Build bridges instead of trying to divide people – history tells us it’s the way forward

SIR,

The words of the week, if not the decade, are borders and walls with the US and a ‘possible’ border with Mexico and the United Kingdom and its border with the Irish and the EU. Both cases are causing political difficulties and even embarrassment for their respective leaders.

History can provide many lessons if we have the wisdom to listen and learn. A short history of walls should provide some points to be considered.

The first great wall was the ‘Wall of Jericho’, a wall with a history that has many different stories. The original wall was probably a flood wall although the wall in the Bible was more a defensive wall. In the Bible this wall was brought down by the noise of Trumpets whereas the Mexico wall is being pushed up by the noise of Trump.

The Great Wall of China, about 21 thousand kilometres long, shows what can be done especially if you have a megalomaniac as a leader supported by sycophants. The Mexican border will only be about 1,600 kilometres as natural borders will help.

The China Wall was well constructed and heavily supported by military forces and was difficult to breach although bribery often helped gain access. Most of it is now in ruin, often stolen to be used in other constructions. The wall actually can’t be seen from the moon although the ego of it’s creator probably could have been.

Hadrian’s wall in the UK was thought to be built to keep the Northerners, mostly the Scottish, out although it’s real purpose became a taxation border to control the economy. Think of it as a wall around San Francisco to keep all the hippies, if there are still any, from spreading across America. The escape from the European Union means that a border has to be built between the north and south parts of Ireland for basically the same reason. This lesson has not been remembered.

The Berlin wall separating East and West Berlin was beaten in many ways including tunnels. It was eventually basically torn down by the people and now exists mainly as a pile of rubble, probably bigger than the original wall, being sold to tourists as the perfect souvenir for their visit.

History tells us that walls do not work for long and, as Pope Francis suggested, bridges should be built instead. Leaders, wake up and listen - please.

Sincerely,

Dennis Fitzgerald

Melbourne, Australia

Bribery often helped gain through The Great Wall of China.