Dr. Joyce M. Davis
President and CEO
World Affairs Council of Harrisburg
The United States was founded on the humane value of welcoming immigrants to freedom. But as we grapple with serious issues of what to do about those who came to our country illegally, many immigrants who are here legally are feeling the sting of zenophodbia that threatens to deprive our nation of their fresh news ideas and stalwart drive for success.
The World Affairs Council of Harrsburg recently sponsored a forum that brought together people of diferent origins who have settled in Central Pennsylvania. Most have found a welcoming community of compassionate people eager to help new families find a home among us. Some spoke of uncomfortable encounters with people who saw only a different skin color and heard accented English. And some of our Latino neighbors are in the midst of a torturous period, with friends and family members facing jail and extradition to the lands of chaos and war they fled long ago.
Lest we think the United States is unique in grappling with zenophobia and the rise of anti-immgrant sentiments, the truth is, other parts of the world are struggling through the same issues. And the issues are not always racially tinged.
I recently led a delegation from the World Affairs Councils of America to southern Africa and discovered anti-immigrant unrest boiling in the capital of Pretoria. Seems some South Africans are fuming over the business success of Nigerians and are ready to throw them out - -despite the history of their support for blacks during the apartheid era.
In Europe, the scourge of terrorism has fueled anti-immigrant sentiments that also has led to the rise in popularity of Marine LePen and French zenophobia. While across the waters, the Brits have made it clear they prefer to sever economic ties with Europeans from the continent in favor of keeping Birtain for the Brits.
What is clear is that the world is going through a tumultuous period in which humane values and compassion for traumatized and terrorized refugees are being tested. In the U.S. the "huddled masses yearning to be free" are finding it harder and harder to enter into the golden door of freedom.
But turning a blind eye to suffering will only lead to increased anger, terrorism and war.
When will we ever learn? When will we ever learn . . .