Climate Justice - A Lenten Journey of Discovery, Week 2

Climate Change, Disasters and Migration – A Story

By Tyler EdgarAssociate Director, Climate and Energy CampaignNational Council of Churches USA

Then they also will answer Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you? Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you just as you did not do it to one of the least of these you did not do it to me.'- Matthew 25:44-45

In August 2008, I traveled to Ghana to attend the United Nations Climate Change negotiations taking place in Accra. While there, I met with local farmers and activists who were working to help families and communities adapt to the impacts of climate change. While diplomats gathered to talk about predicted and future climate changes, Ghanaians around the country were already suffering from the devastation of climate change that was taking place in their backyard.

While in Ghana, I was taken on a tour of the greater Accra area. During this tour, I discovered that dozens of new communities have sprung up around the city over the past five years. These communities are primarily composed of families who have migrated south to the capital city from the northern region of Ghana, which is located at just below the Sahel region of Africa.

The Sahel region of Africa is where the Sahara Desert begins to transition into Africa’s southern savannas, and has been an area of agricultural prosperity for thousands of years. Most of the inhabitants are semi-nomadic and historically, the northern area of Ghana has supported thousands of farmers who live off the land.

However in recent years, northern Ghana has become more and more like the northern part of the Sahel, experiencing little and inconsistent rain, warmer temperatures, and more violent storms. Crops no longer grow the way they used to and families can no longer survive on the abundance of the land, and while this has always been a fragile ecosystem, farmers have lived here for thousands of years in a sustainable manner that has nurtured one family after another. As a result of the environmental changes, hundreds of families are fleeing the north and moving south to Accra and the coast. They are hopeful that they can find work, feed their families and benefit from the tremendous infrastructure that Accra and the larger more historic coastal towns have to offer.

But Accra is not prepared to deal with this influx of people and many of the families migrating to Accra are forced to live in slums, often near the coast. As our tour guide pointed out, while families now have some support from Accra and the government, they are relocating right next to the sea, and with the impending sea level rise and increased number of severe storms, these communities are now vulnerable to a whole other set of climate impacts.

Ghana is just one of literally hundreds of examples of families and communities fleeing their homes and their cultures to escape the impacts of climate change. If climate change continues unaddressed, these stories will impact every part of God’s world and community.

How will we respond to the needs of the climate migrant who has the least among us?

Prayer for Migrants

Lord, when you multiplied the loaves and fishes, you provided more than food for the body, you offered us the gift of yourself, the gift which satisfies every hunger and quenches every thirst. Your disciples were filled with fear and doubt, but you poured out your love and compassion on the migrant crowd, welcoming them as brothers and sisters.

Lord, today you call us to welcome the members of God's family who come to our land to escape the ravages of climate change. Like your disciples, we too are filled with fear and doubt, and even suspicion. We build barriers in our hearts and in our minds.

Lord, help us by your grace, to banish fear from our hearts, that we may embrace each of your children as our own brother and sister; to realize that you call all people to your holy mountain to learn the ways of peace and justice; to share of our abundance as you spread a banquet before us; and to respond to the crisis that has forced them from their home.

We praise you and give you thanks for the family you have called together from so many people. Amen.