People create boundaries long before there is the construction of a wall. I don't believe it's a chicken/egg conundrum. I'm not struggling to see which came first. Monterescu's article detailing the construction of Andromeda Hill in Jaffa got me thinking about the meaning behind conflict and the meaning behind walls.
Multiculturalism is coveted in theory. It's trendy, it's new, it's politically correct. Yet, with all this in mind creating the idea of a multicultural environment is more a goal than actually having one exist. The hill is more of a product than a neighborhood, falsely advertised as the epitome of Israeli/Palestinian fusion. In past classes whenever an article spoke of Israeli/Palestinian fusion is usually meant a discussion of walls was well underway. My goal is not to delve into the Arab-Israeli conflict but having a discussion about Jaffa is almost impossible without mentioning the obvious. Two claims to one land. It's happened in history countless times before and usually the victor physically overpowers the loser creating minority and diaspora in the wake of their triumph. But here the battle isn't over, the tensions have not been resolved, the conflict persists in an urban area, in a setting where many people actively live their lives. More interestingly, we can focus on the walls people construct as a physical manifestation of the boundary that has already been created.

History's Walls: a sampling of walls from around the world aimed at keeping people in, but mostly out. (Not arranged in any particular order.)

Hadrian's Wall: The emperor built it to make the ultimate statement of power whilst he kept the unruly out.

The Great Wall of China: How could you ever sustain meaningful relationships with people on the other side of a wall so big you can see it from space?

The Melilla Border Fence: Aimed at separating Morocco from the Spanish city of Melilla to cut down on illegal activity.


The U.S./Mexico Border: The American solution to illegal immigration and smuggling.

All of these walls were the vision of a separation desired and attempted before their tangible presence ever touched the landscape. If I put it too simply they all aim to keep the "good" ones in keep the "bad" ones out. So in this way the gated community serves as a micro-version of what has been going on in places all over the world for a very long time. However, the scale of the gated community is key because it allows you to zoom in on the separation in a consolidated and in this case urban area. While interactions between Mexico and the U.S. at the border go largely un-talked about an urban border incites the same immediate emotions that urban violence creates. The location removes a boundaries from its typical sense, created by state and honored by brick. Instead in an urban setting you see a wall for what it truly is, a physical statement of a previously established sense of who's in and who's out. There is something about the presence of a wall that makes boundaries seem unnatural in a world where boundaries are the norm. 

The next series of photos I've selected are the art of the separation walls which are not uncommon to Israel/Palestine. Neighborhoods are often sectored off and removed by tall features. Yet that is not to say people are content or that these walls are "working". In a class last semester we discussed the political motivations of a separation wall yet Urban Anthropology has brought my attention to how individuals confront political installments. So, to inject this blog with some hope, some texture, I've chosen to go back to graffiti and street art to look at the situation from an angle closer to ground level.


These walls are here for the same reasons as the historic walls but the art lends them a humorous quality history and conflict dampens. The artists or writers realize the absurdity of a wall as a tactic of seclusion but also highlight the injustice by calling attention to the feature. After all a wall will not keep all people out or in, but it will have effects and to belittle the wall is to belittle the suffering it causes individuals separated from those they know, those they love, and areas that should be for all.


-Alexis Brinkman