Keeping Refugees Safe, Without Imprisoning Their Souls

When It Comes to Sanctuary, Offering a Bed Is Only the Beginning

In late 2012, I got a call from a church member. “Seth, Harry’s picking his daughter up from school? Is Sanctuary over?” he asked me.

It wasn’t, and Harry—an undocumented Indonesian immigrant we were sheltering in our church—wasn’t supposed to be out and about. In conversations with the media and our neighbors we had claimed, over and over, that the men we were protecting stayed put inside the walls of the church. It didn’t look good, my parishioner reminded me, for Harry to be walking around our tiny borough …

By Seth Kaper-Dale | January 30, 2017

In Rome, a New Kind of Sanctuary Is Growing

Rooted in the Humane Treatment of Migrants, the Baobab Experience Provides Shelter Despite Significant Hurdles

By Marzia Di Mento and Giulia Montefiore | January 30, 2017

The Baobab Experience, inspired by the strong African tree whose long roots can stretch far away and, for us, even across continents and cultures, is the name chosen for a …

Yes, I’m Muslim—and German

Europe’s Largest Nation Integrates Immigrants With High Ideals and Everyday Discrimination

By Paul Bisceglio | February 5, 2016

Wars across Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan have sent millions of refugees fleeing to Europe in recent years, the majority of them Muslims. How to integrate these refugees into liberal (but …

Europe Has a Problem With Immigrants, Not With Islam

Reforming Schools and Labor Laws Would Help a Lot More Than Fixating on Religion

February 3, 2016

In Germany last month, the debate over Europe’s growing Muslim population reached a fever pitch. More than 100 robberies and sexual assaults were reported in Cologne on New Year’s Eve, …

Why Cologne Will Keep Welcoming Refugees

The Assaults on New Year’s Eve Have Made My Hometown Anxious About Safety, but I Worry More About Our Sanity

By Cora Pfafferott | January 27, 2016

The pastry shop Cup Cakes Cologne has put two fancy cakes in its shop window. One cake shows German chancellor Angela Merkel in the style of a red angel. The …

For Refugees in America, Even the Light Switches Can Be Bewildering

Getting into the U.S. Is Hard. Adapting to Life Here Is Harder Still.

By Barbara Klimek and David Androff | January 15, 2016

In the aftermath of the recent attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, politicians in the U.S. have voiced skepticism about the arrival of foreigners on their shores—and even question the …

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