What if Home & Safety Were Out of Reach
By Michelle Ting
(MOSAIC Team)
I am writing from a desk at work. In safety. Most of you might be at home or at work. Safe. You may be in a transport vehicle. Safe. You are most likely free to move. Safely. You will most likely end your day at home and sleep the night through. Safely.
For many others, these would be exceptional circumstances, if at all. The idea of home being long disfigured by the realities of war. The home you grew up in with grandparents and parents, now torn down. You move with belongings and family members, grandparents who find it hard to walk and little children who may need to be carried. You set up a shelter somewhere. Someone comes along, tells you to move and destroys your shelter. You move again and again. The blare of sirens and thrum of drones a constant reminder of a threat you played no part in, but yet consumes and dictates your life and that of your loved ones. All this for the “crime” of being born into a demographic. We call those who have been forced to leave their homes, “refugees”.
Who then, are refugees?
They are a version of you and me and loved ones, who happened to be in a place entangled within the strife of war. People who have had to leave homes and sleep under tents, leaving jobs, education and everything in between. In some places, needing to seek permission from occupying forces just to cross within one's own country to get to school, work or to visit family.
World Refugee Day, held on 20 June 2026 at Zion Bishan Presbyterian Church sought to display parts of these realities. The event was jointly organized by Habibi International and Interserve. We, participants, were corralled into groups and shouted at for no apparent reason. We had to experience moving through checkpoints and encountering ridiculous restrictions just to move within one's own country. We had eight minutes to build a shelter from plastic bags and cardboard boxes to fit 25 persons, under lights that went on and off randomly. And just as everyone got settled in, “soldiers” came to tear these down and chase us away.
So, what can we, who are blessed with homes and safety, do?
Willy Tan, CEO and founder of Habibi International, who works to provide support for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Kurdistan Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, shared these suggestions:-
Pray
Raise awareness
Support financially
Send people
Partner up with existing organizations
Adopt a people group, village or project and support this over the years
Support workers and organizations who are already in the field
Ben Soh, YWAM director, Beirut, Lebanon, reminds us of God's heart towards refugees. God pays special attention to those without a home, foreigners and sojourners alike. Esther, Ruth, Mary and Joseph were themselves refugees. Churches can create awareness of the plight of refugees through bible study on these characters or preach about it from the pulpit.
What then, is home?
For those of us making our way back to places of warmth, security and familiarity, we have the privilege of never needing to ask this question. Let us spare some time praying for those who desperately seek a humane and dignified response. And even as we celebrate Singapore’s 61st National Day this August, let us go beyond being thankful for the blessings of peace and security, to seeking the Lord for how we can share this with others.
Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests. But the Son of Man has no place to lie down to rest.” (Matthew 8:20-22)
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