Quote Originally Posted by Ray View Post
One has to be a national of a country to realise their predicament.

Mere presence, having an 'escape route' does not give the real apprehension of the sons of the soil.

...

Living in a land that is not yours, helps in understanding the people of the land, but it does not mean one had ingrained oneself in the psyche and mindset of all sections of the people in that land!
Ray you are absolutely correct. In addition a knowledge of the languages and actually living amongst the people is essential.

Even then (as in parts of Africa) even speaking the local language but living in a separate community limits ones intimate knowledge of what the local people are thinking (which is quite often diverse anyway) and why (this is often the important aspect).