Intervention III : Global Refugees in an Age of Climate Change

Abstract

Intervention III: Global Refugees in an Age of Climate Change Alex Alvarez The presentations and discussions of the symposium Strangers or Neighbors? Jewish, Muslim, and Christian Perspectives on Refugees provided much food for thought and challenged me to confront issues that I usually view exclusively or primarily as criminological, sociological, or political concerns, but which, as this symposium has taught me, are also profoundly religious ones as well. During the course of the sessions, I was gratified to hear various participants acknowledge the complexity of their religious belief systems; both good and bad. Rather than one‐dimensional portrayals of the three religious traditions, I found honest discussion of not only the affirmative facets of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, but the more problematical components as well. As someone who studies various forms of violence, especially mass atrocity crimes such as communal violence and genocide, it is the latter face of religion that I am most commonly confronted with. Throughout history, intolerance, prejudice, discrimination, persecution, war, terrorism, and genocide have sometimes received religious validation and support. In our symposium, much of the focus was on exploring and discussing the aspirational ideals around religious conceptualizations of the “other” as revealed in various holy texts, sermons, sacred laws, and religious pronouncements. Questions such as “Where does ‘community’ begin and end?” “Where do our obligations come from and what are they?” “How do we understand and navigate the reciprocal relationship between strangers and natives?” and “How do we include newcomers into our moral universe?” were all addressed and discussed. These dialogues, however, for all of their liveliness and insight, were largely philosophical and abstract. Consequently, I wanted to challenge the participants to think about how the Abrahamic religions will respond to the large numbers of people on the move because of the direct and indirect effects of climate change. As the numbers of displaced people increase dramatically due to the consequences of climate change, will we see the humanitarian values and obligations articulated in our academic discussions guide reaction, outreach, and policy? Or, instead, will the exclusionary and destructive facets of these faiths be emphasized and highlighted to sanction and even sanctify scapegoating, exclusion, and persecution? Will ethnic nationalism, in other words, find religious justification for actions perpetrated to ostensibly protect the community of believers from the polluting presence of the “other?” These questions are not quickly or easily answered. What is known, however, is that the “refugee crisis,” as it is often labeled, is going to get considerably worse. Climate change and displacement Climate change is expected to dramatically accelerate the issue of forced displacement and increase the number of refugee and internally displaced populations (McAdam ). Even though population movement has always been a part of the human experience, predictions suggest an unprecedented number of people will be on the move due to the direct and indirect effects of a changing climate. Estimates suggest that by the year 2050 anywhere from 200 million people to 700 million may be on the move as a consequence of climate change (Christian Aid ; Brown ). Lest we think that such large numbers can be absorbed relatively easily or that such a population transfer can be peaceful, we should consider previous examples of large‐scale population disruption. The aftermath of World War II, for example, resulted in the largest single dislocation of people in the modern era and involved anywhere from 40 to 66 million people (Castles and Miller ). This mass displacement resulted in years of subsequent social unrest and large amounts of violence, including pogroms, civil war, and revolution (Lowe ; Buruma ). More recent events also illustrate the risks. In Europe, a backlash has emerged in the wake of the refugee crisis that began in 2015 (Zucchino ; Mohdin ). Because of the dramatic increase in refugees seeking asylum, many Western European countries have seen a marked increase in anti‐immigrant rhetoric, violence, and legislation, while nationalist parties have made significant electoral gains in a number of countries on explicitly xenophobic political platforms. This should not be surprising since research reveals that increased levels of immigration and diversity usually result in lower levels of trust, altruism, and community cooperation (Putnam ). Clearly, the projected levels of population displacement as a consequence of...