Some walls around the world

“The great wall of Morocco”, known as “the security belt”, is 2,720 km long. This is a defensive wall and it serves to protect Morocco from the hostile intentions of The Polisario.

South Korea protects itself from North Korea with a “barrier”

India built its 3,300 km wall to separate itself from neighboring Pakistan

Botswana built electrified fences along its border with Zimbabwe. According to official sources “it is only to prevent hoof and mouth disease contaminated farm animals from entering the country”. In fact, it serves to prevent the arrival of those who are trying to escape ethnic cleansing and massacres.

Saudi Arabia built a concrete wall with sophisticated electronic monitoring devices. The wall is intended to prevent Yemenite infiltration into Saudi Arabia. The wall cost over 700 million dollars and reduces Yemen’ s territory by 7 kms. The Saudis just ignore the Yemenite protests.

Saudi Arabia has also erected a 900 km ultra modern wall on its border with Iraq.

Turkey claims part of the island of Cyprus and delimits that territory by a barrier.

Since 2007, Thailand erected a 75 km barrier along its most accessible border with Malaysia. According to Bangkok, its purpose is to prevent the troubled southern provinces’ Muslim terrorists from entering the northern part of the country.

Pakistan built a 2,400 km barrier to separate itself from Afghanistan.

Uzbekistan erected a barrier along its border with Tajikistan. The United Arab Emirates are in the process of building a barrier on their border with Oman and Kuwait, adding to their existing 215 km barrier along their border with Iraq.

What about the United States? What about Obama and his speech in Cairo? What about this land of liberty?

The wall between Mexico and the United States is being erected to protect the USA from Mexicans who try to illegally enter the country in order to escape poverty and misery.

And what about Europe ? Always so ready to condemn certain but only certain others?

The Spain of Javier Solana and of Moratinos erected an electrified barrier guarded continuously by soldiers at Ceuta and Melilla. It serves to protect Spain from illegal Moroccan and sub-Saharan people who try to enter Spain to escape poverty and famine.

The infamous “Walls of Ireland” separate Catholics and Protestants. For over thirty years the walls satisfy their desire to be separated from each other. Roads have been cut to end the throwing of stones, Molotov cocktails, hand grenades and various other projectiles. Entire areas of Belfast have been disfigured, homes destroyed and residents expelled. The International Community, of course, remains silent.

BUT THE ONLY ONE WALL IS CONDEMNED! “The Wall of Shame” or “Apartheid Wall”. It is the Security Barrier built by Israel! For Israel, the benefit of such a security barrier is without question: Between 2002 and 2008 the number of victims of the Suicide Murderers in Israel has been reduced from 451 to 7! This 98.5% reduction does not yet apply at Eilat, or Dimona, or along the Judean desert as these areas are not yet enclosed by “The Security Barrier”.

Is it really more legitimate to build a wall to protect yourself from miserable and poverty-stricken refugees than to protect your own and others’ lives from those who just want to kill and maim? Well? What do you think? What do you really think?

Valérie Amram d’Onofrio June 2009 Translated from French by Nico Chiarini This PPS is offered by: Massive circulation is requested!