Vencedores: Língua Estrangeira - Escalão A - 1.º Prémio

We are human 

Inside a town, isolated from the busy cities, where at night the streets were never quiet, homes were never dull, and the people were always happy.

Late one night, past the time of children’s bedtimes, the streets were humming with voices of different accents, different coloured lights and patterns were raised high in the sky, illuminating the town, which could be seen from miles away. Music from distant lands and food carts stood proudly at each end of the street. The laughter and happiness of each person saturated the air. This was the festival to be at - a celebration of every culture, a festival of belonging. 

Flags of different colours and shapes, representing each of the lands and the homes that people loved dearly, the smell of the different spices and flavours that roamed the streets of this small town where I stood, admiring the beauty of each and every aspect. From what I could see, this place was filled with all kinds of emotions, love being the strongest.

The children ran up and down the streets playing various games they knew, teaching others how to play the games they had grown up with, and learning languages they had never heard of. Nearby, just in front of a run-down salon was a small boy, around 7 or 8 years old. He had a Messi shirt on, and the flag of Argentina painted on his soft, rosy cheeks. The boy was explaining how to play one of his favourite games to another boy, slightly older, with wavy brown hair. I didn't know where he was from, only that he didn’t speak Spanish, not that it mattered to them; all they wanted was to have fun, without a care in the world. 

As I continued down the brightly lit streets, I noticed an elderly man from Syria was teaching a young woman from Italy how to cook one of his favourite dishes from his country, a recipe that had been passed down for generations. Another woman from Spain was teaching a Brazilian woman how to dance the salsa as they both laughed at each other's struggles to learn the steps. Nearby, a teenager was spray painting something on a wall, and as everyone gathered closer to get a better look, so did I, and I saw that he had painted the words “Together we are one.” 

This festival is so much more than just an acknowledgment of differences, it is a celebration of them. No matter how different, it is so much more than any law, rule or a documentation, it is love, plain love. We have many differences, that much is true, but nonetheless, we all have one thing in common: we are all humans. Humans with a heart and soul. Kindness should be shown everywhere no matter how different, no matter what colour their skin is, no matter what beliefs they have, or whom they love.

We are all a part of one, beautiful, ever-loving family.