Far too often, certain pundits, politicos, and just plain bigots depict refugees and immigrants as criminals and/or parasites. That couldn’t be further from the truth for the vast majority of those people who are seeking a new life in another country. Two recently released/published stories about migrants include the film entitled The Swimmers on Netflix and the book Solito. The movie is a true story about sister refugees from war-torn Syria who are seeking safety and a new life in Europe. Meanwhile, Solito is a memoir about a nine-year old boy who attempts to migrate from El Salvador to the United States to join his parents.
Without revealing any pertinent details, both of these stories are compelling, heart-wrenching, and inspiring. Anyone who disdains such attempts to migrate without the proper paperwork has likely never faced the very real dangers, perils, hardships, and tragedies faced by those at the center of these stories and their fellow migrants, whether it is in their homeland or during migration.
Since 1996, more than 75,000 migrants have perished around the world from a variety of causes including, but not limited to drowning, heat exhaustion, starvation, violence, and suffocation. Many others are housed in numbing refugee camps. The mere decision to leave one’s homeland and venture across open seas, arid deserts, or through hostile nations is both daunting and courageous. How many of us sitting in our comfy homes would demonstrate such courage?
No human being is illegal. Let’s make that perfectly clear. Some of us were just plain lucky to have been granted relative safety, security, and well-being simply by the fortunate geography of our birth. Others, wishing to seek a better life are risking life and limb in a desperate attempt to join us. It has been that way here in the United States since the Pilgrims arrived in New England and Spaniards arrived in Florida and the Southwest, followed by many other nationalities and beliefs…English, African, Irish, German, Polish, Dutch, Chinese, south Asian, etc, etc, etc up to and including those arriving from Latin America and elsewhere today.
The Swimmers and Solito provide more proof that good, kind, caring, and productive people live in all corners of the Earth. One reason why these stories are so compelling is the benevolence shown between and amongst the migrants during their long journeys. All these folks wish for is a chance…some hope, and compassion. If we, as residents of first world nations cannot offer them those simple needs through our collective benevolence, then we seriously need to start reevaluating our priorities…and perhaps even our souls. Peace!
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Panethos 