"Healthy people are sick – they just don’t realise it": this witticism from Jules Romains' play, "Doctor Knock, or the Triumph of Medicine", can be broadened and extended to fields other than health, in society, the world, in our personal lives...

During these difficult and uncertain times which, not without reason, sometimes lead to pessimistic judgements on the evolution of our humanity, people will often look for culprits: everyone, individually or collectively, will gladly pin the blame on the powerlessness, or even complicity of those who hold power (political, financial, legal, military, religious); the systems or models (political, economic, technical, media, religious) will be held accountable; or people will point to the generalised failure of our so-called civil societies, the absence of frameworks, of so-called traditional values, the traumatic arrival of postmodern technologies… So many factors which undermine and contaminate the world, making it sick.

But, individually and personally, in our family or professional life, or in the institutions of which we are members, in the associations where we get involved, are we the only ones immune to the epidemic, staying healthy and escaping the widespread contagion?

It’s better to just admit the fact that we are all sick, as Dr. Knock said jokingly, and seek treatment. Undoubtedly, the best way to be cured is to realise that we are being contaminated by a widespread epidemic which spares nobody until a correct diagnosis is made.

Similarly for most of the diseases that affect our societies, we could examine ourselves and determine to what degree we are contaminated.

We would then discover that we are not as healthy as we think and that actually, as Dr. Knock said, we are all sick – we just don’t realise it.

In fact, let’s not be afraid, let’s open our doors, because can’t the same thing be said for "migration"?

Jean-Louis