Photos of Walls That Divide Borders Around the World

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Over the past several years, photographer Flo Razowsky of Nogales, Arizona, has been photographing the ultra-long walls that divide international borders around the world. Her project is titled “Up Against the Wall.”

The project started back in 2002 when Razowsky, the great-granddaughter of Jewish immigrants from Russia, witnessed the construction of a 500-mile-long, 25-foot-high wall in the West Bank. After looking around the world, Razowsky came to realize that this type of dividing wall was far from unusual, and in many spots around the world, people regularly risk imprisonment or death to try and cross the divide.

So, Razowsky began photographing these walls themselves. The photo above shows the wall at Jerusalem in 2008. Razowsky has also visited the walls of Spain and the US.

“Considering these structures allows us to ask why these structures exist, who builds them, to what ends and who is impacted,” Razowsky says. “Visualizing these structures offer those of us not forced up against the walls in this world a glimpse of the reality we are building.”

West Bank, Palestine. 2005
West Bank, Palestine. 2005
Tijuana, Mexico. 2014
Tijuana, Mexico. 2014
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Erez Crossing, Gaza. 2008
Erez Crossing, Gaza. 2008
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2006
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2006
Bethlehem. 2005
Bethlehem. 2005
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. 2006
Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. 2006
Erez Crossing, Gaza. 2008
Erez Crossing, Gaza. 2008
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Melilla, Spain. 2007
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2006
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2006
Looking in to Juarez. El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
Looking in to Juarez. El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
El Paso, Texas, U.S. 2015
Douglas, Arizona, U.S. 2014
Douglas, Arizona, U.S. 2014
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2015
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2015
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2015
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2015
Lukeville, Arizona, U.S. 2014
Lukeville, Arizona, U.S. 2014
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2014
Nogales, Arizona, U.S. 2014
West Bank, Palestine. 2005
West Bank, Palestine. 2005
Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. 2014
Playas de Tijuana, Mexico. 2014

You can find more of Razowsky’s work on her website.


Image credits: Photographs by Flo Razowsky and used with permission

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