Usually when you pack your backpack or suitcase, you are going on a trip, maybe to an exciting foreign country. But have you ever had to pack up all of your belongings, say goodbye to friends, and leave a place that has been your home to move to a different state or country?
About sixty thousand years ago, a small group of people in what is today the African country of Ethiopia packed their belongings and left their region for good. They were the first “modern” migrants ever, and they are the ancestors of all humans that are now living in every part of the world. Scientists believe that those early humans migrated because a change in climate made finding food and water difficult.
Today, many people move around the world in search of a better life. Many flee from conflicts and wars in their regions or from environmental conditions such as droughts or floods, others move because they can’t find work to earn money, and a lucky few move because they enjoy living and working in a different country.
The vast global migration of people is reinforced by the way the world is connected. Because of the Internet, people learn about foreign countries and they can get in touch with each other. The global economy allows those with money to transfer it to other countries. Airplanes and ships enable us to travel to every destination in the world in only a few hours or days.
Being connected to the world allows humans to share their progress in science and medicine, broadcast breaking news from faraway places, experience art and culture, and make friends they’ve never met in person.
Connectedness also means that things people do somewhere in the world, like in China or Africa or France, affect all of us, no matter where in the world we live. Think about protecting the rainforest, fighting diseases, the food people eat, or how they get along with other people in their country.
Belonging to a world community, and being a global citizen, brings awesome opportunities but also great responsibilities. Think about both, and how connectedness affects your own life.
Where is it from?
Look around your house and find out where your clothes, toys, even your food was produced.
This article and its images were first published on www.WhyzzExplorer.com, a website that helps parents to explain the world to kids, to inspire them to make a difference and to raise true global citizens.
