☰ Menu

"Dreams of Those" by Mary Godigna Collet

“Dreams of Those” is dedicated to all human beings who died without an identity, without a name, without grievers, in an attempt to re-stablish their human dignity.

Those whose human rights are violated and are left with no other choice than migration. Instead of reaching their dreams, they become just a number in a database.

Our time is defined through two very particular situations: migration and technology.

Understanding “migration” as the result of flows trying to escape from prejudice, persecution, frequent abuse, oppression, ethnic cleansing, genocide, natural disaster and social marginalization.

It may become an enriching cultural exchange, that, at the same time, due to the proximity and vicinity to other cultures making the differences more obvious , it may produce a shock, fear and trust-lost.

In an ethical way, as philosopher Jacob Appel has written, "Treating human beings differently, simply because they were born on the opposite side of a national boundary, is hard to justify under any mainstream philosophical, religious or ethical theory."

In an economic way, research also finds that migration leads to greater trade in goods and services. And, in the search for solutions to extreme poverty in the planet, according to economists Michael Clemens and Lant Pratchett, "permitting people to move from low-productivity places to high-productivity places appears to be by far the most efficient generalized policy tool, at the margin, for poverty reduction".

The other side of the coin is the criticism of multiculturalism that questions the ideal of the maintenance of distinct ethnic cultures within a country. For some communities, multiculturalism threatens to reduce them to just another ethnic group. Critics of multiculturalism may argue against cultural integration of different ethnic and cultural groups to the existing laws and values of the country. Alternatively critics may argue for assimilation of different ethnic and cultural groups to a single national identity.

We, or at least the generations to come, are facing a new kind of migration: The one that will take place because of global warming.

And understanding “technology”, through our dependency on the technological world and as an important tool for cultural migration and as a door to marvelous prospects.

But, as Sir Martin Rees says, it has a dark side and can trigger some kind of disaster: “Our century is very special, is the first when humans can change itself and their home planet”.

The actual impact over global environment degradation is unprecedented and represent a real challenge.

One particular phrase is quoted often on the Russell–Einstein Manifesto (1955): Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.

Migration and technology are the “matter” for this project.