Walls. Towers. Borders. Moats. Demilitarised zones, contested zones, checkpoints.
What are these? I mean obviously you know what these things are right? But wait…stop! Whats that sound…? Theres something going up all around: Walls.
I have been thinking! Yup, dangerous I know… no room 101 yet and I’m pretty sure I know what 2+2= or do I? Do you? What is a wall?
A thing that holds up a house? A building? To build alongside a motorway, a railway line?
Walls can be implied or real.
Walls can keep us from imminent danger, keep us safe.
Walls can be used to divide.
Personal boundary walls.
Buliding a wall metaphysically to protect yourself.
Walls, walls, walls.
Why do we fixate on them? We are surrounded by them both ideologically and physically.
Walls between boys and girls. Walls between classes, races, countries, friends, enemies.
In the 20th century we saw some be torn down and some be built. We witnessed implied walls grow higher and others fall away completely.
More recently in Europe we have seen a human tide breach the fortress walls. In some places they were gassed and shot at by men in uniforms of brutality. Yet now we see them crumble again.
Beautiful and amazing: the human spirit and “the good” triumphs over evil.
But in our little corner of the world, Australasia. Our walls grow higher by the day. Australia with their “Border force” a.k.a brown shirts a.k.a Nazis randomly picking tourists and people of colour and “demanding your papers” – closed borders, no refugees allowed, even though they are a nation built by immigrants.
The irony sadly is lost on the enforcers and the brainless Right.
Then there is little old New Zealand. Our Prime Minister barely second generation. Leads our country from the bottom. Of the table of refugees and migrants that can’t seek asylum in “God’s Own.” Shame, shame, shame! We should hang our heads in sorrow. A once great nation now a part of a fascist few.
What have we done to deserve our walls that we cannot see.. ? It’s a 6-letter word: A.P.A.T.H.Y.
Columns of people march across Europe as I watch live. The military of Austria pick them up and place them in buses so they can make it to Germany.
Amazing humanity! It warms the soul… does it do anything to melt our leader’s frigid hearts? Time will tell? My money is on the fact that it won’t.
By Occupy Auckland Media Team Co-ordinator Redstar309z who has just spent a month travelling through Europe, from the streets of Berlin to Amsterdam to anarcho-socialist squats in Spain. Red is now winging his way back to Aotearoa New Zealand as we post this…
Occupy Savvy 