Thanks for sharing that story.
I loved this part. It reminded me of what I saw in my classroom before I retired 13 years ago.
Soller (population 13,000), on the island of Mallorca, Spain, where I am visiting and once lived, was one of the most insular places on Earth until recently. Twenty years ago when I first arrived the town was shaken by the arrival of refugee immigrants from Africa, mostly “white” Muslims from Morroco and “black” Christians from Nigeria and Ghana. The town had a few problems adjusting but managed without riots and freakouts.
Five years later, while I was enjoying springtime sunshine on the steps of the church before a service, I heard a woman grumbling about her granddaughter marrying a young African. Her friend responded (my translation of what was the mishmash of Catala and Spanish often used in Soller), “Oh, you are so lucky! The Africans are such good fathers and so hardworking, not like my worthless son-in-laws…”
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