Written by Eleanor Williamson (Border Trip 2024)
On Thursday, April 4th, some of our 2024 Border Trip team got the opportunity to see Message in a Bottle which is a show about one family's immigration experience as told through music from Sting.
The show tells the story of three siblings and their parents as their little village is overtaken by civil war. In order to escape the violence and death they have already experienced, they decide to immigrate out of their country. Along the way, the children lose both their parents and are separated in the detainment camps at the border. The siblings are separated from one another and yet they each continue their lives and find solace and safety on their own - while never forgetting where they came from.
It was an absolutely beautiful piece with such mastery of dance combined with the music of Sting. Most of the group entered the curtain call in tears. I could think of nothing the whole time except the stories we have learned this semester about what migrating into the United States looks like and all the death and suffering people experience to escape the situations in their home countries.
However, as the show drew to a close and each sibling found a place of community and love, I could not help but to think of the Palestinian people, most of whom do not have the opportunity at the moment to migrate out of their situations or claim asylum.
The show spoke to the heartbreaking intricacies of migration, the loss that people endure along the way, and reinforced the fact that migrating away from someone's own country and home is not a choice anyone wants to make. Rather, it is a decision that is made based on quality of life and is made despite knowing they may not make it to their destination.
Overall, I am so thrilled we got to see this show and would absolutely go see it again in a heartbeat!
Comments