As expatriates living abroad, we made a new home in a foreign land.
In most cases, we immersed ourselves in a different society and way of life, we speak more than one language, and understand different traditions.
Most of us manage to respect the customs and values of our hosting country as well as our own.
More often than not, we are also connected to other foreigners, and create small communities of internationals and locals. We have the chance to travel to different places, and meet and discover other cultures.
If you had the privilege to live in different countries and actually be exposed to the culture, you likely got a a broader perspective on the world, that transcends borders.
Everywhere you go, you bring a piece of your home with you, and absorb elements of the hosting culture.
After many years abroad, you might ask yourself where you belong.
The answer is simple: you are a citizen of the world. And the fact that you live in a culturally diverse community is the living proof that people can coexist no matter where they come from.
This is undeniably beautiful and we could happily live in our communities forever. Still, we are not in another planet nor in a bubble, and we should not forget what is going on around us.
We live in an age of information overload and misinformation, that then shape people’s decisions and guide their actions.
Information has the power to transform the world in better or worse, and lately it is definitely not contributing to do better.
We see propaganda and inaccurate information being fed to the masses, resulting in more hate, polarization, stereotypes, violence, attacks on certain ethnicities/religious groups.
As people that had the privilege to travel, live abroad and be exposed to different cultures, we have a role, a responsibility and a duty.
In a world that is getting more and more polarized, we must foster understanding and connect people from different backgrounds.
Because it is not enough to talk about how good hummus and falafel are, if when your uncle speaks against Arabs at the Christmas dinner you stay silent.
It is not enough to share the pictures of your life and travels abroad, and then don’t mention about the hospitality and respect of the people you met.
It is not enough to live in a neighborhood of migrants abroad, and don’t talk to your family and friends back home of how safe it is and of how you are not afraid of walking back home at night.
Now more than ever, we must be a bridge, we must share another point of view.
Here in Cyprus, while we see a genocide unfolding only 400 km from us, and no institution intervening, we feel hopeless and helpless, but we are neither of the two.
As expats/migrants or however you want to call us, what we can do is challenge the one sided view of the mainstream media and institutions.
What we can do is talk to our family and friends back home and tell them about the cultures we met and about how the world is more similar than different. We can tell them of how the values of that so distant society are actually more aligned with ours.
We must stop that conversation against foreigners from that family member or friend. We must share our lives as examples of coexistence and respect.
We speak different languages and read different news sources, we can bring that to the discussion, instead of letting people believe in what the tv news are showing them.
Whatever is our reach, and whatever platform we may use, either a website, our social media, or even just a casual conversation with someone, it is our duty to dispel misconceptions and advocate for our shared humanity.
This will not save the thousands of people that are dying in Gaza, but for sure we can, and we must, contribute to a better society that in the future won’t stay silent and blind during times of injustice.
English 
Italiano