Letter: International Migrants' Day

Michal Siewniak writes:

In no particular order, I am proud to call myself:

· Immigrant

· Migrant

· Polish

· European national

· Global citizen

· Citizen of the world

· Resident of Welwyn Garden City

Each year, on the 18th December, we celebrate the International Migrants Day. A day like many others. However, it is a day which give us an opportunity to recognise our contribution, reflect on our achievements and celebrate our uniqueness.

The International Migrants Day is a day when we can be truly proud of our own heritage, culture, upbringing, religious or ethnic background. Our faith affiliation, colour of our skin or country of our origin is only part of our story. It is our personal experiences and journey through life, which can help us to become better human beings, and which makes us who we are.

We all "move around" for a number of different reasons; to better our lives, seek opportunities to work or study, or flee war or persecution. We enhance our communities. We enrich our neighbourhoods. Life is at times challenging, hard and demanding. However, it also has plenty of happy and fulfilling moments. I believe that migration is strongly embedded in our DNA. Let's not forget that we all have layers of identity and being a migrant is only one of them.

Maybe the health pandemic and another very turbulent year is a good moment to stop and reflect on how we treat each other and other people? Is this a good moment to be less judgmental and more open-minded? Let's continue doing our little part to ensure that the world fosters a welcoming environment to all. Let's recognise that we are members of the same family, a global family.

It is time to celebrate! Happy International Migrants Day!

P.S: It has been a while! I hope that you are well :) I feel that people often are embarrassed to admit that they are migrants/ immigrants. We all have layers of identity. Being a Catholic, resident of Welwyn Garden city, being Polish is only one of them!

I thought that I would share with you my short reflection on a day, which is really close to my heart; the International Migrants' Day, which was globally celebrated yesterday :)

Have a wonderful Christmas!