A Caravan.

Caravans fascinte me. That's probably why I love old Westerns, where you see the pioneers of America journeying to and exploring new frontiers.

Caravans of the Wild West were a travelling population. Families, individuals, beasts and animals, possessions and lives transported and transformed.

In the pioneering days of the Americas, people moved from place to place to find their own land to cultivate and settle on permanently. It is much like today's immigrants - leaving their places of birth, travelling thousands of miles, to seek employment, and residence in alien surroundings.

In movies, you'd see carriages drawn by horses led by a bunch of cowboys or horsemen, traversing desert, mountains, rivers, snow, sun, storm and hiding from unseen and unforeseen enemies - usually depicted as the Native Americans.

The cowboy - the leading man (Gary Cooper, John Wayne, etc)- guides the caravan and his Lady to safety and to their final destination - where they'd marry and settle down permanently.

The beasts of the caravan, the horse and the cattle, deserve as much credit as the pioneers for America's leap into expansion and progress. Without them, the pioneers could not have reached the farthest and the most unreachable terrain.

In the Philippines, the nearest thing(s) to a caravan that I've seen are those travelling traders composed of several carriages or wagons drawn by cattles - laden with cottage products. There'd be furniture made of bamboo, craft such as handwoven baskets, bags, hats, kapok or rattan beds, bangkitos (miniature chairs or footstools), armoire, and cabinets.

I believe these caravan(s) were headed to Metro Manila to deliver and/or peddle their wares. The traders would stop to feed the animal and themselves, to sell at a town plaza, or to take rest and then continue with their journey the next day. I imagine this travel was not an easy one. It was not for pleasure; it was to earn a living.

The caravan - a dusty scene from an old western movie and a memory from a small town in the Philippines. But today's caravan that I see is the throng of refugees escaping from areas of violence; or those from civilized nations escaping the wrath of poverty or persecution.

Enshrined in Article 14 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights is the right "to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution." This principle recognizes that victims of human rights abuse must be able to leave their country freely and to seek refuge elsewhere. Governments frequently see refugees as a threat or a burden, refusing to respect this core principle of human rights and refugee protection.

Or it could be decent men and women just following the call of their minds or hearts.

Some getting into places where their profession and expertise are needed.

While others are individuals who are seeking to reunite or forge fresh union with their loved ones.

Caravan fascinates me. It depicts a dream; a dream of hope and love.

In my own caravan - my personal journey - I continue to hope.