Still, Western Union: Small Boats (Isaac Julien, 2006/7)
Our readings for Week 10 take us to the Mediterranean border between Europe (the European Union) and north Africa, a border zone explored in Isaac Julien's Western Union: small boats (2006/7).
From your reading of F. La Cecla's "A border made of mirrors: Mazara del Vallo/Tunis: Osmosis," answer the following:
Discuss two ways in which the relation between the towns of Marzara del Vallo (Sicily) and La Goulette (Tunisia) undermines the traditional definition of the border as a "line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it."
How does the experience of Mohammed Beshir (fisherman) illustrate the permeability of the border and the transformations in our understanding of fixed, national identities that are brought about by border crossings?
From your reading of F. La Cecla's "A border made of mirrors: Mazara del Vallo/Tunis: Osmosis," answer the following:
Discuss two ways in which the relation between the towns of Marzara del Vallo (Sicily) and La Goulette (Tunisia) undermines the traditional definition of the border as a "line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it."
How does the experience of Mohammed Beshir (fisherman) illustrate the permeability of the border and the transformations in our understanding of fixed, national identities that are brought about by border crossings?
Sara Stearns
ReplyDeleteArt 309 Greene
The ways in which the towns of Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette undermines the traditional definition of the border as “a line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it”, is by first simply not having a definitive borderline. The thing that separates these two towns is the Mediterranean Sea. These two villages that rely heavily on fishing, often share the same waters; that often incorporate international waters. With this has been an immigration between both populations in both cities. An example of this would be the 1970’s a large number of Italians migrated to La Goulette, With these migratory patterns, and the commonality of the fishing communities caused the inhabitants to exchange cultural traditions, as well as mixed marriages and mixed identities. In the reading, it was said that the stretch of the sea has be come an accepted inter-dimensional door that erases the cultural and physical distance between these two extreme points of Europe and Africa that these two villages incorporate. This is unlike many borders that as a class we have been exposed to, such as the U.S. Mexican border.
In the experience of Mohammed Beshir, he lives in both places, with his wife also going between Madia and Mazara. He goes into detail about the fact that many Italians came to Madia, and proceeded to overfish. He is torn as he wants to have his children go to school in Tunisia, and learn their culture and language. He is very optimistic and proud of his heritage, and feels that Tunisia will improve. He explains how many Italians, French, and German have started to invest in the community. In the end of the article he makes many interesting points regarding the idea of identity and borders. He says that life is the same in the two villages. The physical distance is only 220 miles, what difference does it make? Life is the same in both places, with the exception of religion and language. He goes onto say that Tunisia will enter the European Union, and that we all are Europeans. With these concepts and ideas, it does challenge the idea of the border, and what its true purpose is?
There are numerous ways in which the two towns of Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette have integrated themselves to the point that it breaks down the border and defies the nation state. For starters, both towns have a known large population of the others that live and work on both sides of the Mediterranean. It is also from these established communities of immigrants that largely result in mass culture exchange and even mixed marriages. One benefit from this union of fishing communities is that they are able to share the waters and techniques that will help supply each of them. Another undermining of the borders is the tolerance of the other cultures religion within the families to languages presented in the schools. Mohammed Beshir illustrates the permeability of the border by explaining how he is able to work in Mazara and still be visited by his wife. In the way that he talks about life, it seems as though he is not oppressed with a negative attitude towards his nationality, which is a contrast to what many other immigrating people are met with. He also explains that it is not only people form Tunisia who is leaving, but many well established Italians have come to Tunisia along with the investments of France and Germany. Beshir ends the interview talking about how the two communities are so integrated that life in one place or the other would be no different and will even be a part of the very same European Union soon.
ReplyDeleteJustin Beale
ReplyDeleteArt 309
Greene
In last weeks assigned reading “ A Border made of mirrors: Mazara del Vallo/Tunisia: Osmosis” the traditional definition of the border is continually being challenged by the transnational movements that the fishing industry has brought to many costal towns. Fishermen seem to move freely between Italy and Tunisia, using the international waters as a passageway for people, goods, and merchandise. The crews that often fill these fishing boats are a mixture of Sicilian and Tunisian men. Some of these men embark on these boats with the sole intention of using the fishing trip to ferry themselves to the other side of the Mediterranean. While the fishing industry in this region has enabled this flux in population movements, the two cultures on the opposing sides have smoothly integrated in a way not commonly associated with the border on this side of the Atlantic. Places such as schools are now catering to both their European and North African students by integrating both the Italian and Arabic languages into their philosophies. This type of integration reflects a fusion of these cultures without erasing the pre-existing cultural traditions of their separate nations. Native Tunisian Mohammad Beshir originally came to Italy looking for work on a tourist permit and has now resided there for nearly 15 years. Spending most of his time in Italy, he only occasionally goes back to Tunisia, while his wife goes every summer. This movement between the two nations shows just how easy it is for many of these fisherman and their families to travel between the borders. Beshir further goes on to state that he sees almost no difference between Tunisia and Europe, everything they have is the same, the only difference is the visible distance between the regions.
After this reading I felt a sense of déjà vu. When I was younger my family and I would take trips in the spring time to Big Bend National Park in Texas but right on the Tex-Mex border. We would go into the border towns occasionally to get breakfast tacos but my mom would always be on the edge of her seat. I remember thinking to myself that I could not for the life of me tell the difference between the two places. The area around Big Bend was as Tex-Mex as crossing the border. It was interesting to get the same feeling when I read about the life and Mohammed. I looked carefully at a map just to get an idea of the amount of water separating Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette and it looks like a sizable amount, but I suppose when both towns are fishing towns and they share the same water that border becomes more of a shared area where they share maybe one of the most important physical needs aside from air and water; food. So since the water isn’t the border… which undermines the sense of a physical border the next thing you might think would that the government or culture or religion seperates the two. However, there is more than just tolerance for the two in each other. Not only are those mixed though. Marriages, and generations of people have lineage to both places. It’s interesting how this is a look at globalization on such a small scale, but how it is happening absolutely everywhere. There is no border between these two places. All the lines that are present for any other kind of border have essentially become meaningless.
ReplyDeleteDerek (DJ) Harris
ReplyDeleteArt 309 – Migration and Visual Art
Greene
The comparison of each of these towns, Mazara del Vallo and La Goulette, is something quite remarkable. These towns are separated by the Mediterranean Sea and only that body of water really keeps these two apart. They have so many similarities that if they were considered to be in the same boundary as one another, they would mesh quite well together. The thing is however, one belongs to Sicily of Europe, and the other belongs to Tunisia of Africa. Generally each country or region has their own set of skills and customs but something happens to these two places. Though some would argue that many places have similar customs, these places take it one step higher than that. Both places are almost identical but both belong to supposed different cultures. They are both primarily fishing towns, and have their towns’ lives dependant of the Mediterranean Sea. In fact they treat each other as if they were neighbors in the same country. They trade with each other goods, customs, stories, experiences, and even marry between the two countries. So there are many reasons why these two break the border tradition. They treat each other as one in the same even though they are from two different worlds separated by a thin stripe of sea. Mohammed Beshir story is an interesting one that helps display the lack of a literal or even figurative border for the two towns. He moved to Sicily for work and made a good living there. His wife moved there to him eventually and she moves from Sicily back to Tunisia constantly and he sometimes goes with her. While Mohammed does respect that they are two different places, he treats them more as neighboring towns than towns, countries apart. He isn’t the only one to make this move. La Goulette has a strong Italian community and vice versa. The towns really are interconnected.
Ismar Kulenovic
ReplyDeleteArt 309
Greene
Blog 4
Borders in today's world are defined as the line separating two countries or nations, they distinguish which land belongs to which nation. Tunisia and Sicily have a unique border setup, they have the Mediterranean Sea in between them and acting as the border. Both of these villages rely heavily on the fishing and the sea as it is vital to their success. They both have shared this border since they have been established and they are unique in that they don't have any issues. This situation is a very friendly dynamic that is very successful. This mixing and permeable border leads to identity mixing between the two towns and thus resulting in a hybrid mix identity. Mohammed Bashir fishes and goes from one town to the other and basically lives in both. He says life in both is the same and that he likes it, he visits Tunisia when his wife goes back anytime. The distance between the two is only 220 miles and make it easy to travel between the two. This truly shows a healthy mixing and cooperation of two nations.
The traditional definition of a border is defined "as a line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it." In reference to last weeks reading, "A Border Made Of Mirrors: Mazara del Vallo/Tunis: Osmosis," the two fishing towns challenge the very idea of borders and geographic identities. The small town of Mazara del Vallo is located on the coast of Sicily. The other town, La Goulette, is located on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea on the coast of Tunisia. The two coastal territories challenge the traditional definition of the border simply because they have no such border. The Mediterranean Sea is an international water and is frequently fished and traveled on by both communities. The fisherman share the same fishing areas and the constant movement between the two towns has gradually created an exchange of cultural and culinary traditions. The exchange of experiences and memories between the two populations has created a "game of mirrors." With the massive cultural exchanges came mixed marriages and changes in socio-cultural and geographic identities. The experience of Mohammed Beshir illustrate the permeability of the border and the transformations in our understanding of fixed, national identities by freely moving from one coast to the other. Beshir is a native Tunisian but spends most of his time in Italy. Although he spends most of his time in Italy he will sometimes go back to visit in Tunisia. His wife is another story. She goes back to Tunisia every summer. Beshir and his family are one of many who use the Sea as a highway from one coastal town to the next. His experiences transform our understanding of fixed national borders because he, and many others, are able to float across barriers at their own convenience and need.
ReplyDeleteThe relationship between the two Mediterranean cities of Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette undermine the traditional definition of the border as "a line that officially separates two
ReplyDeletecountries or regions, or the land on either side of it" in more than two ways. Both towns are extremely similar. Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette are both popular to visitors and migrants alike. They are both fishing towns and share the waters of the Mediterranean for fishing. Also neither have official borders, what make their borders is the Meditarranean sea. Mohammed Beshir, a fisherman who lives and works in both Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette, explains through out the interview that both cities are incredibly similar and believes that their is little diffrence between them. He states throughout the interview how permeable these two cities actually are and believe that with is and other such examples, Tunisia will soon be apart of the EU. This form of a border differs greatly when compared to the US- Mexico border. The interaction between these two cities is also very high. Workers from both cities visit each other leading to a more tolerant state of mind. Where the religious, and ethnic differences that do exist between these two cities manage to drive some people in Europe to hate, the similarities drive them to ignore the differences. Beshir's believe regarding the border is hugely different than that of the norm, and seems to be much more pleasant.
Kevin M. Otto - Art 309
ReplyDeleteWe are all well aware of the definition of a boarder; however in the towns of Mazara del Vallo and La Goulette the idea of traditional boarders does not hold any merit. The two cultures are intertwined by marriage and by occupation but separated by sea. This is a mixed culture but it is not a forgotten culture. The two cultures still exist without one culture eliminating the other. Within the schools both Arabic and Italian are taught. Although these two cultures are coming together they still honor the traditional values of their very different cultures. Their occupation brings them together, as fishermen they sign on to fishing crews amongst ships from either culture. People are able to move freely from one country to the other and may live at times at homes in both communities. The fishermen share the same fishing areas a lot of times in international waters and regulate themselves according to their own needs.
Mohammed Beshir is an example of one individual who lives in both communities. His wife leaves on the first of June until the first of September and stays four months in Tunisia. Sometimes he will go and spend a month with his family in Tunisia and then go back to fishing. It’s briefly told how he’s lived Mazara for fifteen years, that he came on a tourists permit and found work as a fisherman, he’s made enough in his occupation to build a small home and is undecided as to what language his children should learn to speak due to the intermingling of the cultures. The life in Europe is said to be exactly the same as that of Tunisia, but they respect their Moslem traditions and religion considering themselves to also be European. This is a perfect example of how multiple cultures can co-exist and a model to the rest of the world.
On either side of the Mediterranean Sea, both Mazara Del Vallo and La Goulette are rich with one another’s culture. Mazara is has a Tunisian population that integrates itself into the southern Italian coast nicely, fishing, fields, vineyards. In La Goulette, a “forgotten movement” has settled there and is flourishing. There is no separation of the two costal towns, because there is constant interaction that happens at the border (the Mediterranean) which is the fishermen. Both rely on fishing and both shares the same fishing haunts. The ways of each culture is shared, none trying to dominate the other, but both having respect of their origins. Schools, pubs, and homes all have Christian and Islamic, Italian and Arabic and the both enjoy Football together.
ReplyDeleteMohammed lives Mazara with his family, but is not completely cut off from his homeland. His wife visits Tunisia for months at a time, and he himself goes back and forth as he pleases. There is no loss of identity or culture for his self and his wife. Mohammed has children and wants them to have an understanding of their homelands culture and language, sending them to school in Tunisia would fulfill this. A culture easily passes through to either side. Even other countries are investing into Tunisia. Neither side is escaping anything, nor coming to a better place. Mazara Del Vallo and La Goulette only more connected by a border that is useful to both and profitable.
There is a unique boarder line between Marzara del vallo (Sicily) and La Goulette (Tunisia), the two fishing communities are separated by a small stretch of sea and share satellite communities on the lands of the other. The two communities have a long history of sharing everything. There is a unique exchange of people’s, culture, ideas and goods, their openness and ability to cross with no limits back and forth between the two. It is unique in the sense that most countries in the European union strive to limit very carefully the exchange of goods and peoples so freely.
ReplyDeleteMohammed Beshir, the fisherman who moves freely between the boarders of Marazara del Vallo and La Goulette is a really interesting example of what it is to exist between two boarders that are so easily crossed. He speaks of his and his family’s frequent travel annually across the boarder, how he moved to get a better job and have the ability to be a better supporter. What I find interesting about his case is, that he seems to have a great amount of control over what nation he identifies with. Almost like his ability to freely cross the boarder gave him more freedom to be whom he really wanted. He is Muslim, and embraces the culture of his birth country even though he is openly living and working in another country. This is a maintaining that you don’t see in other groups of people who go across the boarders in other countries.
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ReplyDeleteStefanie McLaren
ReplyDeleteArt 309
Greene
A border can be described as a a line seperating two political or geographical areas, or in other words, a boundary. The towns of Marzara del Vallo and La Goulette change the definition of border by sharing the same space and not having a physical line to define the border, being that, they are seperated by a body of water, the Mediteraanean Sea. Another reason why these towns have broken this idea of border and what it stands for is how they are constantly interacting with each other, whether it be for the exchange of culinary and cultural traditions, or because of their commonality of the sea being used for fishing. With their lifestyles and occupations, there is no ‘border’ it becomes merely a passage of cultures. I found this reading to be very interesting because we are always talking about the border and what would happen if we simply removed it. This is an example of two towns, and countries, colliding and they are working together to make use of the sea for fishing. The fishing boats seem to ignore the rules and boundaries set forth and create their own while working together in teams of both Sicilian and Tunisian fisherman.
When looking at Mohammed Beshir, one can see the lifestyle of a ‘border’ inhabitant and his family. He lives in Mazara, but he still travels back to Tunisia and his wife is there four months a year. He has traveled to Mazara with a tourist permit and works as a fisherman like 40% of the people from his town. One can see his struggles as he speaks of what to do with his family and where they should stay. He doesn’t want to abandon his home in Tunisia and wants his children to go to school there. I find it really open-minded of him to look at the different cultures and say.. ‘we are the same’ and that ‘everything you have, we have.’ It really goes to show that the boundary is not really there it’s just the frame of mind and the difference in languages.
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ReplyDeleteThe narrow strip of the Mediterranean Sea that separates the costal cities of Mazara del Vallo, Italy and La Goulette, Tunisia forms "[...] one of the most rigid borders in the contemporary world- that which separates the Islamic Mediterranean and the Christian Mediterranean." Because of this intense opposition of beliefs it is hard to believe that these two cities could become so integrated and intertwined. It seems that religious beliefs aren't enough to keep citizens from both sides of the Mediterranean from staying on their side. From the 1970's until today the stretch of sea seems to be getting smaller as fisherman from both countries navigate between Italy and Tunisia. The sea between the two countries has even been referred to as "solid sea" in that it is traveled over so often that is seems to be like land. The border that the sea makes is hardly what a border is defined as ("a line that officially separates two countries or regions, or the land on either side of it." ). First of all, there is no official line in the middle of the pass that determines where Tunisia ends and Italy begins. The city of La Goulette in Tunisia is now home to two generations of Italians who migrated in the 1970's bringing with them their traditions yet still respecting those of the Tunisians. The same thing has been going on for quite some time in Italy in the city of Mazara del Vallo, Sicily. Here, in the old Kasbah a large group of Tunisians live as well as in the more modern districts. It seems that the two cities divided be the sea have become each other in opposite ways. It is refreshing to see the mingling of cultures into a new, unique entity. Instead of rejecting each other they have accepted the each other, many mixed marriages have formed as the result of the permeable boundary. Instead of being a part of one country and having a set national identity many of the citizens in these two cities feel like they are part of both. For example the fisherman Mohammed Beshir, a man from Tunisian now living in Mazara, it seems that both places are his home. His wife travels the roughly 170-300 kilometers between Tunisia and Trampani often and they even have homes in both places. Instead of going to Mazara and feeling like he is an outsider he feels like it is a home. There almost seems to be no border at all between the two countries and that it is working out fine for both cities.
ReplyDeleteBorders make up the world around us. Imaginary lines that separate countries and people. Along with that borders often separate different cultures and customs. This is not always the case though. Special situations do exist. An example of this being Africa's's Tunisia, and Europe's Sicily. These two countries are unique in that they both share the Mediterranean Sea as their border. For them the sea acts as a border, but also a vehicle for travel and a way of making a living. Being located along the sea, the main industry is fishing. Because of the many benefits the sea offers the border between these two countries is open for either side to pass in and out of.
ReplyDeleteThis has caused a sort of mixed identity for those individuals living in this region. There is massive amounts of cultural exchanges between the two countries. This has help to create two unique countries who strive together. Even though there are two different continents that they belong to, there is still a closeness between them.
In the situation of Mohammed Beshir, he lives in both countries. He makes his living as a fisherman who travels the two hundred and twenty miles between the two countries. He has a wife who helps him fish from time to time. Along with his wife he has two children. Mohammed wants his children to attend school in Tunisia and get a proper education. There are not many differences between Tunisia and Sicily with the exception of languages and religion.He also said he is proud to be aprart of both places and is hopeful for the future of both regions.
Borders make up the world around us. Imaginary lines that separate countries and people. Along with that borders often separate different cultures and customs. This is not always the case though. Special situations do exist. An example of this being Africa's's Tunisia, and Europe's Sicily. These two countries are unique in that they both share the Mediterranean Sea as their border. For them the sea acts as a border, but also a vehicle for travel and a way of making a living. Being located along the sea, the main industry is fishing. Because of the many benefits the sea offers the border between these two countries is open for either side to pass in and out of.
ReplyDeleteThis has caused a sort of mixed identity for those individuals living in this region. There is massive amounts of cultural exchanges between the two countries. This has help to create two unique countries who strive together. Even though there are two different continents that they belong to, there is still a closeness between them.
In the case of Mohammed Beshir he lives in both countries. He makes his living as a fisherman with his wife. He also has two children that have grown up in both areas. He wants his children to go to school in Tunisia and get a proper education. For him most things are the same between the two countries. The exception to that being language and religion. The two hundred and twenty miles seperating the two regions has little impact due to the constant trading between them. Mohammed said that he is hopeful for the future of the two countries and is proud to be part of both cultures. For him it is a sort of mixed identity