I had dinner the other night with a professor of political science. She talked about her current research on how war causes movement of populations. Some may lose everything, or be exiled, or become refugees. Transition of power from one ruling class to another can turn people’s lives upside down.

This led me to think about why my ancestors left their homelands. Some were missionaries who settled in the countries they sought to convert. Some were military officials who took foreign assignments. Some were displaced off their land when power shifted from colonial rule to local government.

Why did your people leave their land of origin? When?