A couple million years ago, the Congo river formed and divided its valley into north and south. Two tribes of chimpanzees could see each other across the river, but never again meet, as they couldn’t cross it. As years passed, the two tribes have become more and more different. The ones on the south side made females their leaders, while the ones on the north side were ruled by males. The ones on the south side were peaceful, while the ones on the north side fought for territory using force. The ones on the south side have dark faces with pink lips and are slightly smaller, so we call them pygmy chimpanzees or bonobos. They are an endangered species, much rarer than the common chimpanzees from the north side tribe. But that’s another story.

We, humans, can swim across rivers and even cross oceans, but we create our own, invisible borders. Lines on a map, which we all agree to see. We divide into tribes and nationalities and, as time passes, the differences grow larger. The languages we speak, the colors of our skin, the way we pray. These are just river banks, on which we stand, looking at each other. We can’t deny that we are different. It’s normal that sometimes our values or lifestyles don’t match. Often each group feels superior to the other. Better than the other group. But in the end, we are all equally clueless, we have the same needs, make the same mistakes. Maybe we are not so different? Perhaps to the chimps, we all look the same? Happy year of the Monkey!