The Red Cross has withdrawn its aid workers from the Netherlands’ primary asylum registration center after repeated violence left the humanitarian organization concluding that it could no longer protect its own staff. The decision underscores a growing crisis that many Western nations now face after years of allowing large numbers of migrants to enter with insufficient screening and overwhelmed asylum systems.
In a statement reported by Breitbart, the Red Cross said it would no longer operate at the Ter Apel asylum center because “safety can no longer be guaranteed” for its employees.
“This is a very drastic decision. We realize what this means for the people we help. But we have no other choice, because a small group of troublemakers is causing insecurity for both our aid workers and those seeking help. Therefore, a structural solution is now needed,” local Red Cross director Harm Goossens said.
The decision follows weeks of escalating disorder at the overcrowded center, where aid workers reportedly endured harassment and multiple stabbing incidents occurred within days of one another. An asylum seeker from Nigeria described the atmosphere bluntly.
“Every day there is a fight. People with severe mental problems are placed among ordinary people. When you say hello to someone, you don’t even know how they will react. And before you know it, there’s a fight,” he said.
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The situation illustrates a distinction that governments across the West have increasingly failed to make. Immigration itself is not the problem. Throughout Scripture, God commands His people to care for the vulnerable, show compassion to the stranger and defend widows, orphans and those in genuine need. Compassion, however, is never presented as permission for governments to abandon wisdom, order or their responsibility to protect the people entrusted to them.
Scripture consistently presents nations as having legitimate borders, laws and leaders responsible for maintaining justice and security. Israel’s leaders were expected to protect the nation from foreign enemies while also administering justice with mercy. Those principles are not contradictory. They work together.
We should never confuse biblical compassion with government-enabled chaos. When criminal elements, violent offenders, terrorists or those suffering severe mental illness enter countries without adequate vetting or oversight, the innocent often pay the price. In this case, even the Red Cross determined the danger had become too great for its own humanitarian workers.
God’s character is one of order, not confusion. From the opening chapter of Genesis, God brought creation out of chaos through His sovereign authority. That same principle remains true for societies today. Compassion without wisdom ultimately harms both those seeking help and those offering it.
As we watch governments wrestle with the consequences of failed immigration policies, we should continue praying for leaders to pursue justice with mercy, protect their citizens and extend genuine compassion in ways that reflect God’s orderly design rather than the confusion that follows when wisdom is abandoned.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
