This is a revised version of a post first published in 2018
How do we share a world with over 82 million victims of displacement? This is a defining question of the 21st century as unprecedented numbers of individuals have been uprooted from their homes and thrust into precarious existences on the fringes of our global systems. The phenomenon of forced migration is extremely complex and loaded with implications; its impact is intense both for those forced to move and those burdened with the task of hosting. The MENA region is proving an exceptional stage for the drama of displacement, and yet the issue is truly global as everyone everywhere must grapple with conundrums arising from massive rates of human flow. Faith communities are contributing their voices to the discussion with some calling for ethics of welcome and embrace while others appeal to senses of caution and restriction. Passions run high on the topic, which makes it all the more important to reflect on the heart of the matter. I believe sincere reflection yields this profound conclusion: displacement is death.