Immigration is a process that affects our identity. When I’m a tourist abroad, I identify myself as Brazilian. In Brazil, I’m from Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre. But when I become a resident of another country, I realize that more often than I would like, my identity ends up being summarized as “foreigner” and “immigrant.” We have an obvious connection with our origins, but often, in a new culture, our home country ceases to be important (at least to others). You came from abroad and that’s all many “natives” want to know. But, after all, who are the “immigrants” and who are the “natives”?
If we consider an immigrant to be a person who came from another territory, we are all immigrants, because, biologically speaking, Africa is the cradle of humanity. Only Africans in their own territory would not be immigrants. But you can argue that there was migration from Africa to other continents, and that the first peoples of each place would then be the legitimate natives. It is believed, for example, that America was populated by groups originating from Asia. Therefore, by this logic, these first populations to inhabit the territory would be the real natives of countries from the south to the north of the Americas. But migrations are continuous events in the history of humanity, whether in search of food, in search of a better climate, in search of peace, in search of employment.
In the times of Columbus and Cabral, we had mass migrations to the American continent, mainly of slaves and Europeans, a story that is familiar to us. Other stories are less well-known to us, such as the fact that the Portuguese enslaved Japanese people, selling them in Portugal and other parts of the world. The Japanese, in turn, enslaved thousands of Koreans as prisoners of war, from 1592-1598 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Japan). The migration of Asians, although forced, also occurred in South Africa (for those interested in the subject, more information can be found at http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/indian-slaves-south-africa-little-known-aspect-indian-south-african-relations-es-reddy). And so we have several other examples in human history, with more recent events being the mass migrations of people fleeing the Second World War to different countries and, in recent years, the waves of refugees that we see spreading across the world fleeing war and violence in their places of origin.
What these waves of migration tell us is that there is no such thing as a people without miscegenation. We are all the result of a great mixture, which can be scientifically proven by DNA tests. A person can be white, black, or Indian in appearance, but they all have a percentage of African, which is what makes us human. More than that, the vast majority of us have roots that we cannot even imagine, and that only genetics can reveal. For those who are curious about the subject, I suggest a series of videos, available on YouTube, called “the DNA journey”, in which different people share their knowledge about their families and origins. Soon after, DNA tests are carried out that reveal in fact what “origins” each person carries within them, with surprising discoveries even for the participants themselves. It is exciting, and gives us a new perspective on ourselves and others.
And why is all this important? Because, often, as immigrants or not, we suffer prejudice, or know people who suffer prejudice, because of the color of their skin, their accent, their appearance, or their religion. Sometimes we live with people who are prejudiced, and only knowledge can change this situation. In the 21st century, Germany and other countries still suffer from neo-Nazi movements. In 2017, the United States saw a rise in “white supremacist” movements, claiming that other races are inferior. In addition to being frightening, these movements indicate a profound ignorance of history and also of science, since there is no such thing as a “pure” race. What many people don’t know is that if there were, it would be much weaker than the others, since variability is fundamental to evolutionary processes. If you are curious about your own ancestry, you can take a DNA test at home. These tests have become more accessible, and the trend is for them to become increasingly cheaper as demand increases. Tests cost on average between 100-200 US dollars, and some companies that offer this service are:
23andMe: https://www.23andme.com
Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/dna
Family Tree DNA: https://www.familytreedna.com
My Heritage: https://www.myheritage.com
We are not sponsored by any of these companies, and I mention them for informational purposes only. I am not aware of any Brazilian company that offers this service, but the companies above will send the DNA collection kit anywhere.
In a way, we are all cousins, as is clear from the series I mentioned above, and this is the topic to which this section of our blog is dedicated. More than that, the experience of living far from home, far from family and our hometown, regardless of the reason for the move, involves common feelings of doubt, fear, excitement, loneliness and learning. These feelings are experienced by immigrants today, and were also experienced by all our ancestors who took the same risks. If you are or have been an immigrant, contributing to the constant globalization we live in, or if you have a story about ancestry or immigration that you would like to share with us, write to us and we can publish it here.