The Immigration Crisis, New Outsourcing Plans, and Related Christian Ethics

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-countries-eye-setting-up-migrant-return-hubs-in-rwanda-and-uzbekistan/

The UK plan to outsource its immigration crisis to Rwanda collapsed and was cancelled by Keir Starmer. Despite this, Rwanda is still looking to sign up and receive European funds. And Paul Kagame has his takers as nations such as Denmark, Austria, Greece, and Germany have expressed interest.

Once again, the Immigration Crisis stands to worsen by several orders of magnitude. The instability in Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and other parts of the world is increasing. It's due to a combination of war, population, depleted resources, climate change, and economic hopelessness. European leaders know this and are seeking solutions even if they're not quite being open with the public or putting all their cards on the table. The Right-wing parties are being more candid about it and are willing to express and promote the kind of ugly (mass deportation) solutions that many in the public want to see. The problem is these solutions (which will be effective to some degree) require the repudiation of legal frameworks these nations adopted in the aftermath of the Second World War. It signals the collapse of the post-war order, a reality some on the Right are eager to see.

The other ugly part that no one wants to address is that these agendas amount to simply letting these other parts of the world rot and go to pieces. It is hoped that by creating a Fortress Europe in concert with paid off proxies strategically placed in other parts of the world, Europe (and the larger West) can insulate itself from the coming chaos, genocide, and episodes of famine and mass death that are likely to characterize the second half of the 21st century.

Robert Kaplan recognized this in 1994 when he wrote The Coming Anarchy. At this point his work is viewed as something of a failed prophecy or forecast. In reality, it may just be that the timeline was off. A key difference though is that Kaplan advocated not for building a fortress, but rather the need for Western global intervention and management of the impoverished periphery. He was a leading academic voice within the Neo-Conservative movement - a movement which rose to prominence in the 1990's, rode high in the aftermath of 9/11, and then fell into disrepute. The MAGA era has given them a new lease on life and to my utter disgust it seems like I'm constantly hearing figures like Bill Kristol, John Bolton, and Jonah Goldberg getting interviewed - men that have disgraced themselves many times over.

Kaplan is effectively an apostle of the Enlightenment and is frequently castigated for his Orientalism and patronizing assessments of non-Western cultures. I would largely agree and though I almost never agree with Kaplan's conclusions, I still find him to be a compelling and thought-provoking writer. This is in contrast to someone like Goldberg who is little more than a hack and propagandist.

The inclusion of Uzbekistan as a migrant-deportation destination piqued my interest as I've been watching Europe quietly make inroads into Central Asia and this potentially signals a degree of Brussels' diplomatic success. In addition to energy deals and trade, a Central Asian repository for rejected refugees will make the propagandist's task a lot easier and will smooth out some of the logistical difficulties. Sending fleeing Afghans, Uighurs, and Pakistanis to Rwanda is hard to justify. Sending them to Uzbekistan makes a lot more sense in terms of the optics.

Under Meloni, Italy had tried to construct a similar Albania plan which also fell apart. And needless to say, such a locale was (in the minds of some) a non-solution as it was still on European soil. It will be interesting to see if Meloni tries again in light of this new campaign. If she doesn't those on her right such as Salvini and Vannacci will be certain to call her out and forward such an agenda.

All of this of course is an ugly business, all the more when one looks at the economics and geopolitics involved. In this case, I'm not commenting so much on the morality (or lack thereof) involved in these moves but rather to simply take note. Such moves are inevitable as its not a pending crisis but one already unfolding. The 2015 mass immigration episode still looms large and the surge in Right-wing politics (and in particular the AfD) is directly attributable to that event. I hate to give any credence or standing to the Right as I do not share their view of the world. But I will grant this - if immigration isn't stopped, then Europe will certainly be transformed in a way akin to the transformation that took place during the collapse of the Roman Empire. It will be a different Europe in a couple of generations.
But here's the thing. It's going to be a different Europe regardless because of the politics that will emerge should the Right win the day. Also, the already mentioned chaos in other parts of the world will affect them whether they like it or not - and change the liberal European values that we've known since the Enlightenment and since the end of the world wars. The whole thing can only generate mixed feelings.

The tragedy is with regard to the poor and downtrodden who are being shut out - the individuals who suffer, the people no one cares about. The part that really sickens me is the way Western Capitalism has commodified and exploited the poorer nations in question - always using local proxies which give cover to 'Left-wing' charges of neo-imperialism. The Right and the apologists of Capitalism can always deflect these charges and point to local enablers. Whatever. The world is given over to wickedness and as a working class Christian living in rural Pennsylvania, I cannot hope to change it.

But again, I will not invest my money in a system that creates this world. I will not enjoy the dividends of blood money. If I had any investment or savings money to speak of (which I do not) I would rather let it sit dormant and depreciate in value than 'earn' profits built on the suffering of others and their exploitation. Those who think they are being obedient by taking their talents and investing them in a such a manner have grossly misunderstood what Christ was teaching in the parable. It may be (and in fact is) a case of spiritual profits and obedience can and will result in financial loss and marginalization. These financial teachers understand nothing of New Testament ethics. And they are not merely found in churches which blatantly teach the so-called Prosperity Gospel. They are in conservative 'Bible Believing', 'Biblically Faithful' and often Confessional congregations as well.

To sign up with and hitch one's wagon to the banking, weapons, energy, high-tech manufacturing, and pharmaceutical industries is to join with the death machine. And don't be fooled, there are layers to this and companies and investment funds that hide the nature of their relationships.

Until conservative Christians are willing to completely re-evaluate the ethics of mammon and the nature of our place and standing in society as well as questions of vocation, there's not going to be any change. This is a reformation that is sorely needed.

But in the meantime, the Babel-conglomerate that is the West is sitting on the greatest pile of treasure in the history of the world - the wealth of the world is sitting in their coffers. Even with the rise of China, total Western assets (US and Europe) still compromise nearly 2/3 of the world's wealth. Western leaders are not going to let this system collapse without a fight, nor are they going to allow their countries to be politically, financially, and culturally overtaken by immigrant populations. This is reality.

How are Christians to respond?

I argue there is a kind of realism in play here. We're not changing this. The activist-minded Evangelical Left is not going change it - neither are the Left-wing parties which are all (quietly) on board with this larger understanding and agenda. Those who aren't, are forced out or won over and appropriated. We've seen this time and again within the Democratic Party in the United States and with the various worker and Green parties in Europe.

Our choice (it seems to me) is a question of how to reject this. Do we (I argue) fool ourselves into thinking that pseudo-left politics will make small gains and assuage some of the pain and suffering - leading us to feel better? In other words should we sign on with Left-wing political parties and their broad agenda?

Or do we reject the whole system in toto? That means second-class status in the West as those who don't invest and eschew the economic sectors of empire will live on the margins. I've been trying to do this most of my adult life and it can be challenging to be sure and I also realize there are those who would struggle with such a life on a greater level than I have.

Or do we become activists? To what end? If political power is something we are called to wield, then this opens up an entirely new set of questions and for me it would mean that I've been completely wrong in my reading and understanding of the New Testament. I often appreciate the analysis and sympathize with those give their lives to these efforts, but I have not been in the least compelled to join their cause. In other words, I am not at all bothered by those taking to the streets to protest the MAGA movement, but I'm not likely to join them. Unfortunately it just seems to push the Church further into the arms of that camp - and there are plenty of fear-mongering 'ministries' and 'think-tanks' who make hay of these events and do all they can to promote not just fear but anger. It saddens me that among Christian leaders it is recent popes who have been the most forthright on some of these questions.

What I cannot see is either joining with the Right and its narratives which (when cast in theological terms) are heretical or to simply close our eyes, live in the mainstream, collect our 401k dividends, and retire to play golf. That is burying our talents in the ground. That is living a moral lie.

Again, I think of the simplistic messaging of 2013's Elysium which many just watched for the sci-fi action sequences. The metaphor is coming true and already exists in some minds. As always reality is more complicated, but the contrasting image of the two worlds is accurate enough. I know of plenty of Christians who would see their place on the Elysium station and yet such a moral positioning is unsustainable in light of the New Testament - it is an ethic alien to apostolic teaching.

The other option is to leave the West and live in the growing dystopia. I've wrestled with this a great deal but I keep coming back to the fact that Paul was content to live in the Roman Empire despite the fact that he wasn't on board with any of it. We don't need to seek chaos and danger but God bless those who do or are willing to seek it in order to bring the gospel to others. Some are able. If I was a young man without a family, knowing what I know now - I probably would have pursued that course more aggressively. But for me that opportunity has passed. I cannot judge or make such decisions for anyone. I will simply say that for those who live in the West by choice or are in the West by birth and ancestry - if we're Christians, life cannot just go on as it has. We need to re-think things. Church leaders have failed, misled, and sold out. It's a pattern that extends back for well more than a century. Their failures and endorsement of the status quo has brought things to a point that only by wilful blindness (or the deliberate teaching and embrace of error) can the present order be acceptable to New Testament believers.