I Am Human. Are You?

After 1,635 days, we finally got documents – Maltese residence cards – that allow us to be together

I met Leah, my partner, on August 18th 2012. During our time ‘together’ we have been forced to be apart for multiple consecutive months on multiple occasions due to the pieces of paper that we were issued at birth. Being born on separate parts of this planet was something we could not help – it is something that no one can help. After 1,635 days of being together, we were granted residence visas to remain in Malta for five years. At long last, we are allowed – by the authorities – to be together.

As a human being, I believe in the rights of every human being. I believe that each individual should be allowed to live where they want and to be with whomever they wish to be with. Skin colour, passports, sexuality, gender, religion, money, beliefs, and ethnicity should never divide us because we are one species and it is only when we work together that we can make the world better for the people who live in it.

At this moment in time, we are in the aftermath of two great debates and I am on the losing side of both: Brexit and Trump.

BREXIT

It is possible that Brexit will make the UK stronger, financially (although it might not), but even if it does, I fundamentally disagree with it on the basis that it would make things better only for people with UK passports. What about everybody else? What did the people with UK passports do to deserve their passport? For most of them, nothing. Most people born in the UK would probably struggle to pass the UK citizenship test, and even if they could pass it, that doesn’t make them better, more valuable people than anyone else.

[Additionally, on a personal note, we have obtained residency in Malta on the basis of me being a UK citizen (an EU member currently) and Leah being my partner. When the UK leaves the EU, I have no idea what will happen.]

TRUMP

Trump is all about making America great again. I have no idea whether he will succeed in that regard, but early indications suggest that his policies (as well as everything he has done through life) are not beneficial to everyone. And once again I could never support someone who was so focused on their own country. What about all the other human beings on this planet? I appreciate that we cannot help everyone, but we must do the best that we can to make the world as amicable as possible for the people that live in it. If we don’t, we devolve as a species, splitting into tribes that fight and hinder each other’s development. That seems a sad, sad world to me.

I AM HUMAN. ARE YOU?

I have hitchhiked through tens of countries in the world and I have been shown nothing but kindness from the people I have met. Strangers with no common tongue, different religions (I do not adhere to any religion), different skin tones, wildly ranging beliefs, and any other divisive characteristics have given me rides, taken me into their homes, and instilled in me, beyond all doubt, that every human being on this planet is a human being with a story to tell and that they are worth something. It is hard to see this when you watch the news, but if you go into the world and meet the ‘bad people’ they tell you about, you will find out that many of them are no different from you. They have hopes and dreams, they bleed and breath, and it is invisible walls (plus a few brick ones) that separate us.

We are all human beings on this planet and sometimes we need to take a step back to realise this.

FULL VIDEO TEXT

1,625 Days
18th August 2012: I met this girl
But there is a problem with us
Do you see it?
How about now?
We were born 3,748 miles apart
I am human
She is human
We are human
We have been apart for months at a time due to the pieces of paper we were issued at birth
But we always find our way back
After 1,635 days this happened…
“This is a super, super special piece of paper because what it means is that we now have these and we are real people allowed to live in the same country for the first time in five years.” “Residence card of a family member of a European Union citizen.”
Thank you, Malta, for welcoming us
For treating us as humans
“I might have just seen The Pope. I’m trying to find out if that was The Pope.”
We are luckier than most
I believe in a world where skin colour, passports, sexuality, gender, religion, money, beliefs, and ethnicity – or anything else that can be used to divide us – do not matter
I believe in a world where all human beings are treated as human beings
I am human. Are you? Aren’t we all?
Great Big Scary World #resist #noborders #iamhumanareyou Music By Mattia Cupelli