The unrest in the UK hotels of exile and the rise of nationalism (even among the Christians of the country) is far beyond politics. All over the country, protests pushed back to migration headlines, dominated primarily by touches of anger, fear and sensationalism.
Anti-immigrant rhetoric and sentiment is on the rise both in the European Union and in the United States. Of course, there are many effective factors to play, revealing deeper systemic obstacles: unsafe housing, slow asylum processes, underresourced communities, and divisive political tales.
Men, women, and men, women, and children who happen to be in violence, persecution, difficulties and deserve safety, dignity and compassion.
But in the midst of screams and violence, one truth is at risk of being lost. Includes humanity that we all share, those seeking evacuation in our cities and countries. Like the rest of us, they are men, women, and children who happen to escape violence, persecution and hardship, and who deserve safety, dignity and compassion.
For Christians, these moments are more than just a matter of public debate or policy. They should rethink how we live faithfully to our deeper calling to follow the intersection of national politics and to Christ as a pilgrim, to the residency on earth. How we talk about migration, how we respond to fear, and how we defend justice all reveal whether we reflect social anxiety or embody the heart of Christ.
Our words and actions are never neutral.
As in those times and as always, our words and actions are by no means neutral. They are witnesses to the gospel. They can strengthen division and doubt, and develop understanding, solidarity and hope.
I remember Malawi in the 1980s. At the time, our neighbor, Mozambique, was torn apart by a brutal civil war that had continued for years. The violence forced hundreds of thousands of Mozambicans across the border towards Malawi, desperate for safety. They arrived with more than the clothes they wore. This is heartbreaking, hungry, and uncertain about what the future holds.
Still, I remember how our community reacted. Just as we saw Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 and the influx of Ukrainian refugees into Europe, ordinary Malawians who lived in Europe with limited resources chose to open their homes, villages and villages.
The family shared food, but it is rare. The school has created space for evacuated children. The church provided shelter, prayers and encouragement. It wasn’t difficult, but there was a deeper recognition that these were not strangers. They were neighbours, fellow humans whose survival was bound to us.
Ubuntu argues that our humanity is shared and that denying dignity to others is to reduce ourselves.
This spirit of hospitality was not rooted in wealth or comfort. Most Malawian families are approaching poverty. (Many live under the poverty line.) Instead, it was based on the spirit of Umuntu. That’s a deep African conviction that “we are.” Often known as ubuntu, it argues that our humanity is shared and that denying dignity to others is to reduce ourselves.
Malawians were not merely showing kindness in welcoming Mozambique refugees. They affirmed their humanity and lived the truth that one happiness was linked to all happiness.
This is a lesson our world needs urgently today. The transition rules headlines all over the world and is often framed by fear, doubt and hostility. In countries like the UK, asylum seekers are regularly portrayed as burdens and threats. Their humanity is overshadowed by political debates about borders, costs and control. But the reality is this. The majority of refugees in the world are in poor countries rather than wealthy countries, often adjacent to sites of conflict.
For example, Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees. Pakistan and Iran have evacuated millions of people from Afghanistan. Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey have enormous weights that welcome escape Syria. These are not rich countries, they remove the form of sacrificial hospitality that is rooted in people like the Malawians of the 1980s, rooted in recognizing our shared humanity.
If the fewest people can carry the biggest weight, should people with more resources accept the hospitality appeal?
This reality should give Christians in wealthy countries a pause. If the fewest people can carry the biggest weight, should people with more resources accept the hospitality appeal? The gospel reminds us that our identity is protected by love, not by exclusion.
For Christians, this call is deeply biblical. Abraham welcomed strangers in his tent. Israel was ordered to remember its own history as an immigrant and to take care of foreigners. Jesus himself began his life as a refugee and fled violence in search of Egypt’s security. The church is called to embody this same spirit of hospitality. Not from surplus, but from loyalty.
To talk about Ubuntu in this context is to say that hospitality is not merely a generous act of others. It’s about all of us humanity. When we welcome strangers, we strengthen the bond that makes us human. When we alienate people, we hurt not only them but ourselves. True hospitality costs something, but it also reveals who we are and what kind of society we want to be.
But Ubuntu is also challenging us to go deeper than welcome. They ask people to ask why people are evacuating in the first place. And here we have to be honest. Many Western governments, including the UK and the US, continue to benefit from global arms trade and economic exploitation in other parts of the world.
Weapons manufactured and sold in western fuel conflicts in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere will destroy communities and prevent conflicts that will cause families to flee. It may be plausible that tariffs deepen the gap between the western part of Latin America, Africa and Asia and poor countries.
Therefore, practicing ubuntu type hospitality is defending peace.
If our economy simultaneously benefits from the conditions that drive them out of their homes, it is not enough to welcome refugees at our borders. Christian witnesses demand that we not only open the doors, but also raise our voices against policies and practices that perpetuate all forms of violence (military, economic, or otherwise). Therefore, to practice hospitality in the form of Ubuntu is to defend peace, to call and explain governments, and to insist that justice and sympathy must be handled at all levels.
Memories of Malawi’s response to Mozambique refugees continue to shape me. It reminds us that hospitality is not an option. It is at the heart of our humanity and our faith. It also challenges terrifying stories that easily dominate public conversation. Migration is not a political issue at first. It is a very human reality and how we respond is a test of both our compassion and courage.
The poorest countries are the greatest responsibility.
In a world where the poorest countries are most responsible, churches of perhaps wealthy countries are called to restore the hospitality of Ubuntu’s sacrifice. Not as a policy slogan or temporary gesture, but as a way of life that asserts, “Because we are.”
How Christians embody today’s hospitality
Open the door. Be friends with asylum seekers and refugees in your community. Hospitality is as easy as sharing food, listening to stories, and providing practical help. Tell the truth with compassion. Challenge terrifying stories in your church, at work, and in society. It reminds others that asylum seekers are people first. Stand for justice. Advocates policies that support fair asylum processes, safe housing, and dignity. Silence in the face of injustice strengthens exclusion. Practice solidarity. Join or support local organizations that are already walking with asylum seekers. Collective action strengthens witnesses and demonstrates that love is stronger than fear. Face the root cause. It calls on Western governments to stop promoting conflict through the sale of arms. Advocates of peacebuilding and international cooperation that prioritizes human prosperity over profits.
The church can model a greater imagination.
Churches can model greater imaginations rather than being trapped in the wrong choice between “helping locals” or “helping immigrants.” We can work for policies that ensure that asylum seekers are treated with dignity and that disadvantaged communities receive the resources they need.
We can demonstrate through words and actions that God’s Kingdom is not a zero-sum game. Extending hospitality to strangers does not mean ignoring those already here.
Ultimately, remembering people who are at a disadvantage in moving is to deepen their commitment to hospitality, not to reduce them. True hospitality seeks prosperity for everyone, including asylum seekers, long-term residents, and neighbors that feel like they are often overlooked. Refusing to divide us into fear and resentment. It claims that God’s love is big enough to embrace everyone in the community, and that it works tirelessly to embody active love.
This is an opportunity to guide us with faith, counter fear with compassion, value human dignity over rhetoric, and accept hospitality over hostility. Speaking as a Christian is to affirm human dignity, reject fear, accept hospitality, challenge falsehood, tell stories of hope, and seek justice.
Above all, it refers to Jesus himself, the immigrant children who fled to Egypt, the teacher who welcomed outsiders, and the Savior who breaks down the divided walls and creates one new humanity.
Be attached to praying for peace.
It was originally published in Harvey’s Subsack. It was reissued with permission.
Dr. Harvey Kwiyani is a Malawian mythology and theologian who has lived, worked and studied in Europe and North America for the past 20 years. He studied African Christianity and African theology for his PhD and taught African theology at Liverpool Hope University. Harvey is also the founder and executive director of Missio Africanus, a mission organization founded in 2014 as a learning community focused on unlocking the missionary potential of Christians living in the UK in Africa and other ethnic minorities. Most recently, he became the lead in the African Christian Programme in CMS (UK) Pioneer Mission Training, and in August 2025 his book Decolonization Mission was published.
