Love Your Foreign Neighbor (Don't Hate!)

Between a degree in physics and a second in pastoral ministry, I'm well prepared for work as a teacher and tutor, and I have done both. Between one school and the next, I saw a request for tutors for young refugee students from southern Sudan, often called the “Lost Boys.” Though I never had an interest in foreign missions, I became enamored of these survivors, many of whom were eager for an education and the chance to make things better for their people back home. Over time, I helped students from other places in Africa, the Middle East, South and Central America, and Asia, many refugees, but also foreign exchange students and international college students. I hosted 5 exchange students in my home, 2 from South Korea, 1 from Brazil, and 2 from China and supervised a few others. I loved them all like sons, and still do!

In the process, I have learned much about the histories and cultures of southern Sudan, Liberia, Gabon, Ethiopia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, South Korea, China, Thailand, Brazil, Columbia, Spain, and Germany. Sometimes, boys (and several girls) asked me questions about our history, government, and culture. I remember one Muslim from Afghanistan who wanted to understand what he perceived as a lack of respect by students for teachers, he was not alone, and those who asked were right! The same Afghan fellow told me about a movie where Jews, Christians, and Muslims lived peaceably in the same town, and he thought that was a good thing. I learned that many South Koreans still love and admire the U. S. and Americans for our efforts in 6-2-5, what we call the Korean War. My first Korean lad loved rap, spoke of “A-Town” (Atlanta, as he told me), and more that I've forgotten. From him I learned that, not only is their family name first, but he called me Wilson. When I explained that out of respect, we called teachers Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Ms., but that I rather liked his simple “Wilson,” he felt compelled to do it our way. The result was “Wilson...Mr. Wilson,” for a time.

My first Korean “son” and I got along famously! He was fifteen when he came, and even in imperfect English managed to be funny and have a great sense of humor. We laughed together often, and now, seven years passed, I still miss him so much. At the same time, I was tutoring a young Ethiopian woman who was taking a class called, “Navigating Other Cultures.” Designed for American students, immigrant or foreign students shouldn't have had to take it, or they should have made a somewhat different version for ESL (English as a Second Language) students. She was to read a book about a Hmong family with a child who had seizures and the challenges that arose between recent immigrants from Southeast Asia and an American hospital and staff. The Hmong were our surrogates fighting communists in Laos (where we claimed we weren't engaged), during the Vietnam Conflict. When I finished reading the book, I thought (basically prayed), “If I ever get the chance, I'd like to help these people; they deserve more from us.” So, who should walk home with my Korean boy, but two Hmong boys who had become friends at school.

I could tell you many more stories from more than 20 years tutoring and mentoring non-American students (You can read some here), but let me get to my point. In those 20 years of close contact with young people from all over the world, I have confirmed one undeniable truth: While their language, culture, history, religion, place of origin, individual experiences vary, they are all “just people” that I have found easy to love and enjoy, and God says, “Love your neighbor (as each of them is) as yourself!”

My dear Hmong friend, who lived with me for 5 years, who is now married to a lovely wife and father to a darling daughter, mentioned Chinese people here being assaulted because of the coronavirus. Really? May I use one word: stupid! Let me add another: evil! It is stupid to blame people from a country where a disease may have originated. Even in the rare case of some intentional act, most Chinese were victims as much, if not more, than non-Chinese. Furthermore, the Chinese who were already here, didn't carry the virus, and if they were among the few travelers (students probably were not!), they didn't know they were carrying it. Even in the unlikely case of a possible intent to infect Americans with the virus, we choose to operate by the principle of “innocent till proven guilty!” It is evil to blame and and try to punish anyone who is probably innocent, just as it is to mistreat people just because they are from another country and culture, speak a different language, dress or act differently, worship in another religion, or have a different skin color. In the case of Muslims, for example, many of them are victims of their own extremist and violent leaders, which is also true of those living under communists and dictators. In some countries, people live in fear of their own police, so they come here and fear our men and women in blue. Of course, if they have come illegally, they fear apprehension; however, even crooks, thinking of them as who Jesus meant when he taught us to love our enemies, deserve to be respected humanely and, as for Christians, loved with respect, concern, compassion, and kindness.

One of the things I appreciate about our American history is the frequency with which we work to turn enemies into allies, if not friends, and I don't mean mindless passivity to aggression or evil. From England after the revolution, to Germany and Japan after World War II, I believe it has been the influence of Christianity that has fostered this more constructive approach. Had Lincoln not been assassinated, Reconstruction after the Civil War might have been a very different matter. For a quite similar reason, whatever your opinion about illegal “immigration” (immigration without permission isn't really immigration), making friends with migrants and international visitors, that is, building positive relationships will serve our nation and our communities far better than mindless, stupid aggression and hostility, and much better than evil hatred.