Alice

“Migration has been a constant, ‘indigenous’ is relative. Ten thousand years of human displacement have shrunk the genetic distance between populations to the point where ethnic divisions are losing meaning. The desire to belong is as strong as ever, and as it becomes harder to see the difference between ‘them’ and ‘us’, linguistic and cultural boundaries are being guarded more jealously. Language is becoming a battleground in the identity wars, and preserving our linguistic ‘purity’ a justification used by those who want to raise walls.”
― Laura Spinney, Proto: How One Accident Language Went Global | Laura Spinney

“For every displaced person understands that uncertainty is not tangential to human existence but the very essence of it.”
― Elif Shafak, There Are Rivers in the Sky

“Cousins, friends, books, songs, poems, trees…anything that brings meaning into our lives counts.”
― Elif Shafak, There Are Rivers in the Sky

“Still, humans were humans. They wanted you to know their opinions about your body, even if you hadn’t asked.”
― Annalee Newitz, Automatic Noodle