13 - Principle One: Migration is a Human Condition. (Part 2)
2022 No 13
For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. --Jeremiah 29:11-13
We spent time in the last post discussing the first of five principles behind migration. The first principle is that migration is a human experience. We are all moving! In this post, we would add to that declaration… not only are people moving… but the move is life-changing for them. We are not alone in that assessment.
Migration seems to be basic to the human condition, for it has been repeated endlessly in human history, and has often been determinative in its effects on the life of peoples. --Andrew Walls 1
I would dare say that not a single person reading this post, or who might conceivably read this post, is living in the place of their birth. And if they are, they likely have lived in many other places between then and now!
Change is inherent to the human experience of movement. Our world is changing, and movement impresses those changes upon us. In the missional community, we use the term "globalization" to help describe this process. At its base, globalization is a word that describes how our world is becoming increasingly interconnected.
At the center of the current wave of globalization are "the triple S-forces" of speed (with the capacity for instant communication), scope (the capacity to communicate to the entire world), and simultaneity (the capacity to communicate everywhere at the same time). Together, these forces have shaped our “wired world” and led to an unprecedented triple impact on human living: the acceleration, compression, and intensification of human life on earth in the global world. --Os Guiness and David Wells²
This process has always been happening within communities to some degree. It is just that with advances in technology and transportation, the lines between “here” and “there” -- “home” and “far away" have become diffused. This change has had a profound effect on our world. Why? Because in most cases, knowledge of a future destination is necessary before anyone can take their first step. Thus, this new "capacity to communicate" is how people get the idea that movement would be beneficial. Such has undoubtedly become the story in Africa.
Information: It Changes How We Move.
Africans have historically been mobile. The nomadic lifestyle is intrinsic to the lives of shepherds, traders, and warriors. Even those who were farmers would often relocate due to natural disasters and climate changes. In the distant past, they always maintained a base in a particular region. It was a place that they could call home. It was a place to which they could always return. And it was a movement pattern that was reinforced as they recounted the stories over the generations. To the point, their mobility was always for a definable and specific reason and always to known areas.
Much of this began to change, however, after two world wars. These global conflicts touched Africans as colonial governments called... and at times compelled them to serve. Thousands traveled to the European continent and beyond to fight. The exposure of these men to a bigger world served to overcome any hesitancy that may have been present before the conflict. When France, and other countries, extended the call to rebuild, many would then return to supply labor for the post-war reconstructions. Their experiences and testimonies created a greater awareness of the economic opportunities beyond Africa, and many would follow.
The 1960s and 1970s brought a technological revolution. It began with the proliferation of radio and television. Africans could see what life was like in other, generally western, countries for the first time. They could see the wealth, learn of the freedoms, and imagine the possibilities of life outside of Africa. Even though such programming was highly biased and often exaggerated, the non-western world believed what they saw and began to move in those directions.
In more recent times, the internet brought the capacity to learn about other locations and dialogue with those who lived there. Today, migrants can speak to their friends and family who have traveled across the globe. They are not only encouraged to move, but others can now facilitate those movements along the way. Generally, these movements are safe and legal. But as we have also seen, illegal migration is often facilitated by smuggling and trafficking networks. Not surprisingly, these criminal networks have profited from the same information and technology.
In the end, the world has become a much smaller place. And yet, in underdeveloped countries, their knowledge of this world has grown exponentially larger. These two factors contribute directly to modern migration patterns. African migrants today can gain first-hand information about the conditions in Europe, secure a means to get there and coordinate their arrival with nothing more than a smartphone. As our world has become more globalized, so also have her people. Armed with today's tools, it is of no surprise that they are on the move.
Exposure: It Changes How We See The World
We must be careful with the word "globalization ."Jehu Hanciles states that the term is used so broadly that it hardly has meaning. The concept is celebrated almost as much as it is contested, simply because it can "mean all things to all people." In our case, we use globalization as the process whereby individuals and their communities become connected to and affected by the rest of the world. This external influence serves to expand their knowledge and experience beyond the local customs. It creates openness to other ideas without abandoning their own culture.
This is an important principle to grasp. People move, and the movement changes them. Think of it this way. A young man in an African village is by nature constrained by the customs and culture of his village. The people there hold fast to their faith, whether animism, Islam, or Christianity. And they have structures that maintain conformity! They also believe certain things about other cultures and religions. Those beliefs may be positive, negative, or perhaps even neutral, but they are accepted, if not institutionalized beliefs. Consequently, this young man’s worldview is held in check by the societal pressures of that village.
But when that young African moves to another community, or perhaps another country, those social structures change. He is now immersed in a different culture. Of necessity, he must learn a different language, live within new norms, and he is exposed to new thoughts and new belief systems. This exposure changes the young man. His perceptions are adjusted to match the realities before him each day. Relationships are formed with people outside his cultural heritage, and they serve to confront prior beliefs and stereotypes profoundly. Without any effort or intent, the worldview of this young man changes each day he is there.
And here is a strange reality. Because this young African's world is so interconnected, he may live in another part of the world, but he will likely communicate daily with his family back in the village. As a part of the community, he has influence back home. If he provides financial support through remittances, he may have significant influence. The changes occurring in his life are evident and may cause initial concern. But over time, the community will likely accept him, and their reluctance to change will be lowered. As such, his capacity to remain interconnected (globalization) changes his community back home and, ultimately, the perceptions of a future generation of migrants.
Receptivity: It Creates Pathways for the Gospel
We have always known that movement increases one's receptivity to the gospel. Few have ever sought to understand why. Personally, I think that the above conversation is a crucial component. In a previous blog, we discussed the kinds of changes that are necessary for salvation. Affective change occurs when negative presuppositions come into contact with compassionate Christians. Cognitive change occurs with exposure to the Word of God. Volitional change is possible through trusting relationships with mature believers. Much of this may be impossible to find in a migrant's place of origin, but it becomes possible as they move into a more global context.
So let me tell you more about the young African man above. I met him after he became a believer. He came from a village in Mali that was, shall we say, not Christian. They were not hostile to Christianity, but their ethnic identity was tied entirely to another religion. Migration was also a part of their ethnic heritage. It had become a right-of-passage into manhood. So as an early teen, he moved to Côte d'Ivoire and then to South Africa. Along the way, he encountered various difficulties, and he met a few Christians who cared for his needs. Such had a profound impact on his attitude towards Christianity.
Once he was in South Africa, he could work and send money back home. But he was also exposed to some rather harmful elements, which pulled him into the drug trade. That did not go very well. He was soon arrested and spent some time in a local jail. But it was in that jail that he met more Christians and started attending a bible study. And so, his knowledge of Christianity began to grow. Upon release, he made his way back to Mali. But rather than return to his home village, he chose to live in the capital city of Bamako. There he met other Christians and built some strong relationships. Out of one of those friendships, he made the decision to follow Christ.
His story can be repeated time and time again around the world. He left home for very normal and cultural reasons. Exposure to the outside world changed his perceptions in many ways, even in areas that were of profound essence to his cultural identity. Those changes, accompanied by trusting relationships, increased his receptivity to the gospel. His testimony serves to demonstrate the principle that migration is a human condition and that it always brings a measure of change. From our perspective, this change can be very positive.
We must always be aware that negative changes can also occur. When placed in challenging situations, very good people are capable of making deplorable decisions. Such is why we pray that God will guide migrants in the right pathways and protect them from those who would take advantage of their weaknesses. As Christians, we must use our influence wisely, lest we become guilty of doing the same thing. In the past, missionaries have been found to solicite conversion through the promise of food or shelter. Today, the same approach among those suffering in places of transition or as refugees would be disgraceful. The better response is to actively express compassion and allow the Holy Spirit to utilize who we are in Christ to effect spiritual change.
Conclusion
In the future, we will dedicate time to examining the different migration routes and discuss why people choose to follow those pathways. Much of the time, they will have made their decision based on their underlying perceptions. Those perceptions will have been shaped by either the stories they have heard, the information they have learned from social media, or the personal testimonies of migrants in those locations. We must never forget that information may pass from one place to another, but nothing in the process guarantees its accuracy. As we well know, false information can spread quicker than the truth.
Once they take the first step, their lives will begin to change. They will become exposed to new people, new ideas, and particularly, new belief systems. Whether out of survival or curiosity, the things that catch their attention will push them to learn more and may ultimately be adopted. We can be a part of that process. It may be at their first step... or many miles down the road... but at someplace in the process... they will bump into a Christian. What that Christian does with the opportunity will become critical in the spiritual journey of that migrant.
____________________
1Andrew F. Walls, "Mission and Migration: The Diaspora Factor in Christian History," Journal of African Christian Thought 5, no. 2 (2002): 3.
2Os Guinness and David Wells, "Global Gospel, Global Era: Christian Discipleship and Mission in the Age of Globalization," (2010), March 18, 2022; Available from https://lausanne.org/content/global-gospel-global-era-christian-discipleship-and-mission-in-the-age-of-globalization.
3Jehu Hanciles, Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration, and the Transformation of the West (Maryknoll: Orbis Books, 2008), 14.
4M. Augustus Hamilton, “Analysis of the Dynamic Relationship between Globalization and the Transmission of the Gospel: A Case Study of Soninke Transmigrants in Africa and Europe” (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017), 179.