It’s gathering pace, the clips from various countries showing people being ‘moved into place’ as the talk on the street goes. Chinese in Panama crossing borders at night, millions crossing the Southern border, hordes of ‘fighting aged men’ arriving on Britain’s shores on a daily basis, Europe being ‘flooded’ with people. All sounds rather hectic and a bit concerning for those who have been used to stability for a long time. And for those who have witnessed regime collapses and changes and came from places already destabilised, well, it’s not looking good from where they sit either.

There is much speculation of where it is going, and from a British perspective I have written two pieces already on what is occurring as the ‘new arrivals’ are being given a red carpet, and almost worshipped over the local populations. Hotel California, or Hotel Strategy? and On the Ground, but it does almost seem as if it has become like one of the Fairy Tales of old. Where the wicked stepmother replaces the child no longer wanted, but isn’t content to just throw them out, they have to mentally destroy them and make them feel worthless first, and then try and kill them or throw them out into the world. Different level of cruelty and sinister behaviours beyond just telling someone to go away, or telling them they are no longer required.

Risk – if you ever played the board game, you’ll possibly know the impossible task of taking Russia on that board, and although it’s just a game and all about strategy (sounds like how we play the real game of war doesn’t it?), it wouldn’t matter how many soldiers you had, or what approach you used. It was always a losing situation. Who started with Russia, ended with Russia. And it wasn’t just me found this, many did. But if you have any interest in strategy and of the ‘chess game’ that is in play, then you will know that something definitely isn’t quite right. A bunch of charlatans in suits are bleeding countries dry, setting them up for violence, hardship and continued confusion. Many are in the stages of acceptance of that, but for others they accepted that was happening long ago, and have been giving more thought to the why, and the ultimate purpose of it. Mercenaries don’t look like they used to, but that doesn’t mean you can’t recognise them.

And it comes to be that whoever pays the most, usually wins, because they grease the wheels of war and violence, encouraging the worst of human nature. The deck comes stacked, the dice are loaded and the game is rigged, from day one. So, you can’t approach it in the same way you might with what appears to be a ‘normal’ set up and engagement. Using reasoning and logic as you might, won’t serve you as well with ones who are beyond those capabilities at the same level. They have unlimited resources on paper, and make whatever deals are necessary to win, although honouring those deals isn’t high on the list usually. It seems these days a greedy, money-driven agenda has been pushed for an age or two, to make people easy to buy, and weak to temptation. It would be nice to think that the times of Robin Hood were real, because while we have the crown and sheriffs stamping their authority on people, and taxing the very life and soul out of them, we need a revolution as they apparently had in those days. Now, that story still isn’t all it seems, because while they revolted, they still fought for the crown, with purpose.

And that is where greed has taken something else from people too, a sense of purpose. Real purpose. A sense of knowing, belonging and something to fight for is necessary. And that perhaps is the extra concern with what appears to be an army of mercenaries being moved into position, that there is something else behind it all, more than money. People can feel it and they are trying to put their finger on it, and articulate it, despite the ‘offended’ parties hiding behind various ism’s to try and dispel any worry. Trust what we say, not what you see they will tell you. But some people trust what they know, and that is where it seems that there is in fact another army waiting, like the souls dwelling in the mountain in The Return of the King film. As if it slowly is Rising from the deep, connected and bound by their fate and knowing, understanding there will come a time. So, although it may seem that the winner is ‘He who has an army’, I can’t help thinking that is wrong, and it will be ‘He who is an army’, will end up being more important…

(c) K Wicks