Help Make Life Bearable for Asylum Seekers

Since the fanning of the flames of persecution globally has begun, thousands upon thousands, perhaps more like millions of people are displaced. Some of them are automatically considered refugees, but many of them are not. They are termed "asylum seekers". They are not criminals but they are treated as such. They are not wanted in countries and they have no rights to work or receive any government help for housing or food. They are usually, at this time in history, running from death threats for their religious beliefs. Many of them, especially the Pakistanis running to Bankgkok, are having insurmountable problems. They are facing death, illness, arrest, starvation, and a host of other problems. The list is unending. But these people have a legal right to seek asylum while they wait to be heard by the UNHCR. The UNHCR hears their case and then decides if they are entitled to refugee status, where they will be placed in a third country. If not, they will be returned to their home land. But these asylum seekers, because of the mass numbers that are growing daily, have appointments into 2017 and 2018 and further. How are they to live without jobs for so many years? Why are they considered criminals? Why are they not entitled to some type of work program or community help/church help, etc. so they can live at least without fear of going out doors and being arrested. Many have had to take jobs illegally and are arrested, never to see their families again. They can be thrown into detention centers where the conditions are not fit for human beings. Babies lay next to toilets, on the floor, where urine and feces drops on their bodies. Pregnant women are not fed properly. They are not given medical attention or special consideration at all. In Bangkok the diet of the detainees is always the same. It consists of cucumber soup and rice. On very rare occasions they are given a piece of chicken on the rice. This is not nutrition. People are crowded and hot. The facilities stink. People do not have proper facilities for bathing.

Many people flee to give their families a better life, one without the fear of death on every side. But in these situations, many wish they could find death. The life is not bearable for them and the time cannot go fast enough. And even then, they face the decision of the UNHCR and may be turned back over to their countries where they will be killed. I can only imagine the condition I would be in when I interviewed with the UNHCR after suffering years of living like a criminal. How much zeal would I have for life at that point? How much would I be able to convince the authorities that I deserved to be placed in a third country. Many people have even lost family members from the stress of the situation in the detention centers, or the tiny rooms they live in with their families. They cannot even go outside to see the sun for fear of arrest. What kind of life is this? We would not treat our dogs like this? How can we close our eyes to the humans suffering this fate?

Please make this problem known to your churches, your senators, your representatives, president, United Nations, ANYONE who can be a voice for these people. They need a voice. They are human beings. If you are a Christian, most of them are your brothers and sisters in Christ, since the majoritiy of people being persecuted at this time are Christian. How can you let your brothers and sisters live in this condition without trying to be a voice for them?

Thank you very much.