Right to Move, Stay, Return

Israel’s wall in the occupied West Bank, though not sealing any ‘border’ but the Bantustans carved out for Palestinians, and the wall around Gaza have been model for a number of walls militarizing borders. Migrants and refugees are among those bearing the brunt of it.

Border walls and the ‘border security industry’ are on the rise. The global ‘border security’ market is projected to reach USD 65.150 billion by 2025, growing annualy at 7.16%. This includes physical walls as well as their associated technology of areal, naval and land borne surveillance and militarization technology. 

Israel’s companies are among the key players in the market, being able to sell their technology as ‘field-tested’ on Palestinians.

We are actively joining struggles with migrant movements across the globe, who are the ones mainly targeted by the border militarization. Among others, please check out the below:

• See the video on the Caravan against the Walls of Infamy from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the Mexico-US border, 2017.
• World Social Forum on Migrations – See the Stop the Wall intervention at the opening plenary and in the seminar on the Globalization of Border Control and People’s Resistance in the 2018 edition in Mexico. 
• In 2019, 73 European Palestine solidarity and migrants rights groups and networks from 17 European states have chosen Nakba Day 2019 – the Day Palestinians reaffirm their commitment to the struggle for the return of their refugees – to unite in a joint call for a #WorldwithoutWalls in order to claim the right for all to move, to stay and to return in freedom, justice and equality.
• In 2020, over 10 000 citizens from all over Europe and beyond have signed a petition to demand an end to a drones deal between the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) and Israel’s largest military company Elbit Systems. 

For more information, experiences and reflections on border walls, border militarization and the struggles of the migrant movements, please see: 

1) Build Resistance not Walls

In this reader we have compiled actions and reflections on the connections between the walls and visions for common struggles for a World without Walls. [LINK]

2) Walls in Times of Pandemic

This online photo exhibit gives insights into the growing impact of the walls across the globe and the struggle against them during the COVID19 pandemic.