Welcome the stranger

At the foot of our worksite is a haitian refugee center.  Luz told me that there are about 100 Haitians living in this abandoned little church, and about 5000 in the community.  They have three large tents and porta-pots set up outdoors.  Luz continued, "These Haitian are refugees.  They left Haiti due to the earthquakes, flooding, and extreme poverty. They traveled from Haiti to Brazil and then made their way to Tijuana in hopes of eventually settling in the USA but now their hopes are dashed." 
I was thinking...So they are stuck here in a foreign country where the culture in so different and they don't speak the language.   (Kind of like Mexicans living in Ohio.)
Luz told me that they are kind of lazy.  They speak French and Creole and don't want to learn Spanish.  They look for jobs but was better pay so often refuse to work hoping for government aid. 
I thought this sounded familiar.  (It is kind of what I hear people in the US say about Mexicans.)
Most amazing to me...in a time when Canada is accepting tens of thousands of refugees, Australia is accepting tens of thousands refugees, the European Union is accepting hundreds of thousands of refugees, and Mexico is now accepting these Haitian refugees and offering assistance to them as they resettle, our own country is shutting our eyes and pushing away men, women and children in need. We are failing to respond with compassion.  God's command to welcome the stranger is falling of deaf ears.  --Joyce Schroer