Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Migration Maxims
(Assignment 3)
-Sameer Chaturvedi (Group 2)
Carlos Fuentes once said, Recognize yourself in he and she who are not like you
and me, and as someone who generally shrugs off ubiquitous adages, I initially questioned
the validity of this axiom. After pondering for a while however, I noticed that this is, in fact, a
categorical truth.
The worldwide migration crisis has displaced a record 60 million people from their homes the
most since the end of World War II pushing asylum systems to their limits. People
desperately fleeing death, destruction and abysmal living conditions in countries like Syria and
Iraq (as explained in https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvOnXh3NN9w ) to places in Central
America and Africa have sparked a global panic. We, however, ignore the predicament of the
migrants, who are not like you and me, and focus on our own selfish wishes.
The issue of immigration has erupted in the past few years due to obstacles like unemployment
and overpopulation, and as a result, biases are as pervasive as immigrants are. Whether illegal
or legal, migration and foreigners have raised
the eyebrows of locals all around the world,
many of whom have a staunch opinion to halt
widespread migration altogether. These
people, however, tend to forget that the
migrants are in fact distinct human beings, as
we all are. This quote encapsulates this
thought, and reminds us that only unity can
propel us to a global society and utopia.
There is no doubt that each person is different,
no matter how similar we all are. We all have varying stories, personalities, backgrounds, and
ambitions. Yes, he and she are not like you and me, but this mutual exclusion often leads to
belligerent and dogmatic views. In 2015, over 244 million people lived outside their country of
origin. With such a high number of migrants, correlative compassion is compulsory. We need to
recognize and identify ourselves in others so we can truly understand the emotions and plights
of our fellow species. This interactive map provides insight on the magnitude of immigrants -http://www.migrationpolicy.org/programs/data-hub/charts/international-migrant-populationcountry-origin-and-destination
Of course, rapid and copious immigration leads to a plethora of problems ranging from economy
to education and employment. This has led to people looking down upon migrants. These
people fail, however, to see how these situations are almost archetypal in proving the need for
compassion across borders and race. It is only when we recognize ourselves in others that we
can develop the cooperation needed to uplift the nations in plight and curtail all crises, and
improve the condition of not only their homeland, but ours as well.