Why Should Borders be Abolished? by Sara Riva
Thursday, 10 February 2022 , Olot
Why Should Borders be Abolished? by Sara Riva
On Thursday February 10th, at the Centro Cultural La Mercè, Nia and Rosalie from Girona City Council (Culture, Social Welfare and Citizenship Area) organized an event called Why Should Borders be Abolished? In it, two other speakers, a moderator, and myself (Sara Riva) talked about the different reasons—theoretical and practical—of why borders should be abolished. Borders are not just filters, they produce inequality and construct illegality. They are violent spaces where people are made vulnerable and dehumanized in different ways. Border abolition is the only means to achieve social justice. Many of the attendees were migrants themselves, and they shared their experiences as border-crossers with everyone. It was an open and relax atmosphere were even children asked questions. I felt honored and humbled to be part of this event.