Flygtning eller Pilgrim !

En amerikansk pilgrim funderer i et lille poetisk notat over forskellen mellem en flygtning/emigrant og en velorganiseret pilgrim.
Fornylig læste undertegnede et sted - jeg husker ikke hvor - at vi, den moderne tids pilgrimme, havde overskud både mentalt og økonomisk, og at vi mest af alt gik pilgrimsvandring for at realisere os selv og vore drømme. Den moderne pilgrim ofrer i modsætning til middelalderens pilgrim ingenting, ligesom det i dag - set i forhold til volden rundt i verden - er fuldstændig sikkert. Der er ingen reel fysisk farer på de europæiske pilgrimsstier.
Er dette billede sandt eller er det mere differentieret ? Ja, det er det ikke sådan at svare entydigt på.
Santiagopilgrim, Jill Gat fra New Mexico i USA, der har menneskestrømmende fra sydamerikanske lande med store problemer tæt på sin hverdag, ligesom den den fysiske grænse mellem Mexico og USA ligger lige "uden for døren", har på hjemmesiden www.caminodesantiago.me funderet over den store forskel, der er på flygtningen/emigranten og pilgrimmen - på trods af den lighed der er, idet begge to går langt fra et sted til et andet. Men alligevel vidt forskellig. Funderingerne er blevet til dette lille epos, som jeg kun kan oversætte dårligt fra engelsk/amerikansk, og derfor har valgt at lade blive stående her på siden i Jill Gatt's eget sprog. Jeg forsøger mig dog trods det med en (dårlig) oversættelse af hans konklusion, før I under den kan læse hele hans lille epos:
Jeg har gået meget langt, men jeg ved trods det, at jeg ikke kan sætte mig i deres sted. Ingen vil lykønske dem med deres "eventyr", som de sandsynligvis slet ikke har bedt om selv - men følte, at de skulle - gennemføre. Hvad vil der ske med dem, når de kommer frem til deres mål ? Vil nogen hilse den med glæde ? Mit hjerte går i stykker for disse mennesker.
Og her hele originalteksten:
When we start planning our Camino walks, we save up some money, try on different packs, experiment with footwear and sock combinations, discuss rain wear choices with others, look into booking accommodation ahead where there might not be many options. We look into Spanish SIM cards and hope there is good WiFi access so that we can keep in touch with our people back home. We expect to meet buddies along the way.
Lately in the US, there has been news about a "caravan" of people fleeing poverty and violence in Central America, currently traveling up through Mexico toward the United States border. We are talking about a journey of more than 3000 kilometers. There are similar refugee groups elsewhere in the world, leaving their homes (where, in most cases, many generations of their families have lived and died), heading off into the unknown because the conditions where they came from are that intolerable.
People are often impressed when I brag about how I walked 1000 kilometers. But with my Camino experience in mind, I am trying to picture the experiences of these desperate migrants.
Most of them likely don't have money "saved up" and aren't using ATMs along the way. There are many women, wearing thin-soled "ladies' shoes" and sometimes carrying babies or accompanying children. None of them can let knee pain or blisters delay them. There are no yellow arrows, no albergues, no camaraderie with others traveling the same route. Really, I don't know what they eat, where they sleep, or how they know what route to take. Sometimes they face hostility from others along the way or at their destination. They carry what they can, however they can carry it. They walk through weather they can't prepare for.
I have walked long distances, but I know I can't put myself in their shoes. Nobody will congratulate them on the adventure they probably didn't want to - but felt they needed to - undertake. Who knows what will happen and what will "greet" them when they reach their destinations. My heart breaks for these folks.
Jill Gat, New Mexico, USA.