Immerse Education Essay Winner – Ashraj Sidhu
February 8, 2022
Ashraj Singh Sidhu, a student of Grade 9, has won a scholarship of 20% to take part in summer programs at Oxford, Cambridge and LSE through the Immerse Education Essay Competition 2022.
The Immerse Education Essay Competition provides students aged between 13 and 18 with the opportunity to submit essays related to their chosen subject. Ashraj presented his essay with ‘Do countries need borders?’ as the prompt.
Ashraj’s essay stood out amongst the other entries by bringing forward well articulated and clearly expressed thoughts on his chosen subject. We are proud of your achievement, Ashraj. Best of luck for all future endeavours!
Do Countries Need Borders?
“Boundaries are not walls; they’re portals and you decide who comes and goes into your sacred territory.”1
Borders have remained a subject of debate since time immemorial. Since the inception of the ideal of authority, borders have been attributed various disparate as well as related persona- imaginary lines essential for safety and security of residents of a certain region, unimportant demarcations which divide humankind physically as well as emotionally or even boundaries which evoke and promote nationalism as well as separatism. Some scholars have gone as far as presenting borders-international alongside domestic- redundant and insignificant, highlighting an idea of a world devoid of borders. However, such an idea can only be classified as a fantasy.
Borders are one of the factors which assist the security of a nation in addition to reducing crime rate of the nation and ensuring protection of its citizens and their rights. A prime example to support this statement is the current political crisis in the nations under the Schengen Area agreements, due to rise in terrorism after influx of refugees The recent terrorist events such as 2017 Barcelona Attacks and knife attacks in various countries including France and Norway, involve immigrants directly or indirectly. This does not highlight immigrant criminal mindset as such events are also observed in other regions around the world where border laws and security is not strict. It underlines flaws in defense systems of borderless regions and the imminent threat it poses to the citizens of these regions. As expressed by European Masses2, establishment of borders in the Schengen area shall not be a display of a racist outlook against immigrants, but instead ensure well-being of the region and effective implementation of laws while ensuring all immigrants arrive legally and promise to become European in values and outlook, thus promoting a symbiotic societal framework.
Closed borders are also instrumental in preventing overpopulation and rapid exhaustion of natural resources of a particular region. For example, excessive migration in the Amazon Jungle in recent years due to factors such as mining, research, industry etc. This can be prevented by enforcing stricter immigration laws and greater attention to the issue by involved nations. They also harm the working of welfare states. Migration may also lead to deterioration of cultural values of local population of a region, as observed in India over the last few centuries.
Upon deep pondering, it is quite evident that open borders are not only a threat to the economic security of a nation but also political, cultural and ecological security of a country. Borders are crucial to the concept of democratization of a nation by providing security to the principles of the welfare state. Thus, in conclusion, borders do not divide people but instead provide them greater freedom and security as reflected splendidly by the following quote:
“The truth is that formal borders do not create differences, they reflect it; continued attempts to erase borders are both futile and destructive.”
Bibliography
1Sorensen, T., 2021. Borders Quotes (125 quotes). [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: <https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/borders> [Accessed 28 December 2021]. 2(2016). ‘Why borders matter and a borderless world is a fantasy’, latimes.com [Web Document], Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-hanson-borders-20160731-snap-story.html. accessed on 29 Dec 2021
