The immigrant, legal or not, flees home not because they want to destroy the place they are going, but because they are seeking a better life. We are a civilization built by immigrants, and we are not alone. The second most common spoken language in the Republic of Ireland is Polish, followed by the native Irish Gaelic. Eastern and Central European immigrants are the backbone of hospitality and many service industries in Western Europe. Spanish is the second most common language in the United States. Immigrants build our homes, grow and prepare our food. Hardly a restaurant kitchen in the United States has English as a primary language. People fear the immigrant will take the job, that they don't want to do, or are incapable of doing.
There are political leaders in the world, that would like nothing more than to see democracies fail. They spread theories, and rumors, trying to destroy civilization from the inside out. When they get political leaders to buy the narrative and dismantle civilization from within, we are all at risk.
The root cause of immigration, is the vast inequities in world. For most of us reading this if we have seen true poverty, it was isolated someplace else. A couple of hours across the border in Mexico was a real eye opener for me. For many immigrants it is escapable only by leaving home. While we live in relative safety, in the places people are fleeing safety is rare. Violence in ways we have never seen, is common in the places that people are fleeing.
And we do little to change this, if anything we support governments that perpetuate the inequities and violence. If we want to stop global immigration, we need to work to assure that more of the world is home, for people who don't feel compelled to leave home for safety or opportunity.
These words are not only wise, they are also accurate. However, I think the idea of stopping global migration is now a pipe dream. Already, so much of it is connected with climate change, overpopulation and better knowledge of how people live in affluent western countries. The dam has burst.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had asked my great-grandmother if she would have left home, if the opportunities and safety were there, that they saw in north America.
DeleteAmen.
ReplyDeleteAnd you are proof that many immigrants are valued members of the community they move to.
DeleteThanks for that. We DO call ourselves immigrants as opposed to expats.
DeleteVirtually everyone has immigrant forebears, even if they are not currently immigrants themselves. We should remember this.
ReplyDeleteI have my grandmothers naturalization paperwork from the 1960's.
DeleteYou explain this very well and I agree with you. I am reading "Black AF History" and it saddens me that this hatred has been going on forever. When whites showed up and took land from others, they called themselves "settlers" instead of "invaders" or "immigrants". All people want the same things - safety, to provide for their families, happiness, peace.
ReplyDeleteI recently read, "The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America" by Richard Rothstein it details now racism was empowered by law, in some ways continues to be.
DeleteBeautifully written!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteWell written, my friend. Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteWe can lead the change
DeleteWhat Happen? I have hope that good will prevail. But at times it hard.
ReplyDeleteWe can each make a difference.
Delete" Basically we are the sum of all the people who have invaded us. We are, involuntarily, each other's guests. " - from Pentacost
ReplyDeleteFunny how some christians miss the overall message of kindness to one another.
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