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Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Americans Must Show Compassion to Immigrants, Religious, Community Leaders Say

Americans+Must+Show+Compassion+to+Immigrants%2C+Religious%2C+Community+Leaders+Say

CW: This article references violence in Afghanistan. Please refer to the end of the article for on- and off-campus resources.

Amid global crises, including the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, the United States must support immigrants and refugees from across the world, panelists said at an Oct. 7 event.

The virtual event, titled “Who is my Neighbor?” was co-sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. It was the first installment of “Pope Francis, Young People, and Solidarity: Dialogues on ‘Fratelli Tutti,’” a series of events which reflects on Pope Francis’ ‘Fratelli Tutti,’ an encyclical calling for human fraternity and rejecting war. 

Berkley Center for Religion, Peace & World Affairs | The United States must support immigrant and refugee communities, panelists said at the Oct. 7 “Who is my Neighbor?” event.

Pope Francis signed “Fratelli Tutti” in October 2020, calling for greater solidarity among communities throughout the world. Francis asks people across the world to uphold basic human rights like access to food and water, and encourages communities to learn about one another. In the document, Francis also claims the global response to COVID-19 displays a lack of necessary international collaboration. It is Pope Francis’ third encyclical, a letter sent to all Catholic bishops by the pope.

To promote understanding between communities as Francis instructs in “Fratelli Tutti,” Americans must exemplify fraternity by providing support for refugees adjusting to life away from their home, according to Muzhgan Azizy, a refugee from Afghanistan who recently immigrated to the United States; Azizy worked for the U.S. Embassy in Kabul and the Afghan Ministry of Agriculture.

“Me being new with the lifestyle, with the culture, with the systems here in the United States, affect my neighbors and the people around me, what I expect from my neighbors and people of this great country is to be patient with us, to support, to go through this difficult time of resettlement and adjustment,” Azizy said at the event. 

Following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, Afghan refugees make up one of the world’s largest refugee populations. In the last four decades, the United Nations reported that there are nearly six million Afghans who have been forcibly displaced from their homes. 

Afghans resettling in the United States have faced a variety of barriers, including delays in the visa approval process, which leaves refugees uncertain of their legal status and unable to access federal social programs like Medicaid. 

Nationalism, racist ideologies and apathy promote division in society, according to Omayma El Ella, the project associate for the Just and Inclusive Society Project at Democracy Fund, which seeks to protect the civil rights of groups targeted by hate and discrimination. 

“It has been heartbreaking to see members of our own faith communities at times swayed by nationalist, racist thoughts that pin us against one another,” Ella said at the event. “I think one of the challenges we are seeing in relation to addressing societal ills is something Pope Francis names in the encyclical, which is radical individualism.”

Nationalism is on the rise in the United States: In the past year, domestic terrorist plots and attacks in the United States have risen to their highest rates in 25 years. White supremacists are responsible for about two-thirds of these incidents.

Dialogue guided by compassion is the key to fostering friendship among strangers, according to Cardinal Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Washington.

“The bedrock of friendship and reaching out to our neighbors is dialogue and relationship,” Gregory said at the event. “Dialogue is not a one-and-done conversation. It is a process. A process of discernment, accompaniment, listening and exchange.”

Young people have the power to spread peace and create a positive environment for refugees through compassion and bravery, according to Gregory.

“Pope Francis calls on all of us, especially our young people, to be creative and to be bold,” Gregory said. “The young people in our church are uniquely positioned to participate in civil dialogues and conversations in order to confront polarizing rhetoric, peacefully protest civil injustice and advocate for love of our neighbors.”

Resources: On-campus resources include Health Education Services (202-687-8949) and Counseling and Psychiatric Service (202-687-7080); additional off-campus resources include the District of Columbia Office of Refugee Resettlement (202-698-4316).

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