Hungary wants to build a border wall to prevent irregular migrants from entering. Unfortunately, it is not the first country to try to resolve the issue this way.
The Hungarian government has decided to build a four-metre-high fence near the border with Serbia to stop the unauthorised entry of migrants travelling through the Balkans. The announcement was made to the international community by Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, who spoke of a possible fence up to 175 kilometres long.
According to Hungary, the measure became necessary following an escalation in the number of people who have crossed the Hungarian border illegally, rising from 43,000 in 2014 to 57,000 in the first months of 2015.
The magazine Internazionale has produced an interactive map collecting all the barriers, still standing, built throughout the world over the course of history. Barriers that divide and have never solved any problem or brought about the resolution of conflicts.
Saudi Arabia–Yemen, 2013
1,800 kilometres to prevent alleged terrorist infiltrations
Ceuta and Melilla–Morocco, 1990
8.2 kilometres and 12 kilometres to block irregular immigration from Morocco into the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla
Cyprus Greek zone–Turkish zone, Green Line, 1974
300 kilometres. The wall follows the ceasefire line established by the UN following the conflict that divided the island
Iran–Pakistan, 2007
700 kilometres to protect the border from infiltrations by drug traffickers and Sunni armed groups
Israel–Egypt, 2010
230 kilometres to counter terrorism and irregular immigration
Zimbabwe–Botswana, 2003
482 kilometres, officially to contain the spread of disease among livestock and prevent herds from straying across the border, but the real motivation appears to be to stop irregular migrants from arriving
North Korea–South Korea, 1953
4 kilometres, the division of the two Koreas following the war of 1953
Morocco–Western Sahara, Berm, 1989
2,720 kilometres to defend Moroccan territory from the Polisario Front independence movement
Ireland, Catholic Belfast–Protestant Belfast, peace lines, 1969
13 kilometres to separate Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland
United States–Mexico, Tijuana wall, 1994
1,000 kilometres to prevent irregular Mexican migrants from entering the United States and to block drug trafficking
Israel–Palestine, 2002
730 kilometres to prevent Palestinians from entering Israel and to prevent terrorist attacks
India–Pakistan, Line of Control
550 kilometres to divide the Kashmir region into two zones, one under Indian control and one under Pakistani control
India–Bangladesh, 1989
4,053 kilometres to stop the flow of immigrants from Bangladesh, block illegal trafficking and prevent terrorist infiltrations
Pakistan–Afghanistan, Durand Line
2,460 kilometres to settle the territorial disputes between the two states dating back to the colonial era
Kuwait–Iraq, 1991
190 kilometres to guard against a possible new invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, following the Gulf War