JE #3B

Read and respond to the following article in a 10-minute FW.

From The New York Times:

OPINION: War on the Border

After reading the NY Times article titled "War on the Border" by Todd Miller, I couldn't help but compare it to other borders where people are violated of their civil rights through the force of an occupying army. It was in fact this description that drove the point of this article home for me. Living under constant and violent surveillance, stopped and questioned, obligated to produce identification These are the conditions that hundreds of thousands of occupied Palestinians go through in the West Bank every single day. The border patrol is the force through which a racist imperialist state carries out their ideologies. Both the israeli army and the border patrol are the bullies of  imperialist, powerful states. Continents apart, the U.S.'s most valued ally Israel is occupying indigenous land using its own lawless army. The increasing militarization of the border in Arizona and other parts of the world is a way in which the colonized are kept in a daily prison. As Todd miller states: 

Blackhawk helicopter used by Border Patrol agents in Arizona desert.

"almost one-third of all agents have served in Iraq or Afghanistan. It’s no wonder that more and more people in the 100-mile zone from across the political spectrum view the Border Patrol as an occupying army." 

This article focuses on the money spent, and while that is an important point, it does not speak about the big elephant (WALL) in the room. Why don't walls work? and why are they there in the first place? This question is one that  I am exploring myself. 

Palestinian child detained by the Israeli defense forces.

Furthermore, Why am I comparing the U.S./Mexico border to Palestine? and how does this relate to border consciousness? Being conscious of the ways in which borders are constructed, policed and mantained to keep specific populations (often indigenous to that land) out is a struggle shared by many groups, and our own experience with the U.S./Mexico border or other borders can inform how we relate to others deeply. If we aim to change this border we cannot do it alone, and often it is through drawing solidarity and common struggles that grassroots movements gain strength and meaning.