Floating Barriers Coming to Aegean Sea
Greece is planning to install floating barriers in the Aegean Sea near the isle of Lesbos, the BBC reports. The barrier is planned to be about 3 and half feet tall with less than 2 feet above the water. It will likely be made of netting, adorned with lights, and extend some 1.7 miles long.
The goal is to thwart migrants (many from Syria and Afghanistan) from coming to Greece from Turkey by sea.
This is a development in border security worth watching. For one, a water-born and thus constantly moving “wall” will dramatically illustrate the concept of shifting borders. Where do countries begin and end?
Secondly, what does it mean to “secure” a border? And how far can a nation go do accomplish this goal? Will migrants now travel with knifes to cut this netting? Will ships sink and migrants drown because they get caught up in it? Are those legitimate consequences of security?
Keep an eye on Greece in the months to come.
-KitJ