as it responds to the massive people movements of today. Jonathan’s analysis is important in highlighting the complexity of migration and displacement, teasing out specific dynamics, trends and impacts among various communities of the Middle East, and raising nuanced questions about how the body of Christ should engage in regions of origin, transit locations and arrival points. As we better understand the distinctives of categories such as religious persecution, economic migration and conflict displacement, we are better equipped to respond with appropriate sensitivity and strategy. Crucially, Jonathan’s assessment is grounded in the human dimension. The rich case studies, drawn from his long engagement in the Middle East, are vital reminders that this is about the lives and dignity of children, women and men made in the image of God. As global phenomena, migration and displacement have a worldwide human impact - so Last Resort is for us all! One of the novelties of this book lies in connecting migration with issues of religious freedom or belief. It distinguishes itself from other books on migration and the Middle East by considering what role religion plays in migration to and from the Middle East and North Africa and beyond. In particular it recognises violations of religious freedom, outright persecution and genocidal acts as a major source of migration. From other books on freedom of religion and belief or on religious persecution it differs by looking at the issues from the angle of migration in its multitude and complexity of aspects. It is backed by years of experience and research. It is a unique and very commendable resource that is a must read for practitioners in the field of migration, the Middle East and freedom of religion or belief. This sensitive and complex issue is covered in a comprehensive way, yet it makes interesting reading. Jonathan Andrews proves himself again not only as an able scholar and a master storyteller but also as a man who lives and tells what he needs to say from the heart: the heart of the area he covers, the heart of the people he advocates for and the heart of God, the God of justice and compassion. |
|
To flee or not to flee?
November 17, 2017 |