This morning we had a progressive cross cultural class that ended at Bellas Artes museum. There was an exhibit in the basement of the building done by Kadir von Lohuizen called Vía PanAm. Basically, he went from the southern tip of Chile up the Pan American Highway to the northern tip of Alaska documenting migrants all along his route. He wanted to document their struggles, their routes, their motives, and their reality in having to make such a difficult decision as being an immigrant. My eyes were opened to the large migration between countries in South America depending on where there are jobs. For example, there was a picture showing some Nicaraguan construction workers who were working in Costa Rica just because it was the best place for them to find work. I thought about all of the discussions we have had about the migration and colonization by the Europeans in the Americas so long ago, yet we still can see the effects on the more native populations today who tend to be the poorer, more laboring population who are still being oppressed today. What hit me even more was that the turn of the 20th century was a popular time to migrate to the Americas and I realized that is exactly when my own ancestors came to Ellis Island in NYC in search of a better life. Because of my ancestor’s hard work, I am able to live a comfortable life in the states, attend university, and travel all the way to Chile! I could not stop feeling so blessed to be born into the situation I am in and how I too often take it for granted and live so selfishly. It came at a perfect time as today is Ash Wednesday, a time to repent and refocus ourselves on God. So let us all be humbled by the world around us and here’s to the Lenten season of practicing humility!
http://www.viapanam.org/viapanam/
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