International Migrants Day is
an internationally observed on December 18. This date was chosen because it was
on December 18, 1990 that UN adopted the International Convention on the Protection
of all Migrants Workers and Members of their families. Since year 2000, the
international community has used December 18, International Migrants Day, to
highlight the human rights of the migrants community across the world (The
United Nations).
Migration has been considered
one of the defining global issues of the twenty first century as more and more
people are on the move than any point in human history. The issue of migration
has been on the zenith as we read migrants news in every day’s newspaper.
This paper tries to extract the
role of the churches in a changing society where people’s movement is on the climax
in this borderless age. How the churches should undertake the mission in this
age? This has been the alarming question in this generation.
Why
Migration?
The Migration is an undeniable
fact as this trend will accelerate more and more in the years to come. In fact
Marshal MacLuhan was right to bring the world in a global village and it is
more shrinking due to the ever-increasing connectedness of human beings.
Therefore we are not isolated from others. Now, Christianity is surviving in
this generation. The question is how can we tackle with the mobile world? Precisely
speaking, how the Nepali churches would see this phenomenon from the Kingdom
growth perspective? Dr. Rick Wood throws question in the Mission Frontier’s
editorial heading; can the church cope with Mobile Mission fields? I will give
a pause for a moment.
Looking at Nepali migration,
there are certain things that we have to see it very precisely here. I never
opt to give an exclusive statement saying that Nepalese should stop migrating
to abroad. On what base can I say so? Our government has been utterly failure
in sustaining development of the country. In fact I should be ashamed to
address such a statement here. However,
we have crossed the limit to put the trust in our leaders who have devastated
the economy of the country due to the unresolved political crisis. The Nepal
Migration Survey carried out by the World Bank in 2009 on 3,200 households
shows that around 77 percent of the returnees were interested in going for
foreign employment again. (The Kathmandu Post, 29-06-2011) Why? They know that
they do not see any future here in Nepal expect political unrest and bandh every
now and then. Now, the trend of migrating to abroad especially to gulf
countries is on high.
According to the Department of Foreign Employment, around
2,000 people at present are seeking permission to go abroad every day.
Official government data show around 2.2 million people—7.30 percent of the total
populations—are working in various countries. However, the actual number is
said to be much higher than that. A majority of these workers are between the
age of 20 and 23. The contribution of remittance to the country’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) is said to be above 20 percent, as no exact figures are
available. According to the National Migration Survey Report, Nepal received Rs
260 billion—19 percent of the GDP—in 2011. (The Kathmandu Post, 2012/02/06)
The Government has been in
benefit from migrants. Can we put this statement in other way around? International Organization for Migration and the Ministry of Labour
and Transport management reported a fact that 40 to 50 percent of the total
migrant workers went abroad through irregular channels. These workers are more
likely to suffer more.
Hypothesis: the Divine Maestro
From socio-culturally speaking, there are
lots of factors behind the migration. In fact it is a complex matter of
different elements such as war, economy, poverty, freedom, justice and so on. However
the church should understand the riddle in midst of these chaos that how people
have been moving along with the circumstance. Now my point is, therefore to
make the church much wider, flexible and bring them out of the surface and
letting them to watch the horizon. I would put this framework into two
different contexts. Firstly, the government’s failure to sustain the
development and find an opportunity to the returnee migrants is the main issue
to upsurge the emigrants more rapidly. Secondly the movements of people is just
not a happenstance rather it softens their heart to hear the good news (Acts
17:26-27). This seems that migration has been a positive factor in achieving
God’s mission. Someone may have query on how the Mission of God backs up to the
migrational trend! To understand this phenomenon, we have to get into the crux
of the Mission that the creatures cannot be isolated all alone and, it inherits
an assimilative nature to incline with the creator and vice versa. Throughout
the history, this had been a trend of the Mission that God used to fulfill his
grand plan. Be it Israelites wandering on the wilderness or captivity of
Babylon and Persians over the Holy land, the scattering and gathering have been
a part and parcel of the Kingdom. Therefore, we do not need to surprise to hear
that God is on the move and it is important to consider migrants as an important
part of the Mission. Putting this hypothesis in mind, I draw a line that assimilates
the migrational and Missional trend as in the parallel position. Hitherto, the
God of the ages is still in control while all of creation groans for his return
(Romans 8:22).
Nepalese Migrants
and God’s scheme
The heading seems to be
astounding for some of you. I have been pondering a thought that Bosch has unveiled
in his book “Transforming Mission,” where he says that the church is privileged
to participate in Missio Dei and this “enunciates the good news that God
is a God-for-people” (David Bosch, 1991). This leads me to contemplate that
people’s movement also carries God along with. This strategy is important for
the church as we strive further in reaching to people. Last week, I was interpreting
a sermon in one of the church where the speaker was lamenting and crying for
the favor of God over USA. He even urged the local Nepali church to send at
least two missionaries to USA within the next five years. This is the urgent need that Nepali churches
should come up and think of sending missionaries to abroad. This is with two
motives; 1. Flow of Nepali migrants is at rise, 2. Need of evangelism to the
ethic Americans. I was quite convinced with the speaker’s strategy as the
church should not THINK about the gathering the people rather it is the time to
send away their crème that would impact others.
Therefore, this is also a
reminder to the Churches and Christian organization as we remember International
Migrants Day, we need to realize the opportunities for the Christian organizations
and churches what we can do for the migrants that reside in the next door.
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