The Diversity of the Ecosystem and Migration

Good morning readers,

Canada Diversity (October 2022)

My day begins today just as it surely does for all the creatures of the Amazon rainforest; each has a mission. The male of the beautiful orchid bee species must be searching for the finest perfumes in the jungle to create a unique fragrance that will win over the female. The leafcutter ants must be gathering toxic leaves to turn them into compost and cultivate the fungus that feeds them, while the soldier ants must be destroying everything in their path. Each of these creatures plays a vital role in our ecosystem, yet we humans wander around like headless chickens, unable even to notice this.

I awoke with a mission and a vision: to finish the first chapter of my book and send it to my editor. I've had to say no to three fun plans I was invited to today.

Why? Because my vision for this book has a very important purpose for this ecosystem we call Earth.

Among my missions for the day is Thomas, my great companion, who always invites me to see the world from a different perspective. While walking, I came across a lady from Romania with her dog, want to talk and show empathy about what’s happening in Venezuela.

Later, I met a young Ukrainian man with a three-month-old Golden Retriever—a precious little thing, reminding me of Thomas when he was small. As we walked our dogs, he told me about the situation in the city where he lived. His parents are still there, and the city is being bombed every day.

THOMAS

This is my first exposure of the day: the multiculturalism and the understanding that each person is living their own story and fighting their own battles. As a citizen of the world, I see and observe each human being with respect to their own story.

On Friday, I decided to bring together some wonderful people I’ve met since arriving in Valencia and invite them to a gathering at my home—I hosted an arepa night. There we were, a group of amazing humans from various nationalities—Romanian, Hungarian, Dutch, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, and Venezuelan—eating arepas, sharing our stories, and there I was, happy, doing one of the things I love most: creating community, bringing people together, connecting.

AREPA NIGHT

We are all part of a whole, and when we deeply understand this, even killing a cockroach becomes difficult. Seeing a person of any nationality with empathy and respect, understanding their humanity, becomes part of our daily lives.

When you understand that we are part of a whole and the importance of migration—whether it’s birds or the millions of Venezuelan migrants seeking refuge—you realise that this is nature, the constant movement and the recognition of all that it brings, for better or for worse.

Today, from a mature perspective, I am grateful for where I was born, Altagracia de Orituco, a town with diverse immigrants—Spanish, Italians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and native Venezuelans. This mix meant that migrants brought prosperity to our land with a desire to create businesses, ideas. What would my childhood have been without the chinese market on the corner, who were always open all the time? What would my childhood have been without the savoury breads from the Portuguese bakery near my house that no longer exists? What would my childhood have been without the corn farming and the informal Venezuelan businesses that bought the corn so I could eat the best cachapas in the world?

It’s very interesting because I never saw migration as something negative until I arrived in England. Today I wonder, what would Cambridge have been like if Ivan, Reny, and I hadn’t brought arepas? And so on... What would Addenbrooke’s Hospital be without all the nurses who come from the Philippines, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc., to work there?

What would become of those of us who need to migrate if these countries didn’t open their doors so that we can create, work, and evolve? There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t feel grateful for the opportunity that England gave me and the one that Spain now gives me. Therefore, more than ever, I have a deep commitment to leave my legacy in these lands.

A question for you: Can you embrace the diversity that surrounds you? How do you relate to that daily biodiversity of which you are a part? What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you see an insect or an animal you don’t like? What if a person from another nationality saw you in the same way, or thought the same thing when they saw that animal they don’t like?

Amazonia Arroyo

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