22/09/2018
On breaking down barriers. As advanced as we are technologically it only takes a visit to see living history such The Berlin Wall (1961 to 1989) to realise we remain rather primitive in our thinking as a global society. Whilst the Berlin Wall is a more obvious man made barrier designed to keep us apart , we have created so many other barriers that are less visible that effectively achieve the same result. One thing I often reflect on is that the world we live in hasn’t always been like this, we are experiencing a moment of life with geographical boundaries and social norms that are, in the grand scheme of things are relatively new ideas, and definitely not necessarily the best way of doing things and definitely not static, permanent or resistant to change. What this means is that like the brave East Berliner’s that risked everything to get over the wall and be reacquainted with their loved ones we can go over barriers, find new ways of getting where we want to be, and ultimately break through barriers like the world did in Berlin in 1990.
A bit of history: The wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany), starting on 13 August 1961, the Wall cut off West Berlin from virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government officials opened it in November 1989. Its demolition officially began on 13 June 1990 and finished in 1992. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, accompanied by a wide area (later known as the "death strip") that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses.
@ Berlin, Germany