We are all immigrants to a certain extent, every single one of us.
Well, I know that I am one. I know I wasn’t born here and neither were my parents, but here I am, living and working here in an attempt to become something great and be able to return to my own as a success.
I left home many years ago and relocated to this foreign place in order to plant my own roots on this earth and be able to make my own dreams come true.
Though a citizen of the country as a whole, I am a foreigner because the land on which I toil is not the land of my ancestors.
Actually, it’s not the land of most of the citizens’ ancestors. Technically, we are all foreigners, just as our forefathers were when they settled here.
In my dream chase, I have encountered hardships that have brought me to my knees and had me wishing I could run back into my mother’s arms.
Growing up and wanting to create a better life for my family (existing and to come), those are my reasons for never abandoning my quest. Having a bit of a hard time right now can never be a good enough reason for me to accept defeat, tuck tail and run. In essence, I’m imprisoned by my dreams and this foreign land is my cell.
As I do not hail from here, I often find myself in the grip of heart-wrenching loneliness. I have become accustomed to the language of those I found here and I am able to communicate with them almost completely. Almost.
There are other things I desire to share, but I am unable to; those are the things that are spoken without words. Back home, there are means of communication and definitions that are unique to those from which I come.
Some of these are silent gestures or gut feelings that lead us to each other in times of need. I do not have this here, which brings about a feeling of loneliness I cannot expect the natives of this foreign land to understand.
Occasionally, some of these natives express that my presence is undesired and they wish I would leave.
They do this in ways that might humiliate and hurt me, but the greatest shame lies with them. They do not realise that their attacks are a disgrace to all humans.
Refusing to accept me as one of them, even though we all seek the same (a better life for us and our loved ones), displays the highest levels of ignorance, arrogance and savagery.
The God that made me walks all roads with me and I pray He continues to keep me safe, but more importantly, reveal Himself to everyone else.
Despite all our differences, it is through Him that we are the same and from Him we get our best.
