Definition of

Uprooting

UprootingThe process and result of uprooting is called uprooting : extracting a plant from the roots ; expel or remove someone from their place of origin; cancel or suppress a custom. The notion is usually used with respect to what someone who must emigrate from their land feels like .

For example: “The writer was awarded for his novel about uprooting,” “In this country I have been able to progress economically, but I have always suffered from uprooting,” “Meeting with my compatriots helps me combat uprooting.”

When a person distances themselves from their family, social and cultural roots, they begin to experience estrangement that affects their identity . This loss is uprooting, which has consequences on the socialization and psychology of the individual.

Generally, uprooting occurs when the subject is forced to leave their home. Poverty , a natural disaster , political persecution , war or genocide are reasons that can force someone to emigrate. Upon settling in the new place, it is likely that the person longs for their land and experiences uprooting as they find themselves immersed in new social practices.

Distress, anxiety, fear, frustration y loneliness son algunas de las sensaciones vinculadas al desarraigo, que puede derivar en depression, alcoholism y otros trastornos. En ocasiones, el desarraigo también se vincula a la discrimination que muchas veces padecen los inmigrantes.

Today, technology can help minimize uprooting by facilitating communications. On the other hand, it is common for members of a community abroad to meet in clubs and civil associations to keep their customs alive and not be uprooted.

Of course, uprooting can also be understood in a much deeper way and far from the material, as that feeling of having lost something very important, a part of our being, and not simply the physical closeness with our loved ones or the possibility of maintain our cultural customs. One of the meanings provided by the RAE dictionary for the verb uproot says that it involves "the severing of emotional ties with the people who were part of our upbringing."

UprootingIn other words, uprooting does not involve a trip to a foreign country, or it can begin long before leaving one's own country. When an individual discovers that his parents are not fair people, or that they have not raised him with love but rather have subjected him to neglect, among other evils, he probably feels that someone is suddenly pulling out his roots, that his emotional ties are cut. and that ceases to belong to the known world , to remain suspended in uncertainty.

While the purely material uprooting, which occurs when it is impossible to consume our favorite dishes abroad, we can try to overcome by buying the products in imported stores, there is no way to repair the emotional one , especially if it arises for reasons similar to those explained above. in the previous paragraph.

With respect to customs and tastes , which often include sports activities, uprooting is not so heavy, since it is always possible to find people willing to learn new things to adapt to foreigners, or to others who come from the same country and want to keep their roots alive. But there are also those who do not want to look back, and that is why they accept uprooting and make it a lifestyle , so to speak.

Making an analogy with botany, sometimes it is convenient for a plant to remove it from a sick or poorly nutritious soil and take it to one more conducive to its development . She may find it difficult to adjust at first, but in time she may grow more beautiful and radiant than she ever could in her homeland.