Safe Zones and Refugees

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Bootstrap
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

Post by Bootstrap »

Robert wrote:Saudi Arabia could take 500,000 to 1,000,000 right now with little effort.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina,_Saudi_Arabia
How many Syrian refugees are in Saudi Arabia now? How much do they spend on Syrian refugees now?
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temporal1
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Robert wrote:Saudi Arabia could take 500,000 to 1,000,000 right now with little effort.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina,_Saudi_Arabia
i've been reading about these accomodations, wondering about the sitation, was so glad to read your quote about trump taking action there ..
Saudi Arabia - 100,000 Air-Conditioned Tents Sitting Empty ..
By Kellan Howell - The Washington Times - Tuesday, September 15, 2015

As Saudi Arabia faces mounting criticism for refusing to take in any of the millions of Syrians fleeing conflict in their homeland, it was revealed this weekend that the country has over 100,000 empty, air-conditioned tents that could house up to 3 million refugees.

The tents, located roughly 2,150 miles from Syria in the city of Mina, are only used a few days a year to house pilgrims on their way to Mecca for the hajj, the news station TeleSUR reported.

The huge tents are also fireproof and equipped with kitchen and bathroom facilities.

But while Europe struggles to find space to take in the millions of asylum seekers making the perilous journey there, Saudi Arabia has been largely unresponsive to the crisis.

According to the to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are about 500,000 Syrians living in Saudi Arabia, but they are not classified as asylum seekers and it is not known when they arrived in the country.

Other reports indicate that Saudi Arabia has not taken in any new refugees, along with Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Robert wrote:Trump seems to be working towards not needing to deal with refugees here.
The King of Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi agreed with President Donald Trump’s request to support safe zones for refugees in the Middle East, the White House announced Sunday.

A White House readout of the call between President Trump and Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abd Al-Aziz Al Saud said that the King agreed to “support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, as well as supporting other ideas to help the many refugees who are displaced by the ongoing conflicts.”

The readout of the call between Trump and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Muhammad bin Zayid Al Nuhayyan of the United Arab Emirates was less specific but shared the same sentiment. “The President also raised the idea of supporting safe zones for the refugees displaced by the conflict in the region, and the Crown Prince agreed to support this initiative,” the White House said.
We will see how this pans out.
positive news, on so many levels. :D
maybe enough are praying for trump to be led on good paths to be heard ..
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Josh
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Robert wrote:Saudi Arabia could take 500,000 to 1,000,000 right now with little effort.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina,_Saudi_Arabia
They also rely heavily on immigrant labour from places like Pakistan and Philippines, so there would be lots of jobs for refugees and they'd already know the language.
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

Post by Josh »

Bootstrap wrote:
JimFoxvog wrote:
But the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
It is helpful to meditate on Jesus' answer.
Amen. Especially when there's any chance that we also are trying to let ourselves off the hook in order to justify ourselves. And as human beings, that's almost all of the time.
I think it's helpful to look at the answer too. So the man's neighbour was not every Samaritan, nor was it every Meriam on the opposite side of the world.

But it was the Samaritan right in front of him. My take from it is any refugee, undocumented immigrant, etc I actually come across is definitely my neighbour. People on the other side of the world I don't know and can only think of in abstract labels and large numbers? They aren't "neighbours" in any meaningful sense of the word.
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Josh wrote:I think it's helpful to look at the answer too. So the man's neighbour was not every Samaritan, nor was it every Meriam on the opposite side of the world.

But it was the Samaritan right in front of him. My take from it is any refugee, undocumented immigrant, etc I actually come across is definitely my neighbour. People on the other side of the world I don't know and can only think of in abstract labels and large numbers? They aren't "neighbours" in any meaningful sense of the word.
That's not how I read his answer. Jesus never actually says who is and is not your neighbor, he says to go be a neighbor in the same way the Samaritan was a neighbor to a Jew in need, even though Jews do not even speak to Samaritans. Might be helpful to spawn a thread to explore that passage.
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Bootstrap wrote:
Josh wrote:I think it's helpful to look at the answer too. So the man's neighbour was not every Samaritan, nor was it every Meriam on the opposite side of the world.

But it was the Samaritan right in front of him. My take from it is any refugee, undocumented immigrant, etc I actually come across is definitely my neighbour. People on the other side of the world I don't know and can only think of in abstract labels and large numbers? They aren't "neighbours" in any meaningful sense of the word.
That's not how I read his answer. Jesus never actually says who is and is not your neighbor, he says to go be a neighbor in the same way the Samaritan was a neighbor to a Jew in need, even though Jews do not even speak to Samaritans. Might be helpful to spawn a thread to explore that passage.
I've been thinking about how to bring up a similar topic on "brothers, neighbors, foreigners and strangers". There are, I think, some valuable distinctions to be made, especially as I see passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy being tossed around so casually by people who would never think of actually following the totality of the Law and Prophets.
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Wayne in Maine wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:
Josh wrote:I think it's helpful to look at the answer too. So the man's neighbour was not every Samaritan, nor was it every Meriam on the opposite side of the world.

But it was the Samaritan right in front of him. My take from it is any refugee, undocumented immigrant, etc I actually come across is definitely my neighbour. People on the other side of the world I don't know and can only think of in abstract labels and large numbers? They aren't "neighbours" in any meaningful sense of the word.
That's not how I read his answer. Jesus never actually says who is and is not your neighbor, he says to go be a neighbor in the same way the Samaritan was a neighbor to a Jew in need, even though Jews do not even speak to Samaritans. Might be helpful to spawn a thread to explore that passage.
I've been thinking about how to bring up a similar topic on "brothers, neighbors, foreigners and strangers". There are, I think, some valuable distinctions to be made, especially as I see passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy being tossed around so casually by people who would never think of actually following the totality of the Law and Prophets.
That would be a great thread - I'd love to see that.
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Wayne in Maine
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

Post by Wayne in Maine »

Bootstrap wrote:
Wayne in Maine wrote:
Bootstrap wrote:
That's not how I read his answer. Jesus never actually says who is and is not your neighbor, he says to go be a neighbor in the same way the Samaritan was a neighbor to a Jew in need, even though Jews do not even speak to Samaritans. Might be helpful to spawn a thread to explore that passage.
I've been thinking about how to bring up a similar topic on "brothers, neighbors, foreigners and strangers". There are, I think, some valuable distinctions to be made, especially as I see passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy being tossed around so casually by people who would never think of actually following the totality of the Law and Prophets.
That would be a great thread - I'd love to see that.
I'm hesitant to...
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

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Josh wrote:They aren't "neighbours" in any meaningful sense of the word.
I think the real question in the Parable of the Good Samaritan is if *we* are neighbors in any meaningful sense of the word.
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Re: Safe Zones and Refugees

Post by temporal1 »

Wayne in Maine wrote: I've been thinking about how to bring up a similar topic on "brothers, neighbors, foreigners and strangers".

There are, I think, some valuable distinctions to be made, especially as I see passages from Leviticus and Deuteronomy being tossed around so casually by people who would never think of actually following the totality of the Law and Prophets.
i hope you choose to lead this discussion.
one thing i'm constantly looking for, is how to discern the Christian response from government response, there is so much conflation (in need of being untangled and understood in God's order.)

both exist, both are necessary, God does not deny existence/importance of earthly governments. but, margins have been significantly blurred. often, by church leadership. :shock:

you also posted:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=297&start=80
Wayne in Maine wrote:The simple fact is that the United States government and people do welcome refugees and assist in disasters.

The issue here is a matter of security, nothing more, though lots of people who dislike the current president are making it out to be more.
yes. Americans are giving.
both privately and through government, and, giving takes a multitude of forms.

one question is, have Christians learned to overly rely on government to get this job done? is it ok in some ways, not others? ..

when government assists, what strings are attached?! - this has become a huge question for many.
it hasn't seemed to "sink in" with others that the price is too high.

Conservative Anabaptists have the history+experience to lead other Christians to better understanding about the pitfalls.

Leviticus and Deuturonomy -
"brothers, neighbors, foreigners and strangers" .. ..
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Most or all of this drama, humiliation, wasted taxpayer money could be spared -
with even modest attempt at presenting balanced facts from the start.


”We’re all just walking each other home.”
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