Beyond the Clouds by Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, S.A.C. | Page 62

recount here. These facts must mostly be true, even if we have no means of
verifying them. Because the simple truth is this: they each had to undergo
tremendous human suffering until they reached the promised land.
Let us not get into the whole debate about migration. It’s a hot topic today,
and it can change the world substantially once again. Politics, economics, and
elections enter into the picture, casting a shadow over the portrait of
humanity. In any case, there has been migration from the very beginning of
human history. People moved from place to place, country to country, merely
for survival or better living conditions. It happened after the two World Wars,
just as it happened after the many small wars in the Gulf Countries. There is
also much migration taking place for economic reasons from South to North
America. So many motives spark the movement of peoples.
In these days of October and November, Rome is filled with millions of small
birds. I have heard that they are migrating from the cold winter of Northern
Europe and Russia to the warmer climate surrounding the Saharan desert.
Rome is only their stop-over. Interestingly, for the many migrants from Africa,
Italy is also becoming only a stop-over. Most will move onward to other
European countries for better opportunities.
+
Before I conclude, there is just one impression that I wish to share. When we
hear about migrants en masse, we almost look at them as a crowd as opposed to
individuals. These men sitting before me- recounting their harrowing
nightmares- were human beings with families. They had pains and sorrows,
likewise hopes and dreams. They were not merely numbers or impersonalized
migrants from unknown places. And it was thanks to the humanity of these
French people that they are back to normal young boys who laughed and
treated us with great culture and respect. That was the most touching aspect of
the encounter.
So often I have listened to conversations as if migrants are the trash of the
62