{"id":27,"date":"2026-04-04T01:53:55","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:53:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/?p=27"},"modified":"2026-04-04T01:55:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T05:55:01","slug":"migration-vs-opportunity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/?p=27","title":{"rendered":"MIGRATION VS. OPPORTUNITY"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cA perspective from faith and justice\u201d<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We must not confuse migration with tourism, although both can be similar. There is a fine line between them, which significantly marks a destination or simply the life forever of those who begin such a process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we talk about migration, we sometimes think that everything is planned and that it is the joy of a new place, but this is not always the case. Many migrate pressured by situations beyond their control and their own desires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that tourism helps a place\u2019s economy, and that\u2019s not a bad thing. What\u2019s wrong is when we think that tourism is the only thing that drives the economy and we forget that being foreigners is part of our universal identity, as the Holy Scriptures teach us: \u201cLet us never forget that we were foreigners in a foreign land.\u201d In fact, from our roots of faith, we begin with a \u201cmigration,\u201d and our father in faith, Abraham, bears witness to this. From there, many events unfolded, and I would highlight the most notable migration: that of our Savior, precisely because of persecution. It is here that we consciously discern that all of this is far removed from tourist migration. Therefore, we cannot forget that being a foreigner is something we will always carry with us, even as citizens in the same country. It is there that all economic growth and success transcends the positive aspects of tourism. While tourism may be the positive side, where is the other side of this \u201ctourism\u201d that our Latin American countries experience daily due to poverty, violence, and inequality? Not all the economic records show success thanks to tourism; there are also records of economies built on precarious migration, which sometimes, instead of dignifying and humanizing, leads to the deepest dehumanization. How many migrants in this process fall into networks of slavery and prostitution, and how many abuses are exploited by those who take advantage of these ignominious conditions? And the countries that receive and are shaped by migration normalize it and make it part of the landscape, which demonstrates a constant dehumanization and corruption of our social and bureaucratic structures. This type of migration is sometimes perceived as invasive, overlooking the underlying issue: a stifled cry for help from a humanity increasingly losing its sense of humanity. Those around them look on perplexed, thinking it\u2019s merely a problem for one country, not a problem for all of humanity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Viewing Latin American migration with the hope of a new and better opportunity in the United States is quite complex due to recent and historical political and social circumstances, where many have been able to reach that longed-for \u201chope.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE OPPORTUNITY.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourists only have the opportunity to experience the \u201cbeauty\u201d and \u201cattraction\u201d of their destination; they don\u2019t expect opportunities, except for enjoyment. However, this is also subject to vicissitudes and problems, ranging from minor to moderate to complex. But the tourist\u2019s mindset is solely focused on experiencing. This is why tourists have good or bad experiences, which determine whether or not they return. In contrast, forced migration is fraught with uncertainty, from logistical challenges to the desire to return home, as their circumstances force them to endure so much to survive. If we\u2019re going to talk about opportunities, we should consider humanitarian opportunities like healthcare, food, and shelter… but most of the time these aren\u2019t available, pushing many migrants into destitution, surviving in precarious conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why viewing migration as an opportunity isn\u2019t always accurate, because it\u2019s perhaps the darkest side of forced migration, where return is sometimes impossible. Opportunities in forced migration are very limited and sometimes even remote, because often no one notices, or a state or country simply doesn\u2019t care because it doesn\u2019t generate profit but rather a fiscal deficit. Addressing migration in terms of opportunity means understanding that it means starting from scratch, with nothing, and often facing significant language difficulties. This causes migrants to suffer much more, leading not only to physical but also mental health problems. Within these so-called \u201copportunities,\u201d they experience another affliction that we sometimes minimize, thinking it only affects certain minority groups. Discrimination, or rather xenophobia, is a voracious predator in migrant environments, often lurking behind the \u201copportunities\u201d they hope for. Because of their origin and culture, they become targets of all kinds of abuse, which countries often fail to recognize simply because they are not citizens. Consequently, the humanitarian principle that makes us all equal is forgotten. That makes us all equal as human beings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, migration does not always carry the connotation of opportunity, and opportunities are not always available to this type of population. This is where we reflect deeply on the historical phenomenon of migration and all its social, political, and economic implications. It is time to start considering that migration is not always an opportunity for tourism; it is perhaps the darkest form of tourism when basic guarantees of inclusion and assistance are lacking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cA perspective from faith and justice\u201d We must not confuse migration with tourism, although both can be similar. There is a fine line between them, which significantly marks a destination or simply the life forever of those who begin such a process. When we talk about migration, we sometimes think that everything is planned and … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[5,8],"class_list":["post-27","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cs-v9-n1","tag-cs-v9-n1","tag-english"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=27"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27\/revisions\/28"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=27"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=27"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/convergentstreams.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=27"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}