“Movement is life”. This phrase is probably the only thing that many people remember from the movie World War Z (Marc Foster, 2013), based on the book of the same name by Max Brooks, published in 2006. And that movement, constantly migrating, has been part of the history of humanity from its origins to the present day. Hence the question: what are we, nomads or immigrants?
Why do we move?
Our immigrant “spirit” has always been governed by a basic purpose: in search of better living conditions. In prehistory, it was about finding places with non-extreme environmental conditions and that offered abundant food sources.
Today these motivations have not changed much. We have learned to manage nature, so weather conditions or finding fertile land is no longer a problem. But the search for better living conditions is still present.
What has changed is the way this idea is divided: finding territories with solid economies, employment opportunities, personal security, access to basic services…
Immigrants or invaders?
Proportionally, the number of global citizens is low. Only one in 30 people lives in a country other than the one of their birth. But this group takes on a completely different dimension if the focus changes: we are 281 million immigrants, 3.6% of the world population.
Modern nomads are often seen as invaders. By going beyond our borders, we would be taking away opportunities from those who were born and live in the places chosen as destinations. There are many people who think that we will take advantage of all the resources of these places and act as predators.
These types of precepts are a regular part of what many immigrants have to deal with. Of course, all of the above has been simplified to the extreme. But it is an irrefutable reality.
At Globaling we not only work to change these types of beliefs. We also strive to serve global citizens in the best possible way. Giving them the credit they deserve for the enormous efforts they make to build a better world.
