Thinking Out LoudMy weekend of sport was a tale of two teams. I went with a friend to watch my beloved footy team Essendon play Melbourne at the MCG. By half time, it was clear we’d lost – continuing a recent losing streak. The game left me disconsolate.
It was even harder as throughout the game my friend, a One Nation supporter, had been constantly in my ear about how great Pauline Hanson is and how terrible it was that we let so many refugees into Australia. To get some relief I left the match and him well before the finish of the game.
On Sunday I settled in to watch the Socceroos play Türkiye. I assumed with Türkiye dominating possession and doing all the attacking, and the Socceroos constantly defending, it was only a matter of time before they cracked us. And then against the flow of play Irankunda broke free, wrong-footed a number of the Opposition, and goaled.
Who was this man in the green and gold? I discovered Nestory Irankunda was a Burundian refugee born in Tanzania and whose family was granted humanitarian access to Australia when he just three months old. As the former CEO of World Vision, I remembered the horrific killing in the Great Lakes conflict that would have forced his family to flee.
I texted my friend immediately, ‘Thank God for refugees’. He shot back, ‘Pauline says he can stay until the World Cup is over’.
Australia had an historic 2-0 victory and I was ecstatic. But the even sweeter feeling was that a refugee was the hero. In my faith the Bible unequivocally says God’s face is seen in the ‘stranger’, which is the biblical language for ‘refugee’.
Thank you, Australia, for welcoming Irankunda and his family.
This Thinking Out Loud was first published on Facebook.