Extra Credit : Evaporating Boarders

On Monday evening, I swung by the MOMA and attended the screening for Evaporating Boarders. I sat in the darkness of the theatre, not exactly sure of what to expect, but as the film went on, I was honestly surprised as to what I was seeing, considering its subject on racial tensions half way across the world that is not unlike the racial divide that is going on within U.S. boarders today.

In the city of Cyprus, immigrants travel into its boarders with the hopes to escape war, violence and extreme poverty. According to a number of interviews shown in the film, even while in the city, these immigrants still find extreme difficulties getting by as jobs are terribly scarce and money is hard to come by. As a default, these immigrants are forced to rely on money funded by the government, which by what can be seen in their home life is hardly enough, but better than living out on the streets with nothing at all. However, there is a huge conflict in which the citizens of Cyprus have taken notice of the big wave of immigrants coming into the city and have thus created a huge outcry of defiance against the so called 'foreigners' and their government funded welfare. The film shows that a lot of the opinions of these conservative protesters are hugely based on ignorance and the spread of false information, but it doesn't appear to slow down the strength of the anti-immigrant movement.

It was shocking just how similar the opinions of the conservative groups of people in Cyprus mirrored the opinions of many Republicans and Tea Party members here in the U.S. who seem to be very against the immigration of peoples, particular from Latin America, claiming to have taken jobs away from 'struggling Americans who can't find jobs for themselves'. There is also a defiance against the welfare system, all hugely based on ignorance.

It's just surprising simply because while the racial tensions within the United States do stem largely from an overall racist history, xenophobia does not seem to be something that is apparent within the U.S. alone.  It is rather eye opening and it gives Americans a much broader view in racial politics across the globe.