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WALLS, BARRIERS and FENCES


CONTENTS :

CARTOONS OPINIONS
CAUSES SONG
CINEMA VIDEOS
EXAMPLES VOCABULARY
GATED COMMUNITIES  

(updated on 11/05/2016)

 


RELATED PAGES

Immigration: The Mexico US-Border

Street art

 

 

VOCABULARY:

 

 

EXAMPLES:

 

  • UK road trip: the Anglo-Scottish border - with photos and a map
    "There’s so much dramatic scenery and history on this week-long itinerary that crisscrosses between Scotland and England several times,
    taking in castles, beaches and wildlife."
    (theguardian.com)



  • Trump-style border wall between Ecuador and Peru causes fierce dispute - 20 June 2017
    "A mile-long wall Ecuador is building on one side of the busiest crossing point on the two countries’ border is the source of a growing diplomatic row."
    (theguardian.com)


    "Construction of a wall along the border
    between Peru and Ecuador.
    The governor of the Tumbes region on Peru’s side said
    the wall is ‘dividing two cultures’."

    "Ecuadorean workers build a wall
    along the border between Peru and Ecuador
    in Aguas Verdes, Peru on 8 June 2017."

 

  • Norway erects Russian border fence - VIDEO - 6 October 2016
    "Norway is erecting a controversial steel fence along its border post with Russia following a surge in migrant arrivals last year."
    (BBC)
  • At the US-Mexico Border, Many Depend on Trade - Text + Audio - 31 July 2016
    "Much has been said about border security during the U.S. presidential election campaign.
    However, some people along the Mexican border say the economy in some areas depends on cross-border trade."
    (learningenglish.voanews.com)
  • Hide and seek on the US-Mexico line - 20 July 2016
    "BBC Autos' Jim Benning spends a day with US Customs and Border Protection agents at the world's busiest border crossing,
    California’s San Ysidro Port of Entry.
    Robert Hood of US Customs and Border Protection stood on the US-Mexico border facing 25 lanes of idling cars that were waiting to enter the United States. Any one of the drivers, he knew well, could be smuggling cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine or undocumented migrants."
    + What's been confiscated at the border?
    (BBC)

  • 'At least 35,000' Venezuelans cross border to Colombia to buy food and medicine - 17 July 2016
    "Similar border opening last week led to dramatic scenes of the elderly and mothers storming Colombian supermarkets."
    (theguardian.com)

  • Le monde se referme : la carte des murs aux frontières
    "Mur à la frontière mexicaine au coeur des débats de la présidentielle américaine, multiplication des barrières anti-migrants en Europe...
    Les murs, barrières ou clôtures pullulent depuis quelques années : cartographie de la fortification des frontières, et analyse d'un monde de plus en plus fermé.
    65 murs construits et planifiés, soit 40.000 km de long, ou la circonférence de la Terre...
    Elisabeth Vallet identifie quatre principaux problèmes, paradoxes ou apories, causés par les murs..."
    (franceculture.fr)

    2 interactive maps:


  • What History Teaches Us About Walls - with PICTURES - 27 May 2016
    "Donald Trump may want to take note: World history is full of examples of engineering thwarted by goal-oriented rank amateurs."
    (nytimes.com)

 

  • Barriers - Readers' photographs on the theme of "barriers"
    (BBC)


    "A picture taken by D'Arcy Vachon of a guard dog outside Mexico City."

 

  • To dissuade migrants, Hungary erects its Balkan fence - 13 July 2015
    "Hungary has begun building a fence on the country's border with Serbia to keep migrants out. Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing government is staunchly opposed to most immigration from outside Europe. "
    (dw.com)

 

  • Here is a selection of some of the walls and border fences worldwide.

    • India and Pakistan
      "In 2003, partially as a response to the threat of militants infiltrating in from Pakistan, India started to build a fenced border with Pakistan after reaching a cease-fire agreement."

    • Georgia and South Ossetia
      "One year ago, Russian troops reportedly started to build a wire fence between Georgia and South Ossetia..."

    • Gaza Strip and Israel
      "The 40-mile-long border between the Gaza Strip and Israel is protected by Israeli guards and a barrier erected in 1994."

    • Egypt and Gaza Strip
      "Israel later built a barrier of metal, concrete as well as barbed wire...
      To stop smugglers from using tunnels, the Egyptian government started to build an underground metal wall in 2009 — a project condemned as a 'wall of shame' by many Arab commentators..."

    • Israel and West Bank
      "Twelve years ago, Israel started to build a 420-mile-long wall that separates the country from the West Bank. It is five to eight meters tall and varies in form..."

    • U.S. and Mexico
      "In 2006, construction started on a border fence separating the United States and Mexico after violence, drug-related crimes as well as illegal immigration surged..."
      See Immigration: The Mexico US-Border

    • North Korea and South Korea
      "To protect the zones and to prevent citizens from crossing the border, a barbed-wire fence was set up... "

    • India and Bangladesh
      "In 1986, the Indian Parliament approved the construction of a border fence to supposedly prevent illegal immigrants from entering — construction began in 1993..."

    • European Union
      "The European Union has erected several fences that are supposed to prevent Middle Eastern and North African refugees from reaching a member state of the union..."

    • Spain and Morocco
      "One fence that separates E.U. land from other countries is in North Africa..."

    • Cyprus
      "Cyprus, located south of Turkey, is separated by a U.N. buffer zone established in 1974 and a wall..."

    • Ireland
      "In Northern Ireland's Belfast, "peace walls" still separate Catholic and Protestant communities..."

    • Morocco and Western Sahara
      "Western Sahara — a disputed territory in North Africa — is sealed from Morocco by a sand wall . It was built in 1987 to stop attacks from separatist troops in Western Sahara..."

    • Baghdad
      "In 2007, the U.S. government pursued the idea of building a wall within Baghdad to separate neighborhoods that are predominantly Sunni or Shiite. .."

  • "There are even more walls and barriers.
    The border between Botswana and Zimbabwe is separated by an electrified fence.
    Malaysia and Thailand are separated by a wall, as are Saudi Arabia and Iraq, Iran and Iraq, and Kuwait and Iraq."
  • Walls, fences and international borders (pdf)
    "This article deals with fences and walls built along international boundaries, especially by rich countries which try to prevent illegal entering. The article will present different types of fences, built for different needs. Case studies from all over the world will be presented in order to show that as long as there are so many differences between countries, people will try to cross the line and those who try to halt it, will continue to build fences along their boundaries. Key words: international boundaries, illegal immigration, terrorist activities, walls and smuggling"
    (sgph.geo.uni.lodz.pl)
  • Conflicts around Gated Communities - 2011 (pdf)
    "Due to the nature of gated communities, conflicts are likely to arise not only with those living in the surrounding areas, but also among those living inside the development itself..."
    (enhr2011.com)



CAUSES:

 

  • Why are we building new walls to divide us?
    "Using satellite imagery, users' pictures, video and first-hand testimony, Guardian reporters across the world chart the new walls being built to divide people from their neighbours."
    Our walled world
    (theguardian.com)
  • Why Build a Border Wall?
    "We live a world of borders and walls. Invariably, the barriers are justified in the language of security—the country must be protected from the terrorists, drug cartels, insurgents, or suicide bombers lurking on the other side. Despite the external focus of these justifications, in most instances these walls and fences are actually the result of the internal politics of the state that builds them."
    (nacla.org)

 

OPINIONS:

 

  • The global philosopher: Should borders be abolished? - Article + Photos + Videos - 22 March 2016
    "There are tens of millions of people in the world who have fled their homeland because of war or persecution.
    But there are millions more who cross borders to be with family, to retire to a warm climate, or to earn more money.
    Countries have the right to restrict immigration, at least in theory. The question is whether they should have this right."
    (BBC)

  • India man's journey to challenge borders - 25 October 2015
    "Theatre actor-director Mohammad Akram Feroze recently set off on foot to travel along India's 10,000km-long border, stopping to perform plays at villages with - and for - their inhabitants.
    Mr Feroze, who does not believe in borders, carries a world passport - as part of a global movement established under Article 13(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which says "everyone has the right to leave any country,
    including his own, and to return to his country"."
    (BBC)

  • Living in: The world's greatest walled cities
    "What’s it like to have a towering piece of history surrounding your backyard? We asked residents of five fortified towns across the globe."
    (BBC)


    "Dome of the Rock and the Western Wall in Jerusalem's old city."

 

  • He says again, “Good fences make good neighbors.” (Robert Frost, “Mending wall”, last line)

 

SONG:

 

 

 

VIDEOS:

 

 

  • Trump is not alone — animated map shows 6 border walls being built around the world
    "One of Donald Trump's most controversial campaign promises is to build a wall on the border between the United States and Mexico
    in an attempt to control illegal immigration.
    Trump's idea has been nothing short of divisive among American voters, but the idea of erecting walls and fences to prevent people from illegally entering a country is nothing new. In fact, new border walls are being built all over the world today, and more are in the planning stages.
    Here's a list of just a few of the border barriers that are either being built or are under preparations to be built in the near future:
    Norway and Russia, Kenya and Somalia, Hungary and Serbia, Ukraine and Russia, Israel and Gaza, and Thailand and Malaysia."
    (YouTube)

 

 

  • Migrant crisis: Countries build fences around the world - VIDEO - 21 September 2015
    As migrants try to find alternative routes into Europe, governments are looking at how to seal their country's borders more effectively.
    Fences and walls have been erected at key crossing points around the world.
    In the US, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is calling for a "wall" to be built along the entire southern border with Mexico.
    The BBC looked at where the fences are designed to keep out undocumented immigrants."
    (BBC)
  • New great walls and the new middle age | Sergey Medvedev | TEDxBergen
    "This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences. Sergei’s talk discloses the global role and fundamental interconnectedness between country borders and cultural borders in the modern society. He is answering a big question about why do social, economic and political “walls” exist and how do they evolve over time..."
    (YouTube)

 

  • Borders Between These Countries Really Say a Lot - HD 2014 HD
    "Borders Between These Countries Really Say a Lot About International Politics.
    If you want to learn about the relationship between two bordering countries, look no further than their physical boundaries. Some of them are natural wonders. Some are unwelcoming walls. Others are polite lines drawn in the ground that seem to simply request you not cross over without making your presence known to government officials.
    Aside from to revealing a lot about what two neighboring nations think about each other, these borders are also just cool to look at. Many are beautiful; others are super complicated. Take a look."
    (YouTube)

 

 

 

CARTOONS:

 


 

 

 

CINEMA:

 

 

 

Fall of the Berlin Wall 1989