In February 2020 Ray Schellinger undertook a journey walking with Venezuelan refugees in Colombia. He walked from Palmira to Mondomo, a journey of 100 kilometers, a small section of the 2,000 km trek many refugees take from Colombia and into Peru. We are posting some of Ray’s FB posts from along the way.
If you had to leave your home forever, and could only take what you could carry in your arms or on your back, what would you choose to bring?
I have met people on four continents who have faced that decision. They have had to flee bombs exploding around them (Syria), extremist takeover of their cities (Iraq), government soldiers destroying their villages (the Rohingya and Christian ethnic minorities, Myanmar), vicious and unrelenting violence (Central America, Mexico), and complete economic collapse (Venezuela).
They try to pack light, but even cutting it down to the bare minimum, people always seem to have more than they can carry for very long. The longer the journey, the more you end up leaving behind.
If you are carrying children, things get a lot more complicated. Know that you will carry that child in your arms for most of the journey. You are forced to carry diapers and formula, clean water, etc. Carrying a child makes it so much harder to carry the rest of your essentials.
If you are pulling rolling suitcases or pushing strollers, you might be able to carry more of your belongings, but it makes your journey that much slower. Not only can you not travel as quickly, but more importantly, it makes it that much harder to jump a ride on one of the trucks that could take you closer to your destination. You end up having to walk much more of the journey.
From Cucuta, on the early part of the exodus journey, on the border from Venezuela into Colombia, I saw people trying to carry much more with them. By the time they arrive in Cali, however, over 1000 km later, most people are down to small backpacks and are carrying just their clothing, documents and small water bottles.
The definition of “essential” changes.
So, what would you carry?
What would you learn to live without?
To learn more about Ray Schellinger as one of our Global Peace Warriors: Click here.
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