OH how sad to read Roger Deshon’s letter (CL 8/5/11) and to see it published in a Catholic paper.
I am only too aware that views like this are frequently expressed in the secular media but surely a Catholic paper would have a different mission.
Are we really so short of resources that we have to make choices between helping one group of people over another?
My feeling is that we have all become used to such a high standard of living, any thought of slightly less in order to help others seems like deprivation.
Perhaps we should ask ourselves, “If water is such a problem do I actually need a long shower every day? Do I need a dishwasher/swimming pool/hot tube/jacuzzi?”
I was reared on the dictum, “Giving is not giving unless it hurts”.
It’s sad to find how widely the term “illegal immigrants” has replaced “refugees”.
These people are fleeing dangers so awful that the prospect of weeks in leaking boats with every possibility of death from starvation or thirst or at the hands of pirates is a risk worth taking.
Can’t we really see them for what they are – fellow human beings in need of our help and protection?
Isn’t suggesting that terrorists might be included in their number just an excuse to incarcerate behind razor wire, those lucky enough to make it to our shores?
All Christians have reason to be grateful that compassion triumphed over common sense when Our Lady, St Joseph and the Child Jesus fled persecution.
Egyptians did not consider them terrorists or wonder if the water supply would hold out.
Each one of us would, surely, do well to reflect on Our Lord’s teachings, look at our own loved ones and imagine them in the same circumstances.
Then we might find the compassion required to deal lovingly with all those in need.
ELIZABETH RANDLES
Launceston, Tas
