When refugees move away

Many of us in churches across the country have had the opportunity to welcome and support refugees from a variety of backgrounds. Some of us have met Afghan refugees accommodated in what were termed ‘bridging hotels’, and others have met a wide range of other nationalities who are housed in hotels, hostels and houses providing accommodation for those in the asylum system. The bridging hotels are being rapidly emptied of their last Afghan guests and they are likely to all be closed soon. Afghan friends are scattered all across the country. For many of them, we didn’t get the chance to say our final farewells or give them our personal phone number to keep in touch. Other people seeking asylum are moved from one accommodation to another; and from one town to another during their asylum claim, often with little or no notice.

For those who are getting ‘moved on’ there are so many sudden changes and a devastating sense of loss of friendship, safety and familiarity, particularly as they have started to feel ‘settled into the community’. Life can suddenly feel unsafe again. People around are strangers and unknown. Towns feel foreign and unfriendly. For those who remain, we also experience a deep sense of loss. New friends who we had grown to love and care for have been snatched away from us and the suddenness only exacerbates the loss for all of us.

Renewing our friendships

For those that we are in touch with, there is a change in our relationship. They no longer see us as part of a weekly event or as part of their ‘support’. But we can move on to be friends, albeit sometimes perhaps from a distance. We can keep in touch through WhatsApp. We can forward information to them that will help them settle into their new location. We can refer them through the Welcome Network to find a church that will warmly welcome them and care for them as we have done. 

If friends are now living close by, or within a distance we are able to travel, we can plan to visit them. We can send a text saying we would like to visit and suggest a day. In many cultures, being visited in your home is an honour for the host. It is not looked upon as a burden, but it is seen as an opportunity and often brings with it deep feelings of being respected and cared for. In some Middle Eastern cultures, as you leave someone's home after a visit or meal there, they will say to the guest “You have honoured us by your presence today”.  

Sometimes, this change of relationship can spark new conversations. Perhaps you haven’t had the freedom to offer someone a Bible in their own language or to pray for them. Not being part of a regular, official event can give everyone a new freedom. For those moving into the community, there is the opportunity to visit them in their new home, take some gifts for their household, perhaps including a Bible in their language, and demonstrate Christian faith by praying for the family in their new location. Sometimes a change of location brings freedom to ask questions and to pursue topics that felt unsafe in the communal places in the hotel or hostel or shared house. 

For those of you who were in Whatsapp groups with people living in the hotels, there is the opportunity to post information to the group about findyourwelcome.org. There, they can find information about life in the UK and can self-refer for a ‘welcome’ from a church or to ‘meet a local’ from a church in our Welcome Network. There is also a regular newsletter they can sign up to via findyourwelcome in their own language with lots of tips and useful information about life in the UK. 

Losing Touch

There will always be those that we lost touch with. We trust in a sovereign God. Sometimes we are one part of a journey. Sometimes we will have been present in someone’s life and they get moved away from us and we don’t know how to contact them. We trust that God had purpose in allowing them to meet us and to see the Light of Christ in us. We trust that He who began a good work in them will carry it on to completion (Phil 1 v 6) and bring other Christians into their lives, or speak to them in other ways. We continue to pray and to trust them to God’s care; and we ask God for His resilience in ourselves so that we can continue to show care and love to new friends - again.

More new friends

The room or house may now be filled with a new person or family.  We start again with our welcomes. We pray that God will strengthen us and that we will not grow weary in doing good (Galatians 6 v 9) but that He will help us to carry on loving and reaching out to refugees that He brings to us.  Some of us may even get the chance to meet more newly arriving Afghans as the latest cohort of people who were waiting temporarily in Pakistan are brought to the UK. Others may find that a hotel nearby has many newcomers as people are brought in from other locations to share rooms in the scheme for the Home Office to be using fewer hotels.  

Or perhaps the hotel is now empty of refugee friends and we are wondering what we will do now as a church. Are there any other hotels in the area housing people seeking asylum? Are there any other refugees in my town? How could we, as a church, continue this ministry? If you are not sure what to do next, please contact our Church Engagement Team and we would love to help you find out what else you could be involved with and new ways of welcoming people seeking asylum and refugees in your location. 

Welcome Churches is equipping local churches to continue to welcome everyone seeking refuge in our communities, which is needed now more than ever. Could you consider giving a regular donation to help us see every refugee welcomed by the local Church? Click here to donate today.