Disconnecting from Global Access

The distribution between globalism and nationalism is tilting in favor of nationalism.

We can hypothesize, and look for evidence, that access to the unevangelized has been, is being, and will be challenged, mostly in a myriad of fairly small, less-seen ways.

Already, post-9/11, the transfer of money from one nation to another - especially to the less-reached nations which are also often locations that militant groups operate out of - has become problematic. Who can transfer money, and how, is a challenge.

When we went overseas in 2004, getting insurance of any sort was problematic. As tensions rise between countries, I suspect that is likely to grow, and may already have - I don’t have access to that sort of data, to verify the hunch. Medical insurance remains fairly cheap for overseas travel, simply because a lot of countries have far cheaper medical care. But I suspect the price will nonetheless rise.

Additionally, the ability to enter any country on any visa other than a very short tourist visa has definitely become harder.

Many countries are upping their surveillance game. Most notable in this, of course, is China, which over the last several years has done significant work to eject various people they don’t want in. Some are afraid to travel anywhere within China’s territory—even airports—for fear that they will be detained by China’s security services. But China is by no means the only country expelling existing workers and blocking new workers from coming in, at least for anything longer than a tourist stay.

Sometimes this isn’t even presented as ‘surveillance.’ In many places, I suspect countries have used rules about Covid as a thin cover to keep out those they don’t want in.

And, I’ve heard plenty of complaints about “undue sensitivity to security” on the part of diaspora groups and ministry amongst diaspora groups. But the reality is, home countries are watching diaspora groups quite closely. You can see this most evident in China’s influence campaigns and their desire to silence Uighurs.

In a world where fear and conspiracy theories are rife, and yet there are very real efforts to silence people abroad (which occasionally even show up as assassination attempts), it is unsurprising that those who work with diasporas certainly don’t want their work to be blasted across the Internet for all to see.