The Migrant Journey

One thing common to most of us is that we are all at some point of our migrant journey. We are either thinking of making such a journey, or have already made that journey.

Some people are itinerant migrants—they will make that journey several times over in their lives. Our journey need not be across the oceans—it could be just across our village, town or city. Or it could be across our state borders plunging us into a vastly different culture and language milieu.

But we all know that the journey begins when that germ of a thought is born, the thought of ‘why not’ and ‘can I’? Or maybe it begins far earlier than that—even before the germ of self questioning is born. Maybe it was subliminally embedded in our consciousness through the tales and narratives of other migrants and their journeys. The riches they have made, the places they have seen, the gifts they bring home with them, so on and so forth.

If such a subliminal embedding is possible then very possibly in my case it would have been an intra-uterine one! My parents were already traversing continents when I was conceived. But this story is not simply about me—it’s about you and it’s about everyone.

I invite you to walk with me over the next few weeks and months as I make this journey from the past into the future; a journey that traverses continents and seas and oceans; a journey that may bring out the worst and best in our family.

I’ll take you through the circumstances, situations and socio-political landscape that formed the germseed of my journey.I don't promise that each and every bit of the past history is true to the nth degree but simply endeavour to portray my story in as much authenticity as possible. Maybe somewhere along the line you will recognize parts of your life in ours. It’s inevitable—because the migrant journey is one we will all identify with, for we have been there — at some point in time — either in thought or in being.