Fences Build Good Neighbors: Wisdom or Rhetoric?

The urge to build fences (walls) comes from fear of being overwhelmed by neighbors, anxiety over perceived loss of control, and the realization that the border situation is broken and in chaos.

The Pros and Cons Arguments

Proponents of the fence build their case on security, border control, enforcement of existing laws, prevention of smugglers and terrorists from sneaking in, and protection of our language and culture. They argue that national security overrides cost factors. People in general are against the dilution of their values, and the erosion of their traditions. There is also resentment against those who jump the legal immigration line to enter thus gaining an advantage over those who quietly wait their turn to enter.

Opponents, on the other hand, build their case on compassion toward those less fortunate who are forced to escape economic and political hardship, and on the cost incurred for building such a long fence.  Some will argue that people will find a way to come in anyway, thus it is futile to build a fence. They blame employers as a major cause for the large number of illegal arrivals, a large unregulated pool of people easy to exploit and keep in check.

There is some truth to both arguments. So, what are we to do?

We have basically three basic options:

1.    Do nothing

2.    Do better

3.    Do less

Doing nothing means continue the current helter-skelter approach used by the Obama administration. This seems to be unacceptable to conservatives and most independents, although it would please no end progressives and activists. The problem with this alternative is that Republicans won the election, and that they will in the final analysis decide.

Do better is what the newly elected administration is claiming to want to do. Build a fence that increases control over the border thus limiting access to those who want to cross the border illegally. They go even further by advocating rounding up and deporting those illegals that have committed felony and other crimes, which make them eligible for expulsion. Many, on both side of the aisle, are against mass deportation.

There are a few on the alt-left, who advocate that we do less. In essence, open up the borders to anyone who wants to come in. Most Americans are vehemently opposed to this policy. Advocates hide behind the feel-good slogan that no person is illegal, only undocumented, and on humanitarian reasons.  They say that as a nation of immigrants, we should not close the door to newcomers.

How Are Others Tackling the Issue?

During my recent trip to Europe, in addition to the British magazine The Economist, I picked up a copy of the Italian weekly Panorama (February 16 Issue). As I read through I came to an article that caught my eye. It was titled Tutti i muri del mondo (All the walls of the world). 

The article started by pointing out that the modern world has a record number of barriers.  The most famous one was built centuries ago by the Chinese to protect their borders from foreign invasion. It was 13.7 miles long, double the earth’s diameter. This issue of border control then is by no means a recent phenomenon.

Currently there are 70 fences separating a country from another. There are seven in particular that are worthwhile mentioning:

·      Mexico- U.S. started in 1994, with only 700 miles completed.

·      Mexico- Guatemala

·      Mexico-Belize

·      Belize-Guatemala

·      Dominican Republic-Haiti

·      Costa Rica-Nicaragua

·      Argentina-Paraguay

I find it curious that Mexico objects to the building of a wall on its northern border while it has built walls on its southern borders.  I also find it interesting that some Latin countries have built fences to stifle unauthorized crossing of their borders.

West and Eastern Europeans have been busy building fences as well. Here is a list of the best known:

·      Ireland-Belfast

·      Calais – paid by Great Britain to keep immigrants away

·      Austria-Slovenia

·      Slovenia-Croatia

·      Hungary-Croatia

·      Hungary-Serbia

·      Hungary-Romania

·      Ukraine- Moldavia

·      Lithuania-Russia

·      Latvia-Russia

·      Estonia-Russia

·      Russia-Norway

·      Ukraine-Russia

·      Greece-Macedonia

·      Greece-Turkey

·      Bulgaria-Turkey

·      Ceuta & Melilla (Spain)-Morocco

·      Greek Cyprus-Turkish Cyprus

·      Russia-Georgia

Other fences can be found in Israel, North Africa, India, South Africa, Angola, Jordan, Iran, Turkey, Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, and North-South Korea. 

There are currently two fences under construction as we speak: one between Austria and Italy, and the other between Argentina and Bolivia.

What is amazing to read is that there are also seven urban fences that divide the rich from the poor:

·      Argentina: Buenos Aires

·      Brazil: San Paulo

·      Peru: Lima

·      Uruguay: Punta del Este

·      Venezuela: Caracas

·      El Salvador: San Salvador

·      Mexico: Mexico City

·       

On a curious note, these fences that try to separate the rich from the poor are all happening in Latin America.

I was blown away by what I read.

No U.S. news outlet has reported these facts to the American public. In fact, much of the U.S. press tries to tell us that what the U.S. is trying to do, not only is inhumane, but  is also somewhat unprecedented.

Lessons Learned?

It has been reported that there are over 200 million people in-transit from continent to continent in search of better economic conditions, and safety from repression, famine, and conflicts.

Countries feel under siege, threatened by economic encroachment, political instability, and population explosion.  In a turbulent world, people and nations search for containment, and retreat inwardly.

Building walls is both a psychological and physical activity. It gives people the illusion of being safer, better protected, under one’s own control. The physical activity is cathartic because it makes people feel that finally something is being done, never mind, that in the long haul, it might be futile.

We were told that globalization would solve our world poverty. What in reality has done is improve the life of some at the expense of others. We seem to be sitting on a balloon. What seems to change is the shape of the balloon, and nothing else.

Immigrants contribute immensely to our economy and rich social fiber. The proper argument should not be against all immigrants, but those who come illegally. We must find an orderly way to let people into the country who can fill jobs for which we have candidates, and to facilitate a reasonable level of family reunification.

We need leaders to come up with better and more inclusive solutions to common problems and issues. I thought that the United Nations would fill this role. The UN so far has utterly failed, and to our chagrin, it has become an anachronism.