The fall of the Berlin wall, 29 years ago

One unforgettable night, 29 years ago, the citizens of East Berlin started to hammer down the wall that had divided them from the Western side of the city, since 13 August 1961. The Berlin wall was just a tract along the border line that divided all of Europe into two parts during the cold war: the zone under US surveillance to the west and the Soviet zone to the east

Today, other walls still remain, like that between North and South Korea, and new ones have been built. These walls violate the people’s fundamental rights to health, education, employment, water and food. And which, at times separate communities and families, like those between Israel and Palestine, between Egypt and Israel, between the USA and Mexico, between India and Bangladesh, between Morocco, Algiers and Mauritius. Also in Europe new walls divide, like those between Ceuta and Mellila, or, or between Greece and Turkey. Lastly, a wall of water, is the Mediterranean sea, which continues to swallow up victims.

The unexpected fall of the Berlin wall however, had triggered a hope which is still actual today: that all the walls, thanks to the commitment of man men and women of good will, may one day collapse.