Like all critters, people are forced into situations where they must leave their current setting in search of more fertile opportunities elsewhere. This is seen daily across the world, in places like Darfur or Gaza as refugees leave war-torn countrysides. War, however, is not the only type of oppression people wish to flee from in search of greener pastures. Economic oppression can force many to make dangerous and life-changing migrations over hundreds of miles with little more than that which they carry on their backs. There are potent examples of such migrants here in the southwest, who will risk their lives for the welfare of their family and community who could not displace themselves. Hundreds of people succumb to their journeys every year, perishing needlessly in the heat of the desert, on the tracks of north-bound trains, crossing rivers, and confrontations with gangs and smugglers (people smugglers, that is). All of this is exemplified by the travesty of lost lives here in Southern Arizona. As the summer progresses and the temperatures rise people are dying daily trying to reach the green fields of El Norte. According to crossingRisk, on the 4th of July there is an 87% chance that someone, somewhere will die attempting the human migration into the states. That's because the temperatures are predicted to reach upwards of 110 degrees in the baking sun.
I'll be thinking about this as I make my migration tomorrow. I am not journeying through treacherous deserts; nor am I venturing to navigate a swollen river. I am also not leaving my home and community with little prospect of return within a reasonable time. I am going TO my home and family in PA. I'll be cutting through the stratosphere tucked away in the belly of a 747 and arriving just hours after I leave my house here in Tucson. Not as epic as some journeys. Not really a grand migration either.
At least it'll be cooler up home.
The Man Behind the Keyboard
I Know Where You're From
