How Long to Belong?

last year i wrote about the theme of migration in the Bible (Wandering Judaeo-Christians, 4/3/21) People are always being either commanded to get up and go, or, alternatively, being threatened with exile.

Of course, in the loooong prologue to this fateful morning when Russia has invaded Ukraine, we hearda lot about ”Russification”, the Soviet practice of moving populations out of areas they had annexed , and moving Russians in. We hear now, of course, that was done in the Eastern provinces of Ukraine, which is why they were celebrating when Putin recognized them as ”independent”. So what would appear to be a victory for ”the will of the people” is i reality just a triumph of..colonialism? ( Funny how its not called that when the Russians do it; inthink probably because we want to believe, and it may even be true, that those relocated Russians had no more control over their destinies than did the “native” populations transported elsewhere. )

Okay but heres my question: once such relocations are a fait accompli,

How long before the emigrés, now immigrés in their new location, are to be regarded as “native”:or ”indigenous”?

In the case of Israel, of course, the answer is a wild-eyed ”NEVER! NEVER!!!, usually delivered with projectiles. but leave that aside: it’ a special case 🙄

But people have been moving around on the globe ever since there have been people. Originally, we had the sense to get outta Africa, f’rinstance. Fast forward to the great and unexplained migrations of the Goths—why did they suddenly start rolling?

And what about us? Why am I not a ”Native American” i whose family has been here since my great great grandsire strode off the boat.

How long does it take to belong?