Walls in the Modern World

How does it feel to wake up in morning and know that you can never see you friend and loved ones? For most of the people in Berlin it was a nightmare. They went to sleep on the night of August 12, 1961 and woke up in the morning shocked that there was a wall separating them from friends and family. More so telephone lines were also cut so communication was also impossible. Whichever side of the border you went to sleep on a person was stuck on that side for decades (http://history1900s.about.com/od/coldwa1/a/berlinwall.htm).  It has been years since that fall went down but even to this day there many walls separating people. They may not be as concrete and visible as the Berlin Wall but they exist. Naomi Klein talks about some of these on her book “Fences and Windows”. According to her some of the fences that are necessary are braking while those that are needed are being erected.

People in some countries cannot afford education anymore because of poverty. Naomi Klein mentions about Zambia where education is a luxury item and very few can afford it. In the attached video you will see how many organizations are trying to help these children and break the wall that has been erected in schools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVWqMmOxRps

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l53W691666k

These videos show the “crack in history” that Naomi Klein states. People are trying to help the children in Zambia and in this manner they are bringing hope not only to the children but to the future. History doesn’t always have to repeat itself; we have the power to change things by learning from the mistakes of the past. There is no need for another “Berlin Wall” to be erected.

Refugees

Refugees are person who have to leave their country due to war or who has suffered persecution due to gender, religion, political opinion etc. They are commonly called asylum seekers. Throughout history there were many times that people were displaced due to war, the most recent is from the War on Terror. There are thousands of people that are displaced because of it. People are smuggled through Iran to Europe. Hundreds die in the journey because of boats overturning. The link below tells the story about the asylum seekers in Greece. Most of them left Afghanistan to escape the war, some are from Somalia. Some people are staying in detention camps for months already; some are staying at empty railroads with no water or food supply. They do not know what still awaits them and how are they going to survive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8LX08TF1Nw&feature=related

Interview

I interviewed a woman named Paramjeet. He was born in Punjab, India. She had a degree in Management from a college in India. Her parents wanted her to marry in a good family and for most people nowadays a Canadian based Indian is definitely the best choice. She was then married to Varinder, an Indian guy who was settled in Canada. Her marriage started her journey in Canada. She had to face many struggles to adapt to the new country and to make sure that her marriage won’t break like a piece of glass. After I interviewed her, I realized how brave she was, alone in a country where the only person she knows was her husband. I have always seen as a joyful person, she always stops to say “hello” when we happen to see each other on the street or the park. I realized that every person carries a story about their past or present. People are not always what we think of them. Sometimes only a good ear is needed to hear incredible stories from the people around us. Nowadays, there are many cases like her, where migrant women struggle to keep their marriage and career life balanced. Some succeed but there are also some women who do not. In any relationship communication is very important. This helps in solving or even preventing problems from escalating to nightmares.

India and Pakistan Partition

The partition of India in 1947 is considered to be one of the largest migrations of people and the most violent one. It is believed that more than 12 million people were displaced during that period and the estimated number of death varies from varying from several hundred thousand to a million. There were many women who were raped and murdered and some never found. People had to leave their ancestral homes and friends they have known all their lives. Most people didn’t really understand why they were forced to leave. The panic that was created because of this led only to more violence.

In the story Toba Tek Singh, Saadat Hasan Manto tells us about the exchange of lunatics two years after the partition. The people in the asylum where behind four walls so, they didn’t understand what was happening around them. They didn’t know where they were and where are they going. One of person (Bisham Singh) in the asylum always asks where Toba Tek Singh is now; if it is India and Pakistan. Another person refused to leave.  During the partition of India and Pakistan, most of the people where like this patients, confused and lost. In the end of the story, Bisham Singh was found lying in the border, where it was neither India nor Pakistan. He has finally found Toba Tek Singh. For most the people during the partition it was hard to leave behind everything that they have worked for. For them, it was their home, it was place where they were born and grow up and living these all behind is like losing a part of themselves.

A line in the map was drawn and this caused people to lose their homes, livelihood, loves ones and for some even their lives. The violent nature of the partition left an open wound between the two countries (India and Pakistan) that even to this day have never fully healed.