I just got my library card and, as a new Plymouth resident, immediately checked out books on Plymouth history. Reading them, I suddenly wondered: Couldn’t we call the people at our borders seeking entry “pilgrims” instead of “immigrants”? I looked up the meaning of “pilgrim” and it seemed to mean someone on a journey to a sacred site.
So, I answered myself, no.
But this morning, I woke up thinking: Yes! Many immigrants are on a journey to the sacred site that America has become for them. A place of refuge from persecution and violence; a place of safety where they can build a life of dignity in freedom.
Some portray immigrants as hordes of no-good criminals and rapists bent on flooding into our land and taking away from us what is ours.
I think that ”pilgrims on a sacred journey” is a truer way to visualize them.
By the way, the Plymouth library is a huge treasure.
Gena Corea