Piece of Palestine: Apartheid Wall

       If there is one physical structure that symbolizes the Palestinian struggle, it's the Apartheid Wall. Formally known as Israeli West Bank Barrier, the Wall stretches almost 500 km long across the West Bank. Created in 2003, the divider was implemented after the Second Palestinian Intifada as a mean of protection for the Israeli people. However, the negative consequences the barrier has had on the Palestinian people far outweighs any positive implications towards bringing peace. This Wall has had numerous impacts on Palestinians living in the West Bank, including but not limited to continued loss of Palestinian land, separation between Palestinian families, negative impacts on Palestinian education and medical services, increased difficulty in traveling (as if it wasn't hard enough already), prevention of jobs, and a drastic negative impact on Palestine's economy.  As horrible and past our time (Berlin Wall anyone?) the creation of the Wall may seem, there is one troubling fact that is worst of all: The Wall is barely halfway complete and will extend over 800 km in the coming years.

         In my frequent visits to the West Bank, I have seen the Wall in all its enormity several times and it never fails to shock me. Perhaps the most incredible,beautiful aspect of the wall is the graffiti that covers almost every inch. Physical products of apartheid  is a modern day rarity, so several world renowned artists along with frustrated Palestinian youth never turn down the chance to mark the wall with symbols of hope, freedom, and political figures. Famous street artist, Banksy, has also added his stunning work to the Apartheid Wall, which has begun to transform into an artistic movement. In my visits, I have seen several murals of political leaders including Yaser Arafat and Mahmoud Barghouti along with an essay against apartheid sprayed across the Wall, spanning for miles. The fact that the international community has done so little to prevent the ongoing construction of such a discriminatory structure both saddens and disappoints me. Several UN resolutions have been made to halt construction of the Wall, but has always failed due to U.S. vetoes.  Despite the fact that construction of such barriers on foreign land is a major violation of International Law, the construction has resumed and doesn't look to end any time soon. 

     Although the Wall may have initially served a purpose of protecting Israeli citizens from attacks by hostile Palestinians, it has now become far to excessive and invasive. In fact, the Wall has major economic consequences for both Palestine and Israel. The Palestinian consequences are obvious and include preventing any form of travel between cities, destroying several Palestinian farmlands, halting any progress of Palestinian job opportunities, and many more. The construction also negatively affects Israel, for a major chunk of government spending is put into the unnecessary construction. Millions of dollars have been poured into the construction, and even took so much that in 2010 Israel had to slow down construction as a result of excessive spending. Despite these effects, Israel refuses to end the siege of Palestinian land in the name of "self-protection."
   Since the construction doesn't look to end anytime soon, we must try to look at the positives such as  the medium of non violent self expression the Wall provides. As a Palestinian, it excites me to see so much artistic attention the Wall has received and how the thing meant to weaken us is giving us life. I urge anyone who visits Palestine to take a visit to the Aparthied Wall (it literally spans across half of Palestine, so its really not that hard) and bask in it's beauty. The Wall embodies the everyday struggles Palestinians face in living in their own land. Perhaps the most vivid, artistic part of the Wall is in the city of  Al- Ram, just across Palestine's national football stadium. When the gun fails to further the Palestinian cause, it is time to turn to the paintbrush, a medium of Palestinian representation that can be seen across the World.
More on the Wall and its effect on Palestinians: http://www.stopthewall.org/
Gallery of Pictures from the Apartheid Wall:

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