The " Wall " Culture !

We are beginning to live in a world that has vastly changed since the Soviet Union imploded.  The Communists built walls to keep their subjects from escaping to the west.  Today it is the west building walls to keep refugees from both war and poverty from flooding over borders  and demanding sanctuary.  That " Wall " can consist of both a physical structure or simply a closed border.  A huge number of asylum seekers exist in squalid camps in both Europe and Asia, waiting for their fate to be decided by unfriendly governments.

A few centuries ago all the cities of Europe were encased with a protective wall and the citizens were drafted into militias to defend it against attack.  There were gates in this wall and they were closed and locked at night.  War was a common occurrence as a prevalence of small countries sought to expand their borders by force and the weak were invaded by the strong.

The number of people living on planet Earth has passed seven billion and there is the expectation that it will reach ten billion in the near future.  There is a doubt that the food supply can accommodate those numbers and a hotter planet is likely to disrupt the rainfall pattern.  We may see droughts extend where food bowls are now present and this exodus of people moving to where life promises to be better could become unstoppable.

We are seeing a rise in xenophobia in many parts of the world.  There is a rising tide of rejection to allowing refugees to settle and change the culture of many communities.  When governments fail to close their borders they risk being replaced by populist regimes and sometimes democracy is being replaced by strong leaders who assume dictatorial powers.  Across the world, fear of foreigners and the promises of protection is accelerating this trend.

We now live in a world on instant communication and how the people of advanced countries live is there for all to see. The dispossessed simply vote with their feet and there is an ample supply of assistance ready to take their money and help them achieve that journey.  People smuggling is a growing industry and is now one of the " dark " ventures that make its exponents very rich.

Unfortunately, what we are now seeing is simply the tip of a giant iceberg.  If global warming achieves the outcomes that science predicts we will see much of the people of this planet on the move later this century.  That may cause target countries to need to go to war to stop the inflow, and such a tragedy can only be prevented by action now to improve the living conditions that cause that exodus.

Instead of building walls, the money would be better spent in creating water retention and improving crop yields to achieve for the people of poor countries a better life and freedom from hunger.   The present refugee numbers are only a sample of what will eventually become a flood tide unless we take remedial action !