Climate Migration
At our September 14th Climate Cafe Multifaith Faiths4Future member William Schnell spoke and answered questions about Climate Migration. Rev. Dr. William Schnell is a long time Disciples of Christ pastor in Ohio (scroll for bio) and in his presentation he walks us through the reality of Climate Migration and how each of us in our local areas might experience both a resistance to immigration as well as its impacts. Regardless if your community voices a desire to “welcome the stranger” or “build the wall,” it really helps to better understand WHY people are migrating into the US and how we can set aside rancor to enact effective, faithful, and compassionate solutions. (scroll for video and discussion from the Cafe. Scroll further for resources and links.)
William Schnell brought the conversation a richly researched message of how climate change has disrupted farms, families and homelands in the areas of the globe that have been most vulnerable so far to the effects of climate change. Three of these countries are from what has become the ‘dry corridor,’ including Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Climate-fueled drought in Central America has meant hunger and violence for too many people. Many families have been forced to leave their homes and head elsewhere, including the United States.
Migration has caused tremendous anxiety for some in the US. Anxiety can be made much worse when people do not know why something is happening. It may be helpful to talk a lot more about the connection between population migration and climate change and its effects. When there is drought, or extreme storms, or crop/ecosystem support failures, the disruption can also lead to social upheaval and/or sectarian violence. Knowing the circumstances can help not only in terms of understanding why, but also in real ways for implementation of remedy and solutions.
Photo: Migrant girls at US Customs and Border Protection in San Yisidro, CA. by Barbara Zandoval on Unsplash. Cropped. 2021.
Conversation about why people are migrating can also lead to further moral reflection. In recognizing that climate change has caused dislocation and/or migration, the next opportunity might be to reflect on where the causes of climate change originate. When we do this, we can see on that map that the countries most responsible for climate change are, at present, some of the least impacted. So, people in countries least responsible for the effects of climate change are the most impacted, facing hunger, violence, and dislocation due to direct climate change impacts or climate tipping points that render their homes unlivable.
Presentation and conversation from the Cafe
Every blog following up a Cafe is a little different. To follow up the September 14th Cafe, I want to offer a recording of the presentation (immediately below), plus two additional short video clips that address specific questions. What rose up from the group as we worked through the information was conversation from our own experiences, as we spoke toward possible solutions that might address what might be simply as good policy or action, as well as what solutions might emerge from the perspectives of faith communities and traditions.
“We are struggling with ‘what can we do?’”
The Presentation:
Questions, Answers, Solutions — Conversation:
A key point addressed in the next clip that Dr. Schnell speaks again to the reality that it takes a lot for a person to pick up and leave their home behind. Think of it, to leave your home, your culture, your language, and pick up and travel with small children for hundreds of miles uncertain of any kind of welcome. This type of migration is only undertaken in crisis and desperation. It also takes a lot to build walls, barriers, and enforcement at the border. It might be best for both to use our resources to assist people who want to stay in their home communities. Sometimes politically there is reluctance in spending money on people or infrastructure outside the US. Yet as we work to understand the problem, not only does it make sense in terms of use of funds, it is also a moral response. We have exported fossil fuel extraction, production, and consumption. Our next effort could be to recognize the culpability of the fossil fuel industry in climate change, and support and resource people in their home communities who are already seeking and implementing strategies for adaptation and resilience.
A conversation about solutions:
The challenges that come with migration following crisis need an adaptive, compassionate response. In the big picture, people can talk about policies and allocation of funds. But on the ground, in the worship center—church, community center, synagogue, temple, Mosque, Ashram, meeting house—real life brings us the opportunity to build the kinds of relationships that can reaffirm and shape belonging for everybody in a new way. After all, we are all going to be navigating the changes to our climate.
This was the conversation we sought together. A few ideas emerged amongst us. (scroll down for wider resources)
Education is more than just learning the names of places and the scenario for rainfall. Education can be created to help with understanding in a relational way. We can do a ‘worship series’ centering Honduras and the dry corridor, but hearing the voices of Hondurans and listening is much more important than telling about what should be done. An understanding of trauma and how trauma effects human hearts and relationships can be part of responding to an external crisis, but also essential to learning to be being brave enough to look at our own crises. Education can be about wisdom, exploring ethical responses and moral concerns—and we can even engage in moral or ethical map making where values within our communities can be spelled out so that they can then be lived out.
Education can also mean learning the story of your ‘patch of earth.’ The local library of city hall will have records of the land where you worship, your home synagogue, temple, or church. Who settled that land? Who lived there before settlement. What is the history in for people, but also plants and animals. Was that patch of earth a forest, once? Learning our stories can lead to a bigger picture understanding of our own migration, either over the landbridge to what is now Alaska, or by canoe along the coast, by foot, by ship, by train. How are we keepers of this patch of earth?
Young people in action! We did not know much about the new proposed climate conservation corps, but we drew that idea into our solutions conversation wondering if, like the Peace Corps, the Climate Corps might have the ability to work internationally, building transformational rather than transactional relationships that prioritize local people and the local effort for sustainability and life.
Solar and Wind energy. Remedies and responses to migration must include the recognition that emissions from fossil fuels and greenhouse gasses have caused the climate crisis and will continue to degrade the lives of people within the US and globally. We must take that responsibility head on, with a race to ZERO emissions to save lives, homes, villages and the peace of nations. SOLARIZE your place of worship! Get your congregation involved not only in the effort to install panels, but with an understanding of WHY every panel is so important to every human who loves their homeland.
Necessary time: Rev. Dr. William Schnell mentions this in the clip above, and is an important component. Climate change is going to get worse until we stop emitting CO2 from fossil fuels and drawdown that carbon back into our soils and forests. There are already people on the edge of the decision to move. If we can find ways to delay migration for a decade or more by supporting those who need resources to implement ways to flourish where they are, this can help with the huge transition ahead of us, as more peoples are forced to move.
Readying welcome: Rising sea levels, repeated hurricanes, wet bulb and rising temperatures, fires, breadbasket failures—all and more are going to happen to people of every ethnicity, every nationality, every age, and carrying with them every dream for safe hearth and sustainable life. People who must pack up and leave their homeland behind need a place of welcome where they can rest, heal, renew, and rebuild. In places that remain inhabitable, room can be made for them. This should be done on-purpose, teaching, reaching, and building the relationships between human beings who are resettling and/or welcoming.
Doing our own work. In the US, and all over the world, we will have to reckon with the truth about the destructive behaviors that brought our planet to this precipice. This reckoning will open up tremendous possibilities for flourishing ahead. Already, many young people are returning to the idea of self-sustainability, of the homestead, the small farm, the patch of earth, and the village that connects them. Young families are bonding over how to raise chickens, plant runner beans, and shear sheep. Green cities include green spaces, electric corridors and charging stations, and greenhouses. We can produce and innovate in a way that sustains an abundant life, with extra to share and a chance to rest on holy days.
Sister Cities / Sister Communities. Many of us come from towns or cities who have a ceremonial ‘sister city’ in a different country. What if worship communities expanded this idea to establish relationship with a ‘sister community’ (church or temple or synagogue or mosque) in an area where migration is to be expected over the next decade or two. How might building those relationships now help provide welcome, compassion and shared solutions is the years to come.
A last Question/Answer clip:
One question that came up during the Cafe was specific to ‘how can I understand this, and speak to this’ for my home church community? In answering, William Schnell offers a framework that will ‘preach’:
Resources
Below are resources centering the topic of climate migration. Check also the One Sheet Repository, some of these are also included on our Climate Migration one-sheet.
Faith related programs, webinars, articles and more
A January 2021 poll by PRRI covered Immigration Policy and Public Opinion, poll results include a breakdowns by party and religious affiliation.
What the Bible Teaches us on Climate Migration, from Sojourners. Another article centering scripture is an open access article Jewish Law, Roman Law, and the Accordance of Hospitality to Refugees and Climate-Change Migrants, from Migration and Society 2021.
A few resources from the ELCA Lutheran Church, including this one-sheet, and the AMMPARO program, a response to the child refugee crisis. See also God, Migration, and the Climate Crisis. A Webinar from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.
From the Catholic tradition, the story of Sister Norma Pimentel and her work on the southern US border, from Deseret News. See also Pastoral Guidelines on Climate Displaced People, a statement issued by Pope Francis, and an article spotlighting the statement, ‘Many are being devoured in conditions that make it impossible to survive,’ on CNBC.
From the Episcopal Church, a webinar Impacts of Climate Induced Migration An Anglican Perspective and a statement on Refugee Resettlement and Protection. More advocacy resources can be found also on their webpage addressing Migration, Refugees, & Immigration.
Information from CWS (Church World Service) about climate refugees. “Every two seconds someone in the world is forced to leave their home and everything they know.”
From the Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) for their We Choose Welcome campaign, which includes a comprehensive We Choose Welcome Action Guide 2020. The Action Guide doesn’t address climate refugees specifically, but has information and links to help congregations better understand US laws and policies in terms of legal status for those seeking asylum, links to better understand existing immigration policies, and actions congregations can take.
From the humanitarian perspective, looking at the right of people to migrate, or to be able to farm and make a life at home addressing climate impacts specifically to places like Burkina Faso. In Italian with subtitles, The right to migrate by Grammenos Mastrojeni at TEDxMilano.
Articles, Maps, Data and Information:
Within the US: The Great Climate Migration series includes an overview, Climate Change Will Force A New Climate Migration, and interactive article with key facts and visuals, New Climate Maps Show a Transformed United States both from ProPublica. See stories of impact with visuals from NYT Magazine, The Great Climate Migration.
For a look at sea level rise alone in the US, Where Will Climate Migrants Flock, in Harvard News. Also, look at NOAA’s interactive map, link to the Sea Level Rise Viewer and click ‘LAUNCH’.
Internationally: From the UN network is the International Organization for Migration (IOM) their website has articles and links to the concerns of Human Mobility at the UNFCCC COPs, including interactive maps of different global regions. Look also at the Global Internal Displacement Database which is searchable by weather event and country.
Internal Displacement: The World Bank, Groundswell Report Acting on internal Climate Migration, focused on migration within countries (IDP Internally Displaced People), lots of visuals. See also OCHA Internal Displacement there were “55 million IDPs worldwide as of 31 December 2020, the highest number ever recorded.”
The Rev. Dr. William F. Schnell retired as a pastor within the Disciples of Christ tradition in 2018 after a 35-year tenure serving a total of 3 congregations, including a term as President of the Ohio Council of Churches. Following retirement, he spent two weeks at Oxford University in its Summer Theology School. He then enrolled at Harvard University for a Graduate Certificate in Social Justice, which was completed in May of 2020. Most recently, in February 2021, he completed a Certificate in Climate Change and Health from Yale University. He is currently a climate activist and speaker trained by the Climate Reality Project.
Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is here for the friendship and conversations about climate, community, and connection. She organizes the Climate Cafe Multifaith as a co-leader of Faiths4Future. Find her in real life in Southern Oregon, working as Steward of Climate with the nonprofit Circle Faith Future.