Many centuries ago, the map of our world was very different, if we had a map at all. All the different colours and insignia of the various countries that set the nations apart from each other, the irregular lines that map out various countries, with different shape (most often shapeless) and sizes, were essentially non existent.
The world used to be separated mainly by rivers and oceans, desert and forests, great mountains and valleys. Yet, despite the fact that man to a large extent have overcome this natural limitations and barriers, we have replaced them with man made borders with continual modification of the map of the world every century as countries breaks and divide.
Could it be that these irregular lines in a map, making our pictorial globe to look fragmented, is truly what our world appears to be?
More than race and colours, more than religion and beliefs, nationality have become a strong yardstick that sets us apart. There is a growing tendency of nations to protect herself from aliens. Aliens not from other worlds but the aliens of invading immigrants, seeking for land of opportunities. This is quite evident by strict and increasingly stricter immigration laws and policies enacted by various countries especially the First World Countries.
Most countries in the world have experienced a massive rural to urban migration, with increasingly number of her populace in the cities and other urban settlement. It is then of no surprise that there is a growing tendency of migration from the ‘rural’ nations to the ‘urban’ nations of the world for varying reasons and intents.
Developed Nations are careful not to open wide their gates for the massive influx of teeming potential immigrants in a bid not to have them share in their limited resources and competes with their citizenry, for security purposes, among other reasons. Although we have very little to do as individuals in regard to influencing enacted policies and laws, however will have to define how we as individuals will treat those living within our borders who we don’t share the same citizenship and nationality.
Firstly, they deserve some measure of respect from us. We sometimes assume that because someone’s degree is from a University that is outside our borders, that that might literally translates to them being less intelligent or because they speak our language with an inferior accent, they are not as smart. We should be careful not to look down or be quick to disregards them, for among those immigrants are many respectable persons who are as intelligent and as smart as our nationals.They might not have been exposed to the highest level of information and technology in their respective disciplines, yet they have a mind that can be innovative and that can impact the world. They do contribute quite alot to our economy and are not just hanging around as public liabilities.
Secondly, we can learn from them. It takes alot of tenacity, grit and sacrifices to leave one’s homeland and survive in a strange land with little rights available to claim, and limited privileges to access. We often misjudge their motives, sometimes assuming them to be unpatriotic to their nation, reasoning that they are only seeking for some sort of superior living for their selfish ends. But we must realise that among them are many who have surmounted several hurdles in a bid to acquire skills and jobs to support near and distant family members and contribute to the development of their own country of their birth and the country they are residing in. Others are around us to learn a lot from our society to enable them pioneer ideas gained in their country home.
Finally, we should love them. It is high time we started shedding off our national pride and egocentric mindset that often prevents some of us from interacting and building friendship and relationships with those that are not our nationals. Our Friendship should be beyond borders as loving and lovable person are all over the world. While other citizens treats them as second class and second rated persons. We can show them some love, offer whatever help that is in our privilege to offer, always remember they are human beings after all.
In doing these, we have truly started living a life that is not limited by those irregular lines of our map and now living lives beyond borders. And who says we won’t find ourselves someday outside the shores and comfort of our home land too.
