Refugee---The Human Face of God: The Role of Christian Peacemaker Team Europe in the Promotion of the Human Dignity of Refugees (original) (raw)

2020, International E-Conference Migration, Diasporas and Sustainable Development: Perspectives, Policies, Opportunities and Challenges Organised by Jointly Organised by Programme Schedule

Over the last decades, religious non-governmental organizations or faith-based NGOs were sidelined and undermined by Western scholars, policy-formulators, and policy-implementors (ACT-Alliance, 2016; Brockway and Hertzke, 2015). Today, however, the faith-based organization has become a vital component in the global humanitarian response (ACT-Alliance, 2016; Brockway and Hertzke, 2015). Inspired by the idea of Imago Dei, the faith-based organization came into prominence in refugee assistance and refugee resettlement work (UNHCR, 2014). For example, despite marketing itself as a Christian organization, however, CPT Europe places significant emphasis on political, economic, and public policy advocacies. This shows something different than the neo-scholastic mindset to theological and pastoral approaches. This paper examines the role of faith-based organizations, particularly Christian Peacemaker Team-Europe, in humanitarian assistance, providing legal assistance, monitoring, and protecting the human rights of refugees within the broader context of the NGO world. Following an overview of the historical development of CPT Europe and its response to the so-called, 'refugee crisis', the paper examines the important role played by the CPT Europe is explored, especially the refugee crisis in Lesvos, Greece (CPT Report, 2018). The paper suggests that faith-based organizations are uniquely situated to provide unparalleled transnational linkages and effective in grassroots-level community participation, including their rapid response to the disaster and reinforcing the resilience of local communities for peacebuilding and recovery (Oxfamblogs, 2017; Hertzke, 2015).