Yaranga
Borders
Humans have divided up our planet using imaginary lines called borders. These borders can protect us as well as divide us. How much do you know about international borders and rules for crossing these borders?
When Paul and the dogs first arrived to Russia by plane they hoped there would be no problems getting into Russia, but they were turned back by the Border Guard service of Russia. How much do you know about international borders?
Security fence on the Former Soviet Union - Chinese border
To help understand what a border is take a look at Google Earth - and look at the planet from far away. There are no lines anywhere on the globe, only oceans, landforms, and ice caps. Then start to zoom in closer, if you have it set to show borders yellow lines appear first, those are lines that separate countries, the closer and there are more borders within countries, and the more detailed the view, the more borders there are. Why do we have so many lines dividing up the world? Who made these lines? Who decides on the changes that should be made to the lines?
The question about borders is one of the most important questions facing humanity today. Wars are sometimes fought about where lines are drawn and people will take dangerous journeys to cross borders to live in another part of the world. Borders are also used to regulate trade, to define the area where one government has control and can make laws, and borders give people an identity. This about the borders that are around you, borders can define your sense of place in ways you might not always think about. Your house may have borders around the yard in the form of a fence; your community might be easily defined. Your borders in many ways define who you are as a citizen and we often accept this without giving it much thought. But remember how the earth looks from far away, and you realize that borders are not part of the earth, but instead something than humans have created. Along with borders there are very strict laws that say who can and cannot cross borders, and what they can take with them. Each country has different laws, and not everybody is treated equally.
When Paul flew into Russia he needed several documents to cross over a border and into a different country. Most important is a passport, this is the document that your government issues and proves who you are. Without a passport you are not allowed to enter a foreign country. The next document is a visa, this is a stamp in your passport that show you have applied to the government for permission to enter there country. Visas are often issued for a set period of time depending on how long you expect to be in the county. When the visa expires you have to leave the country. In Paul's case he also needed to show that the dogs have received vaccinations against disease such as rabies.
The problem for Paul was all the dog food he wanted to bring in. By the Russian laws, or the way in which the border guards interpreted the law, he would have to pay tax on each pound of dog food. Paul tried to explain that he was not going to sell the food but it was for the expedition. The border guards choose not to believe him and instead canceled his visa and sent him back to Nome.
This seems very unfair to Paul and the expedition, but perhaps the Russian border guards were worried that he would sell the food, or that they could be in trouble if they let Paul in the country with so much supplies. The Russians have the longest border in the world and sometimes there are very severe about protecting who can leave the country, and who can come into the country.
Russia makes claims to its borders even up to the North Pole and into the seas around its shores. There are many international rules about where the borders end in the seas off the shores of a country, and even in the Arctic north.
Take a minute to think about how borders affect your life; are you a citizen of the world, or of a country, or your school and community, or a citizen of all at the same time?
