Every so often it is good to take a step back and observe what is happening around us from a higher perspective.  From here, we can see not only what is in our immediate view but also behind obstacles and out into the distance.

What we see today is more like water flowing through valleys, making its way inward and changing the whole landscape in ways we never imagined before.  Water is coming down from melting glaciers, from rising water, from heavy rains and floods.  Or that is how it feels.  The water is eradicating borders and boundaries.  The flood levels overcome boundaries without difficulty and pour water over any walls and into people’s homes, causing them to leave and seek higher ground.

But that it is the actual physical change on the ground.  Besides such disturbance, we find this elimination of boundaries taking place with rapid frequency in several spheres and places in the world. 

On land, disease knows no borders as it spreads from one country to another with impunity.  Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria have all seen cases of Ebola and the WHO is raising the alarm and trying to get the world’s attention on how deadly serious this epidemic is and how it may soon spread to other continents.

Recently we also followed the case of Aysha King, the child from the UK taken by his parents to seek a different treatment for his cancer in Prague.  The parents were arrested in Spain with an international warrant and held in jail only to be released by a court order from the UK and allowed to travel to Prague.  The confines of the hospital were not enough for the parents who were quickly able to research their boy’s condition on the internet and learn about alternative therapies which they eventually chose for him.  Unfortunately, it appears that somewhere along the lines the narrative of their taking him from hospital was misconstrued – perhaps by good intention – resulting in an international search for them but the fact of the matter is that people will move and cross countries today because we are not limited to one place and have access to information like never before.

Maybe they are talented footballers, offered a lucrative contract in another country, or nurses who are needed to work in hospitals and care homes.  So, economically too we expect to see movement of people due to globalization of the job market.  Money flows from one country to another in seconds with digital ease.  As does information.

The EU offered the Schengen Agreement and one market for jobs.  Still, though, there was an order to the agreement and a boundary still existed, even if it appeared fictitious the more time passed.

But more and more rapidly the boundaries around us are falling.  Even moral boundaries have fallen as more and more events take place which transcend the boundaries we knew or upheld, such as protecting children or deciding on life and death. 

Countries spy on one another and on their own people.  Information about our personal life gets transmitted across the world and a quiet moderate boy or girl from a town in the UK or Italy leaves home to fight in Syria.    Drones reach all corners of conflict and war torn deserts and an operation conducted from America can cause a convoy to be destroyed in Iraq.

People flee. They look for safety, for water, for food, medicine and shelter.  They look to protect their life and especially that of their family and children.  They cross borders and move from home to camp to boat to new shores. 

Everywhere the boundaries as we knew them are changing.  The Ukraine and Russia and the grand Caliphate across the countries of the Middle East are the most urgent and serious cases but also Libya, Tibet and China, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

In Malta we always vaunted out position in the centre of the Mediterranean sea, with roots in Europe and the Middle East and proximity to both.  Only this time, I think Malta will very easily serve as a crossroads for people to scramble from one continent to another.  Much like a migrating bird will try to stop for a rest or a drink on its way north.   We are not different and can expect to be part of the experience, even though we are an island and surrounded by water.  

It’s back to basics.  Food, shelter, a job and above all, freedom.  When the caliphate takes over, there will be no-one there except their own fighters. 

Those countries who still uphold democracy and rule of law, together with compassion, dignity and strive to work, will still hold on to life and guiding principles.  And it is from such a place that, once again, people will leave to make a new life somewhere else.  Roots will beckon, knowledge will be put to use again and communities re-established in what was home.  Only this time, we hope the boundaries will serve to protect and enhance growth, prosperity and peace.  The economy will be re-set to provide a fair distribution of goods and jobs.  Dictators will be overthrown and justice will be provided.  Cooperation will be essential but on more of a regional level.

Above all, the value of life cannot be forgotten.  It remains our guiding principle and the basis of any civilization.  No compromise can be made with that. No argument can persuade us otherwise.  Individually and collectively, we are a part of something greater than ourselves and our system and the more awareness we have about it, the better chance we stand in learning the right lessons and creating the strongest opportunity for good & for education for all.