After the end of the Second World War, Europe, and the world in general, was divided rigidly,
building physical walls between the East and the West. Physical walls have always had a
dual purpose: do not let people coming in and conquer easily, but also do not let people
going out and disappear easily. But one of the main problems with walls as physical boarders
is that rather than separating people, they can also easily became mental “walls”, dividing
people, and encouraging the perceptions of two different and not intertwined words, and
consequently the use of “we” and “them” divisions, and of stereotyped categories among
people that didn’t know much about each other.
Many years have passed since that time, and from 1989, together with a globalization
process, many borders have started to fall, allowing for more and more people, goods and
ideas’ free movement. On November 9th 2019 it will be the 30th anniversary of the Berlin wall
fall. However, East and West division and many walls still exist, even today. Sometimes this
division reflect institutions and countries agreements. Sometimes is used intentionally, to
differentiate and dominate; sometimes it is internalized in some people‘s perceptions of the
world, and on how they behave with others. Sometimes the division involves different
countries and people than those who were involved during the Cold War, for instance the
division center and peripheries