Стени: Пътуване покрай загражданията

by Marcello Di Cintio, Марчело Ди Чинтио

Какво е чувството да живееш срещу стена? С това смело съчетание от пътепис и репортаж Марчело Ди Чинтио ни дава отговор, като ни отвежда до най-горещите точки на света и ни среща с хора, чийто живот преминава сред бодлива тел, бетон и стомана.

Ди Чинтио пие чай с бежанци в пустините на Мароко, среща се с нелегални имигранти, които се опитват да заобиколят високотехнологичните огради около испанските анклави Сеута и Мелиля, извървява пътя на мигрантите в Аризона, посещава заградени села в Индия и застава рамо до рамо с хората, които протестират срещу обезопасителната преграда, издигната от Израел.

Авторът изминава пътя от индианските резервати на границата между САЩ и Мексико до „Великата монреалска стена“ и от разделената столица на Кипър до Стените на мира в Белфаст в опит да научи повече за хората, издигнали загражденията, както и за онези, останали отвъд стените. Тази книга не е просто политически очерк. Авторът се среща с нарушителите, които заобикалят стените, с художниците, които ги превръщат в произведения на изкуството, и със забравените и изоставени хора, които живеят зад загражденията, в сянката на стените.

Genres: Nonfiction, Travel, Politics, History, Canada, Journalism, Essays

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2011

About the author

Marcello Di Cintio traveled to West Africa in 1997. He taught biology in a Ghanaian village for three months, then traveled through western and northern Africa for nine months more. Di Cintio’s time in Africa resulted in his first published stories and, eventually, his first book, Harmattan: Wind Across West Africa.

In 2003 and 2004, Di Cintio traveled to Iran to discover the connection between Persian poets and traditional wrestlers. Knopf Canada published the resulting book, Poets and Pahlevans: A Journey Into the Heart of Iran, in 2006.

In February 2008, Di Cintio flew into the Algerian desert to begin nearly five years of travel and research for Walls: Travels Along the Barricades chronicles Di Cintio's journeys along some of the world's most disputed and unfriendly edges. The book tries to answer the question: What does it mean to live in the shadow of a wall?

Di Cintio's 4th book, Pay No Heed to the Rockets: Palestine in the Present Tense, reveals life in contemporary Palestine as seen through the lens of the region's rich literary culture.

Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers will appear in May 2021. This book will reveal the fascinating backstories of the men and women who drive us around.

Reviews

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Home” by Somali poet Warsan Shire

no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city running as well

your neighbours running faster than you
breath bloody in their throats
the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind the old tin factory
is holding a gun bigger than his body
you only leave home
when home won’t let you stay.

no one leaves home unless home chases you
fire under feet
hot blood in your belly
it’s not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilets
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.

you have to understand,
that no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied

no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching
or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough

the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off

or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important

no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here.

[Loraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the subject of this book was immediately of interest to me, what really pushed me to read it is the section on the L’Acadie/TMR fence in Montreal. I consider Montreal to be my city and I pass this fence often. I see it as inoffensive, benign, separating residential properties from a commercial high-traffic area. No worse than a sound barrier. How can it possibly be considered in the same discussion as the walls of Belfast, Cyprus and Palestine?
By the time I reached this last chapter I was ready for it. I could see it coming. The author prepared the territory as if he was writing only for me. The recurring themes of Us vs Them, and why walls are built as opposed to what they accomplish, led me gently to seeing things differently.
It is an important subject and this book is a very good treatment of it. Google once again provided pictures and this book gave me a taste for seeing.
Edit september 8, 2013: In researching the walls of Melilla and Ceuta, I found an image of a migrant worker injured during an attempt to cross one of these walls. His eyes will haunt me. They said "why do I not matter?". I have kept the photo as a reminder of what this book taught me. Sometimes it is better that there not be photos in the book. We can find our own, which can be more personally meaningful than the best intentioned author/editor-chosen photos.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

He is all pine and I am apple orchard.
My apple trees will never get across
And eat the cones under his pines, I tell him.
He only says, "Good fences make good neighbours." (From Robert Frost's, Mending Wall)

Walls: Travels Along the Barricades is a travelogue of sorts written by Marcello di Cintio, a Canadian, in 2015. Walls was written before Mr. Trump trumpeted the US need for a wall. It was written before many of us knew that the US already has a wall along some parts of its southern border, significantly increasing the death rate among refugees, who have been diverted into the desert. It was written before many of us were aware of excluding walls other the Great Wall in China and the walls in the West Bank.

di Cintio visited eight walls throughout Africa, Europe, and North America. He concluded that walls exclude, incarcerate, desecrate, humiliate, and divide. They separate families and define (or steal) social identities: Us and Them. They feed racism by preventing chance meetings and engagement with anyone but members of your own community. Walls do not appear to decrease violence – and appear to increase it. They have meaning, symbolizing a people's struggles, and they create solidarity. Walls may create emotional borders rather than only physical ones. They make people mentally and physically ill (apparently due to stress). Some walls are transformed and undermined by becoming a repository for art, messages, and music.

di Cintio is admittedly anti-walls, but attempted to talk to people on both sides of the wall (he was more successful in some places than others). I appreciated that. Some states and countries made crossing the border very difficult. He clearly found some arguments difficult to listen to.

Some of the people he interviewed (e.g., Governor Mooshahary of Shillong) argued that “the fence is good for the nation” (p. 89), but he observed that walls are better at keeping poor farmers from their lands and fruit sellers from their market than stopping terrorists. Others, like gun-carrying, truck-driving Bill, who lives on the Mexico/Arizona border, said, “Historically, defensive things like this—the Great Wall, the Maginot Line, the Berlin Wall—none of them worked. And they were all put up by losers.” (p. 162).

“You got some lard-ass in Dubuque, Iowa, or some damn place,” Bill said, “and he’s got his big fat American ass sitting on an overstuffed couch, looking at a wide-screen TV, eating super-saturated fats, and he sees a picture of this fence and thinks, ‘That’ll stop ’em.’ Well, it’ll stop him, but not some kid coming up from five hundred miles south who is twenty years old and wants to work.” (p. 163)

di Cintio admitted that walls are for the peoples there rather than people like him (or many of us reading this) who could easily walk back and forth across the wall: As much as I learn about the walls, and as much as I try to empathize with those who inhabit their shadows, the truth remains that the walls are not meant for me (p. 148).

Books like this one help us see and understand oppression and its many manifestations and consequences. Writers as lucid and interesting as di Cintio make what could have been only a political rant very interesting.

How can one talk about walls without quoting Frost? This is another part of his poem, Mending Wall:

Spring is the mischief in me, and I wonder
If I could put a notion in his head:
"Why do they make good neighbours? Isn't it
Where there are cows? But here there are no cows.
Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out,
And to whom I was like to give offence.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall,
That wants it down." I could say "Elves" to him,
But it's not elves exactly, and I'd rather
He said it for himself. I see him there
Bringing a stone grasped firmly by the top
In each hand, like an old-stone savage armed.
He moves in darkness as it seems to me,
Not of woods only and the shade of trees.
He will not go behind his father's saying,
And he likes having thought of it so well
He says again, "Good fences make good neighbours." (From Robert Frost's, Mending Wall)

[Magdelanye · Rating 4 out of 5]

What is it about the tired old compulsion to build walls?

For once I could do no better than to refer those interested in this fascinating account to the official review here on GR. .Walls: Travels Along the Barricades

Unfortunately, my extensive notes are in an older notebook so I cannot quote but I must say that this does not read like a piece of investigative journalism. MDC is warm, engaged, and engaging. He is rarely opinionated, mindful and smart. He also has a lot of nerve and insight gathered from his research and experience.

This is a wonderful book and I will immediately buy it on sight. Also on the lookout for his other titles

[Doriana Bisegna · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing I love more than to be entertained while learning about the world. This book transported me to places that I may never see and yet I felt that I had been there along with the author. I loved the people that he met along the way and the way that these people deal with these barricades in their lives. It is a very different type of travel book and I highly recommend reading this innovative and wild subject matter. Who would have ever thought of writing a book about Walls and then to do so this wonderfully was quite a treat! The last section on the wall in Montreal situated between Park Extension and Town of Mount Royal totally blew me away since I grew up in that area and always viewed that wall as daily proof that we just were not good enough. Not rich enough, not affluent enough, not Anglo Saxon enough...and all my life I would say that one day I will live there...and I still do!! How crazy is that? And all because of a wall...
Seeing Marcello Di Cintio,in Kingston, the day after reading this book was a treat. He talked about this book for about 35 minutes and did a great job! Cannot wait to see what else he has up his sleeve...

[Adrian]

Author travels to eight walls around the world built to divide people for various reasons. Cool idea and I learned about walls in Morocco that I'd never heard of, and about others in Belfast that I assumed no longer existed. He does a good job searching out people who flesh out the history and feelings about their walls. Now the criticisms. Di Cintio too easily plumps for the Saharawi, Palestinian and Mexican points of view regarding their walls. In the case of the West Bank wall he could be accused of being anti-Israeli. It's too easy to always side with the underdog. He also loves the romantic notion that drawing or painting on walls disarms them. It doesn't. Some good stuff in here but author's naivete is damaging.

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Di Cintio is an incredibly lucid writer and this may well be his best book. While the travels along many of the world's most (in)famous walls may be a cheap sort of voyeurism for those of us who lack the courage to immerse ourselves with the people who fling their bodies and their politics at those walls, Di Cintio's honest and often wry situation of himself in these barricaded communities never makes it feel so.

I freely admit that, after having spent two years living by and staring at the L'acadie fence in Montreal (certainly the least imposing of the barriers visited here), I felt as though I belonged with the communities that Di Cintio so eloquently and thoroughly introduces us to - and was left simply feeling at home with my outrage and deftly stroked sense of injustice.

The book aptly demonstrates that walls are, above all things, imagined and that our imaginations can cause the most grievous harms when they're not met in balance and mutual respect.

[Cvetelina Nancheva · Rating 5 out of 5]

В тази книга има от почти всичко, което ме вълнува, поднесено по начин, който ми допада. Разказите са едновременно информативни и емоционални. И макар като цяло да оставя усещане за безнадеждност, сред страниците ��ткрих и мъдрост. Със сигурност остави трайни емоционални следи и обогати познанията ми по въпроси, които ме вълнуват.

Най-труден за възприемане ми беше разказа за Белфаст. Разбира се, знаех за гражданските конфликти в Северна Ирландия, но никога не съм предполагала, че е толкова чудовищно грозно. Истински ме отврати. И ако по другите места до които ни отведе автора, намирах причините за разделението, тук не можах.

Добавям книгата сред списъка с книги, които бих препрочитала.

А при възможност ще се радвам да прочета и останалите книги от този автор.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This travel memoir by Marcello Di Cintio is a thought-provoking and politically intense text that will enlighten and expand your belief system around borders and their purpose. When this book was assigned to my college English class, I did not expect myself to become so emotional to the many individuals Di Cintio interviews. I began to feel as if I would do anything to make sure Rocky got to Europe or would willingly fight for the right of the Catholic school girls to take their daily route to school without the harassment of the Protestants.
Di Cintio's writing is poetic in a seemingly subconscious way. He makes you feel as if you are in these divided nations that he visits. He also makes you feel the true essence of each individual he speaks to. His descriptive writing of the scenes and smells he encounters makes you feel apart of his journey.
Within each chapter, Di Cintio does visit both sides of the barriers. He interviews a variety of individuals and never cherry-picks the information he shares in the book. However, by the end of the chapter, it is clear which side he makes out to be the “good guys” and the “bad guys.” For me, I enjoyed this. I felt that I agreed with beliefs and it added a more personal touch to the book.
It is important to note that this book deals with very intense issues. Di Cintio writes them in a beautiful way that makes the reader appreciate the simple things we take for granted. He also writes in a way that fuels up passion and anger towards the injustices occurring around the world. Di Cintio additionally focuses on the historical context of these places, making it easier to read, (as these issues have a lot of deep context).
I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone. This text is one of those books that you cannot put down and will instill a number of emotions inside of you.

[Dario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cintio’s book Walls: Travels Along the Barricades is a captivating must-read. Each chapter brought a new flavor to the table, giving me anticipation for the following countries he would visit. His written experiences of his travels are as enjoyable as they are educational. For every country he visits, he documents and gives a brief history of the walls. Included are also interviews from the locals of these countries, displaying both perspectives of the wall. These individuals share their experiences, opening the mind and giving the reader new views on life. Di Cintio puts as much detail on the situations he experiences in these countries; the drama from families and locals can be felt from where I sit. Certain parts of the book have so much action and thrill occurring in the book, it makes me feel a part of the story.
All in all, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a good read about the world’s current circumstances. I had a good time reading this, and I believe anyone can get into this book as well.

[Janet Hutchinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this a year or so ago, and am finally finishing it up. It’s an interesting read during a pandemic. The human need to divide, during a time when we are “socially distancing” - you can feel the invisible barricades, when we have to keep 2 metres apart, wear face masks etc. This book highlights some of the walls built around the world - the famous ones, like the West Bank wall, the walls that are there, but are made more political by the desire to build them taller, stronger and more divisive (I’m looking at you, Mr. Trump), and the lesser known ones - Belfast, and L'acadie in Montreal. One hopes that, as Di Cinitio says in his conclusion, “the urge to tear down barriers is a stronger impulse than the urge to build them.”

[Lizandro Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Walls: Travels along the Barricades, is a very well composed book. From the start to the finish the author Marcello Di Cintio gives a much greater and in depth look at the lives and experiences that people around the world live day by day. While reading this book you can see the dedication and time that was put into this, by explaining each situation and going to each wall it gave the book a different feel when it came to reading it. Overall it is very recommendable, very interesting and gives you a unique point of view.

[Adrik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book with a strong message; walls don't work. The negative effects of the barriers on the local populace are expanded upon as the author visits several walls around the world. Through his research, observations and conversations with people living around the walls the reader receives a comprehensive view of what happens when time and time again someone gets the bright idea of erecting a barrier, whether made out of barbed wire, corrugated steel, concrete, sand, stone etc. Some of the borders are well known such as the US-Mexico border and West Bank Wall and others, such as the wall in the Western Sahara show what happens when a conflict has lost the interest of global media. All in all, every barrier erected creates and "us" versus "them" and only increases tensions between peoples. A wall is meant to make people feel safe and yet this book works hard to break down that assumption.

[Andrew Castro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cintio’s travel memoir is a shocking yet informative revelation of the truth about walls and borders across the globe. Di Cintio places himself as a mediator among disputed territories, and shows what affect the borders have on both sides. I highly recommend reading this book because it opens your mind to how you feel about your neighboring communities and nations. This book illustrates that dividing people and building walls is a permanent solution to temporary issues. A truly great piece of literature.

[Kassandra Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the travel memoir WALLS: Travels Along the Barricades I followed the author Marcello Di Cintio in his journey through the barriers around the world. It was surprising how many people were in conflict because of these divisions. I read how women, men, and children are affected by the negativity brought by these barricades. This book taught me how important it is to understand the cultures effected and feel a connection with the people.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow this is a great read and I highly recommend it. I would give it 4 1/2 stars but not five. The reasons are numerous but here are a few of my observations.

Although Di Cintio (a native Calgarian) visited several of the known walls like the West Bank, Ireland and the US-Mexico border, he also visited ones I didn't even know existed like the Western Saraha, Bangladesh and more shocking, old Montreal. This revealed how often societies love to build walls to separate their own people for so many reasons such as political, religious or economic. His background information on both known-unknown places was both enlightening and interesting to read.

Di Cintio met many people on both sides which gives weight in trying to be neutral. Often these people were very colorful, like Bill Odle, Breandan Clarke and Mailan Lakhal or the Cypriot Katerina. They truly added some challenging ideas to the conversation.

This is a very political book but Di Cintio brings us into their conflicts rather than making a political statement. I enjoyed this better than reading some manifesto. I think most people share the view that walls divide us more than "Make better neighbors" and once a wall goes up, most people want the wall to come down (i.e. Berlin Wall). Whatever your views, he makes you think to ponder their views.

My only weakness with the book (the half star) is that sometimes he tended to side more with one side (usually the oppressed) and loses some of his neutrality. Running with the shabaab in the West Bank probably was not a good idea, but we did get a view of the teens desire to cause trouble. If I was with an oppressed people, my sympathies would lie with them as well, so I see how challenging this can be when caught up with the moment.

Lastly, and weirdly, I wished there were some photos in the book. He did address the fact that they all look similar, but perversely I wanted to see them (being a visual person). Maybe that's just me?

Kudos to Marcello Di Cintio for spending three years in these troubled places to enlighten us with this growing issue.

[LibraryCin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Marcello di Cintio decided to travel to various walls/fences/borders to not only see them, but to talk to the people living alongside them and others about how the walls affect their lives. Included in this is some history and politics about how and why the walls went up. Some of the places di Cintio visited included the Western Sahara, the Israel/Palestine border, India/Bangladesh, Cyprus (there is a wall that divides the city), Arizona/Mexico, Belfast, and even one in my (and the author's) home country, Canada (in Montreal).

This was interesting. People are affected in so many different ways – farmers are divided from their fields in some cases, Protestants divided from Catholics, the US is trying to keep out Mexican immigrants, and in Montreal, the wall simply divides one of the affluent areas from a poor immigrant neighbourhood. I have to admit that I found the “Western” areas more interesting (Belfast, US, Canada), but I think that's – in part – because I feel more able to “picture” them, as I've never been anywhere where the military is guarding walls or borders with guns and such... though Belfast sounds super-scary, as the violence seems to continue there for no reason. One thing I think I would have liked in the book was maps, so I could “see” where these walls were, exactly. Overall, though, a good, interesting read on a different kind of topic.

[Judd Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cintio's "Walls" is a strong contender for book of the year for me. Documenting a series of journeys from Palestine to Montréal, Walls weaves together an insightful analysis of the role that walls play in our world with earnest and engaging vignettes of Di Cintio's experiences attempting to visit and learn about these locales.

What I love about this book is the complexity with which Di Cintio approaches the subject. Though the walls are the source of much division, death, and destruction, Di Cintio has a good way of avoiding cheap and simple narratives about why they exist and what it would take to bring them down. He grapples with the complexities of semi-violent protests and political sparring, simultaneously acknowledging the harms that these walls create while curating an empathetic understanding of why they're built in the first place. We're shown the evil that the walls can foment, in all its gore, but also left grappling with the messiness that creates and maintains them.

Though a couple of the first chapters are a little plodding, stick with the book: Di Cintio's meditations on walls are well worth it. He explores walls as 'surrender' - forlorn acknowledgement of the futility of conflict and tension. He peels back histories of walls slicing through communities without attention to local conditions; of walls that appear because of haphazard petitions that are latter regretted. We see attempts to subvert walls through art and music, contrasted with other interactions that feel superficial and reinforcing of the walls' power. I could go on, but the point is simple: this meditation on a seemingly simple artifact is far richer and more nuanced than I expected, and exemplifies just how journalists and researchers can tell a complex story without giving in to simplification.

Some of the walls I've visited (Belfast; US-Mexico); others I had never even heard of (including one in Montréal itself!). But, as obscure as some of them might have been, each encounter with a wall left me reflecting upon the ways that we make sense of our world, seek to control and manipulate it, and ultimately end up being shaped by the barriers we erect.

Look, this is a book about walls. It might not be something you'd pick up off a shelf at random, and it certainly requires a fraction of commitment to dive in fully. But if you do, you'll be rewarded with one of the most subtle, nuanced, and insightful tour-of-objects that I've encountered in a long time. Pick it up: you'll be glad you did.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
I wanted to give this book 4 stars, because Walls: Travels Along the Barricades is a worthwhile read. Its stories are told beautifully, and Di Cintio compliments them by laying a rich groundwork of history behind every place he visits. Whether or not you enjoy the book, you will walk away with a greater understanding of barrier ridden conflicts around the world. The book is very gripping, and the conflicts bring a weight and fascination that gives it even more lift, and the author does make some interesting insights into the relationship barriers have with humanity. However, you won't receive a picture without its flaws. As I progressed through the chapters, I flip flopped between enjoyment and annoyance of the clear biases that are presented within the conflicts.

Di Cintio is very aware of his biases, but I'm not sure if that makes them more excusable. He has a tendency to cover one side of a conflict more generously than another, largely because he became sympathetic to those he met. There is nothing inherently wrong with a travel memoir presenting the world through the eyes of the author, but it feels irresponsible to me. The opinions presented, to me, often feel like they are presented in a less exploratory and more factual way. Because of the innate human bias and because of an impossibility to explore every angle, as well as because of how at times I quite enjoyed this book, I went back and forth over how much it bothered me. However, in a book that will educate many on these conflicts for the first time, I struggle to look past the weight his opinions carry.

I would recommend this book. The part of this book I struggle with, interestingly, will be viewed by others as one of its strengths. Di Cintio isn't afraid to go all the way with his opinions, and his biases are a big part of why the book is so fascinating and there is so much to unravel within its pages. Not to mention some wonderful history and intelligent writing. However, it was slightly jarring realizing that if I had not discussed the book with others and discussed its biases, I would have felt the book was handing me a well rounded opinion of these conflicts that I was in reality not receiving. Di Cintio does not give the reader any depth to where his biases lie, and to me that feels misleading.

Overall, Walls: Travels Along the Barricades is a quality book but not without it's flaws. I would recommend others to read it and form your own opinion, but would say to take his knowledge and opinions of the conflicts with a grain of salt.

[Maddie G · Rating 2 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this book. It was educational; I learned a lot about various power dynamics around the world and how walls are both a symbol of and a catalyst to those power struggles. The best parts of the book were the stories from people that the author interviewed. They were all so nice to him! That was kind of nuts. I think the author tried too hard to be as poetic as possible with his own words. The beauty of the book was in the words of his interviewees, and not necessarily in his own interpretation of their lives next to a wall. I found this book engaging only in spurts. I was once briefly brought to tears, and I laughed a handful of times. In a weird way, I thought the author was honest about himself to his own detriment. For example, I was disappointed that he showed up in Northwestern Africa (a region of the world with many French and Spanish speakers) and yet he didn't bother to refresh himself on any languages of use in that region. That was very presumptuous of him to think he could just show up like that and write about people's lives with ease. I appreciated what I learned about the Saharawi people, the conflict between Israel and Palestine, etc. I'm grateful that the author took the time and risk to interview people around the world whose paths have been physically obstructed and have been forced onto the side of the "unwanted" and/or "feared" in society. This is definitely a topic that is not brought up enough nowadays. Despite all this, I would NOT recommend this book to anyone.

[Osanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was asked to read the chapter "A Nakba of Olives" for my English class and have written my review solely based on this reading. Di Cintio conveys an unfiltered account of the conflict in Israel and Palestine around the wall that divides them. He witnesses protests against the wall and the cruelty, struggle, and blind judgment that emanates from both sides. Di Cintio holds a pro-Palestine perspective and sticks to it throughout his chapter despite spending time on both sides. However, while Di Cintio does support Palestine, he humanizes both sides of this conflict. Di Cintio relays the unjustness of the Wall but finds that no conflict is black and white, even if there is such a distinct inside and outside. Readers will learn much about Palestine’s struggle in their battle against Israel through their sentiments against the wall and Israel’s actions. This chapter is not a holistic view of the war between Israel and Palestine, as the author spends most of his time with Palestinians and focuses on their plight against the wall. That being said, it is a unique and wonderfully detailed account of what goes on close to the wall on the Palestinian side and the unjustness that Palestinians face due to the creation of the wall. Ultimately, the chapter "A Nakba of Olives" is educational on the strife between Israel and Palestine and the turmoil within Palestine while prompting readers to reflect on prejudice and the violence that follows it.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walls by Marcello Di Cintio is a travel memoir that follows Di Cintio's journey through different parts of the world where borders and walls have divided certain groups of people. These borders and separations have created, in Di Cintio's eyes, more conflicts than solutions. In his journey, Di Cintio is not just a traveler, but an active participant in the lives of these groups which gives him a very powerful insight of what these people go through. He ventures himself into territories like Palestine, the Mexican Border, and Belfast among others and takes the reader through insightful descriptions on the social, emotional, political and economical impact of these barriers. He appeals to the readers’ emotions by describing the separation of families, the violence, the injustice of stolen lands, and the inequality of a dominant group versus a suppressive one. The author sees these walls as an ironic necessity in this world where everybody is connected and where there are no physical walls in the technological world. This review is based on one of the chapter of Di Cintio’s book called A Nakba of Olives:The West Bank Wall. The author is appalled and disheartened by what he finds when living with a Palestinian family and a Jewish family. I recommend this book to anyone who's interested in journalism and heartfelt stories.

[Sophia G]

This is a review of the chapter in this book titled, "A Nakba of Olives: The West Bank Wall." This chapter is beautifully written and follows the devastating effects of the West Bank Wall, which was put up as a result of Israeli orders. The wall was made so that Palestinians could not go to Israel and if they tried to cross, they would likely die. There was an alarm system installed as well so that soldiers would know if someone tried to cross. It’s so protected that, “the border police can reach any part of the barrier within eight minutes” (pg. 102).

A part that stuck out to me about the Wall's impact was that it separated farmers from their fields. This is something that seems so clearly wrong, as farmers need access to their fields to take care of them and sell the produce. To make matters more difficult “Israel insisted that farmers apply for permission to pass through the IDF controlled gates to their fields” (pg. 120). These are just a few of the effects that the Wall had. Within the chapter, there are more examples of the devastation it caused.

The chapter also points out the important relationship between olives and Palestine. (I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s found on page 119). The story of this wall is an important one to read. It has themes of oppression and power, which are things we see much of in the world today.

[Silvia Perez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Di Cintio is an incredible writer. Reading The Boogeyman is Coming, A Nakba of Olives, and Shun Thy Neighbour made me feel as if I were taken into the book. I feel that those chapters really went into detail with the perspectives of people from both sides of the wall. I was surprised to learn about all these other borders that I did not even know were there. Learning about the stories and experiences of people from these countries made me feel connected to them in some sort of way and understand how they feel. These stories left an impact on me because now that I know their stories, I realize that there are many people who face violence, struggles, and much more. The writing of this book is amazing. I feel like the stories being told bring a lot of emotions. I also like that he interviewed these people and took his time with it, didn't rush and wanted to capture all the details. It is a good thing to have people tell their stories because there are many who couldn't do it. This brings light to these events, the real-life struggles many have, and the effects of the wall. The wall symbolizes different things to the people on both sides of the wall. I really recommend reading this book!

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cintio's chapter "The Bogeyman is Coming:
Ceuta and Melilla" from WALLS: Travels Along the Barricades.
Di Cintio's book is travel memoir nonfiction, but this chapter reads with the pressure of a thriller. He brings you to the Spain-Morocco border, where migrants sleep in forests, improvise ladders, and rush the fence in groups because they believe that if they are many, they cannot be stopped. He shows the physical danger
—razor wire, tear gas, broken bones-and the quieter danger of being seen as a "bogeyman."
What impressed me most is his focus on rhetoric, not just geography. The wall becomes a stage where governments perform "security," and residents learn to think in strict categories: Us versus Them. Di Cintio also admits the messy reality of survival: bribes, smugglers, and people reshaping identity stories to fit asylum rules.
If you like books about borders, migration, and how fear is built into landscapes, start here. It's intense, sad, and human, and it made me question what walls really protect. Even as a single chapter, it gives enough history and vivid scenes to understand why crossings happen and why resistance can feel inevitable.

[Kaylee Margone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cinto's Walls: Travels Along the Barricades offers so much insight as to what it is like in these places at ground zero. Specifically, the chapter "A Nabka of Olive Leaves: The West Bank Wall" gives a great perspective on life. Di Cinto provides such an empathetic version of the day-to-day lives of Palestinian people and how their lives changed so drastically overnight. His writing provokes so much emotion and in so much detail that it feels as though we are there with him. While he is empathetic to all parties involved, he does a good job of asking questions from both sides. I also think that his time with Mohammad added great perspective as someone who has no idea what it is like to live in the West Bank; having the perspective of a life long resident made it easier to understand the full impact that this conflict had created. Also, reading this book in 2024 is shocking because all of these things that were happening 20 years ago are still continuing to happen to the Palestinian people today.

[Gilberto Ponce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have taken three different college English courses by the same instructor and every course she managed to find an enthralling theme. This, of course, was no exception. She chose the book Walls as our main text and I was intrigued by this book immediately. Di Cintio gives great insight into the struggles that people endure on both sides of the barriers. This is not only an insightful read, but also gives historical facts I was not aware about. This book was quite eye opening because most of these conflicts are still taking place to this day. I highly recommend this book, at times a bit tough to process because of all the raw imagery. However it’s very insightful about the reality of our world history, specially considering our current American political climate. If you agree with Trump in building a wall on our southern border, reading this text will enlighten you into seeing that walls simply DO NOT work.

[Ashly Smedlund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marcello Di Cintio's Walls: Travels Along the Barricades Walls: Travels Along the Barricadestakes you on a journey that is one to follow among the different places he travels too. I read this book for a college level english course and after reading this book our english was lucky enough to actually get to meet Marcello Di Cintio for an interview about his travels along the walls. He told us his stories about the walls and everything he got to know with the journey he took. Marcello does make you want to keep reading until you find a place to stop in order to know what his travels was like. This book is an eye opening book about the different views people have about the walls that they have to live among in their life.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review is of Di Cintios's chapter, A Nakba of Olives: The West Bank Wall" from WALLS: Travels along the Barricades.

A Nakba of Olives: The West Bank Wall” from WALLS: Travels along the Barricades presents a compelling, in-depth look at how Israel’s separation barrier profoundly impacts Palestinian communities. Di Cintio blends vivid descriptions of concrete panels, barbed wire, and blocked paths with thoughtful interviews and personal accounts. By focusing on how the wall severs people from their olive groves and ancestral lands, the piece highlights a range of cultural, economic, and emotional consequences. It portrays Palestinians navigating disrupted lives, underscoring the idea that physical barriers are never neutral. Instead, they reshape traditions, restrict livelihoods, and challenge personal and collective identity. I would recommend this chapter to anyone seeking to learn about the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read a chapter from Marcello Di Cintios travel memoir, specifically the chapter titled "A Nakba of Olives: The West Bank Wall" This chapter offers a striking and deeply humanizing look at the impact of physical barriers on the lives of the Palestinian people. His extensive research and firsthand experience shine through as he delves into the socio political issues surrounding the West Bank Wall. His narrative weaves together personal stories with broader political contexts, making the struggles of the Palestinian people both reliable and poignant.
What struck me the most was his ability to appeal to the readers emotions while maintaining a strong ethos. His detailed accounts and the personal stories he shares help to highlight the importance of understanding the human side of political conflicts.
This chapter alone has deepened my understanding of the themes of resistance and oppression.