Migration: Paul Salopek's Out of Eden Walk

December 18 is International Migrants Day.

Migrations have frequently occurred in the recent history of mankind, almost everywhere around the world. Now, since the world is becoming smaller and smaller, the migration routes are becoming big highways: today more than 200 million people are migrants, according to the data of the United Nations.

Yet, migration is far from being considered a normal phenomenon, especially when it comes to seeing foreigners arrive in our own country. Immigration and emigration have changed the history of many European countries, with some dramatic cases standing out: around half of the Albanians live away from their countries of origin (Albania and Kosovo).

Millions of Europeans left in search of a better life in North and South America, and it's been only after World War II that Europe has started receiving a considerable amount of immigrants.

But... Where did it all begin? Africa, Rift Valley. After wandering around the Continent for a while, our common ancestors decided to walk around the globe and set foot on most of the lands of this planet.

Now, in 2013, the journalist Paul Salopek (read biography here) has decided to walk on the pathways of the humans who first colonized the world: he started an awesome, mind-blowing 7-year journey by foot, beautifully documented in his project called Out of Eden Walk.

Give a look to the website and to the related contents: simply amazing!

http://www.outofedenwalk.com/

(also on Facebook, Twitter, National Geographic, NY Times article...)

"The guiding star of the walk’s storyline isn’t me. It’s the journey itself, the swarm of ideas and people encountered along the road. The opportunities to link the ambulatory journalism to education are nearly limitless." (Paul Salopek)

Out of Eden Walk Trailer from Out of Eden Walk on Vimeo.