Rabben Linda - Sanctuary & Asylum: A Social and Political History

SANCTUARY AND ASYLUM

South China Sea: Crewmen of the amphibious cargo ship USS Durham (LKA-114) take Vietnamese refugees aboard a small craft, April 1975. Photographer unknown. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration and Wikimedia Commons.

SANCTUARY AND ASYLUM

A Social and Political History

LINDA RABBEN

A Capell Family Book

University of Washington Press

Seattle & London

The Capell Family Endowed Book Fund supports the publication of books that deepen the understanding of social justice through historical, cultural, and environmental studies.

2016 by Linda Rabben

Printed and bound in the United States of America

Design: Dustin Kilgore

Typeset in Malabar, a typeface designed by Dan Reynolds

20 19 18 17 165 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Manufactured in the United States of America

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON PRESS

www.washington.edu/uwpress

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Rabben, Linda, 1947 author.

Title: Sanctuary and asylum : a social and political history / Linda Rabben.

Description: Seattle : University of Washington Press, 2016. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016012898| ISBN 9780295999128 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9780295999135 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Asylum, Right ofHistory. | Asylum, Right of. | Refugees.

Classification: LCC K3268.3 .R335 2016 | DDC 342.08/3dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016012898

The paper used in this publication is acid-free and meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.481984.

In memory of Miep Gies (19092010),

Howard Zinn (19222010),

Nicholas Winton (19092015),

and thousands of other sanctuarians;

and with thanks to JE, for giving me shelter

THE NEW COLOSSUS

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp! cries she

With silent lips. Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

Emma Lazarus, 1883

Contents

Acknowledgments

Many people in several countries gave me helpand refugefrom 2006 to 2015, as I researched and wrote Sanctuary and Asylum and its predecessor, Give Refuge to the Stranger.

At home in the sanctuary city of Takoma Park, Maryland, Rev. Phil Wheaton and Michael McConnell gave me informative interviews about their work for the 1980s Sanctuary Movement. Zelda Bell provided practical assistance that made it possible for me to do research in the United Kingdom and France, and Alice Haddix helped arrange my 2008 visit to Tucson.

In Tucson, sanctuarians Reverend Ricardo Elford, Reverend John Fife, John Heid, Paul Barby, the Community of Christ in the Desert, Lois Martin, Sarah Roberts, Frederick Neidhardt, Rev. Jim Wiltbank, Rev. Alison Harrington, the Samaritans, Rosemary and Bill Hallinan, Rev. Robin Hoover, Mike Humphrey, John Miles, Sebastian Quinac, Rachel Wilson, Geoff Boyce, and others kindly gave me interviews in 2008 and 2014. Abby Root and Lauren Raine offered hospitality and a listening ear. Linda Green, Kathryn Rodriguez, Sarah Launius, Kent Walker, and Jean Boucher helped in other ways. Rosa Robles Loreto, in sanctuary at Southside Presbyterian Church, and Francisco Perez Cordova, in sanctuary at Saint Francis in the Foothills United Methodist Church, graciously consented to be interviewed in November 2014.

Nicole Kligerman introduced me to the New Sanctuary Movement of Philadelphia. In El Paso, Joe Heyman was tremendously helpful during my visit in 2010; afterward he read Garcia, Ruben Garcia, and Rev. Peter Hinde gave inspiring interviews that increased my understanding of old and new sanctuary movements. In Juarez, Mexico, Sr. Betty Campbell and Sr. Mary Alice shared their experiences with me.

In Saint Paul, Minnesota, the matchless Nelly Trocm Hewett shared her encyclopedic knowledge of her parents Andr and Magda Trocm, Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, and the surrounding region; she also read and corrected many errors, small and large.

In Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, Annik Flaud and Grard Bollon graciously provided a great deal of information in a very short time. Thanks also to John Graney, MD, who drove me to Le Chambon with dizzying proficiency along the winding back roads of the Haute Loire.

I am grateful to interviewees Mary and Pierre, who requested anonymity. They and other asylum seekers whose stories are told in are heroes whose courage and persistence continue to inspire me.

In Britain, Mahamad Al-Shagra, Rev. John Arnold, Sally Daghlian, Bob Deffee, Emma Ginn, Jim Gomersall, Eveline Louden, Roger Norris, Dele Olawanle, Kate Roberts, Jan Shaw, Debora Singer, Ahlam Souidi, Chris Williams, and Jean Wilson gave me interviews and inspiration. Conor Gearty was a gracious and encouraging host at London School of Economics Center for the Study of Human Rights, where I was a visiting fellow in 20072008. My colleague at CSHR, Michael Welch, was helpful to me in London and after. The Scottish Refugee Council in Glasgow gave me shelter for a week in 2008 and taught me much about integration. Thanks also to Gary Christie, Celia Clarke, Jonathan Cox, Rev. Moyna McGlynn, Rev. Nicholas Sagovsky, and Jeremy Seabrook, who were especially encouraging. Zoe Stevens and Rev. Patrick Wright kindly facilitated visits to detention centers. Moyra Ashford, Sue Branford, Sue and Patrick Cunningham, John and Elizabeth Nurser, Jan Rocha, Patti Whaley, and Rob Wheeler provided indispensable hospitality and friendship over the years.

In the Netherlands a volunteer social worker, several asylum seekers, Patricia Brunklaus, and Esther van den Broek of the Dutch Refugee Council in Tilburg, Tycho van Lummel of the Netherlands Justice Ministry Migration Directorate, and residents of Noelhuis (Catholic Worker house) of Amsterdam were kind enough to meet with me in 2014. I am especially grateful to Veerle Slegers and her family for their generous hospitality. Bedankt!

Librarians and archivists, such as Wendy Chmielewski, curator of the Swarthmore College Peace Collection, and Patricia Chapin ODonnell of Swarthmore College Friends Historical Library; Josef Keith and Lisa McQuillen of Friends House Library, London; Clement Ho, international studies librarian at American University; and Steve Lafalce, reference librarian at Washington College of Laws Pence Library, gave me valuable assistance. Thanks also to employers and colleagues who gave practical help as I was writing Give Refuge to the Stranger: Juan Mendez, the late Robert Goodland, Marie Marr Jackson, and Virginia Bouvier, who made me aware of Colombian peace communities.