Ukraine continues to dominate the news. Five million have been forced into exile to an existence torn from the wealth of family and friends, even familiar and loved geography. The impermanence of exile is their fate for the near future; it will surely take a while before they can be settled once more … perhaps even a generation.
There have always been those seeking refuge. The difference in modern times is a matter of scale. Five million now, similar numbers from Afghanistan in the 1980s. Millions more during and after partition in India, quite aside from the killings. The Rohingya refugees this century (whose misery continues), the Rwandan genocide in the 1980s, and before that also in Africa the horror of the Congo during a civil war involving the US and the then Soviet Union as supporters of proxies.
Migration in the U.S. takes a different form. Much is tied to school calendars. For example, apartment leases in Boston, a college town, begin the first of September. While students may be relatively light on their feet in terms of baggage, families report a move as one of the most stressful of life events — three moves equals a fire, some say.
For those forced to leave home and seek refuge elsewhere, the true refugee, the trauma remains long after the event. And then abandonment of the familiar and the venture into the new requires assurance. ‘Never take an old broom into a new home’ for death will follow is an Appalachian superstition. Perhaps dirty brooms transported bacteria.
A ritual from 1063 during the Heian-era in Japan: elites who could afford them undertook elaborate shintuku ishi rituals to appease the gods (Lapham’s Quarterly, April/May 2022). One such stipulated that the first to enter the new house must be two young girls followed by a yellow ox!
Are things different now? Not for some. A comment on a Reddit witchcraft forum in 2019 regarding burning sage in a new house advises, “I encourage you to make sure you actually pick up a negative vibe because otherwise you might be clearing out positive energy.”
Talking about positive energy just think of the birds in our backyards. How many thousands of miles have the busy robins and blackbirds traveled? With the avian flu threatening this year, those feeders and water bowls need regular cleaning (one part bleach, nine parts water) so the bug does not spread.
We had a cardinal returning for six years — a distinctive twist to the left for his beak made him easily recognizable. He had fallen out of his nest, poor fellow and we brought him up. It was a sad year when he failed to return but it is nice to think that those visiting now could well include his grandchildren.
The birds are fewer this year, a lot fewer. Let’s hope they survive the flu. Sadly, the blue jays and crows, always fighting in the past, did not when something similar struck a few years ago. It has always been a difficult world to navigate … for most of us.