After World War Ⅱ, the number of border walls all over the world increases significantly. Nowadays the border situation between the US and Mexico is widely discussed, and a wall is actually in people’s envision. What are some border walls in other countries like? Do they all function as the prevention of illegal migrants and refugees?

Serving similar purpose with the wall between US and Mexico, the security at Calais port between France and UK prevents illegal migrants from entering the UK. The security is equipped with detection technologies, such as heartbeat and carbon dioxide detectors, and both countries funded together for a “control and command center”. One difference between Calais port and US border wall is that Calais port prevents the migration problem “at source”, with the aid of strict systems, while the US border wall exposes migrants into the potential danger in the desert. What’s more, between UK and France governments, there is a promoted joint agreement to determine if the migrants are accepted as asylum seekers, get detained or deported.

Another example is the fences in Europe. Hungary and Slovenia are two countries with the region’s largest expanse of fences. These border fences serve to prevent illegal migrants as well but face more religious issues than the one between US and Mexico. It is revealed that people living near these barriers often find that they serve little purpose and can be psychologically damaging. For example, children in the camp in village are scared of their proximity to the fence.

Figure 1. The border wall along Hungary and Slovenia.

We are probably familiar with US president Trump’s use of the Great Wall in China as a comparison to his plans of building the wall. However, these two walls actually serve distinct purposes. The Great Wall was built to prevent exterior military incursion instead of as a security barrier. The construction of Great Wall started in 7th century BC, went through several dynasties, and finished in Ming dynasty. The Great Wall is not impregnable in Chinese history, so perhaps the border wall between US and Mexico will not be totally impregnable as well; moreover, according to Edward Alden, trade policy expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, increased enforcement efforts along the border may explain about 35 to 40 percent of the decline in illegal immigration flow.

Figure 2. The Great Wall served as the prevention of military attacks.

Nowadays, the border wall that is actually similar to the Great Wall is probably the wall built by Saudi Arabia. The 600-mile-long wall in their northern frontier is built to prevent ISIS from attacking the oil-rich territory.

If the government is determined to use border wall to prevent migration, it might be better to set up an excellent system instead of exposing the migrants in danger in the desert. And even though the wall may serve well politically, we need to think about how to reduce the psychological effect it brings to people who live nearby.

References:

Hjelmgaard, Kim

2018 From 7 to 77: There’s been an explosion in building border walls since World War II. Electronic document,

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/24/border-walls-berlin-wall-donald-trump-wall/553250002/, accessed December 2, 2018

BBC News

2016 Calais migrants: How is the UK-France border policed? Electronic document,

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33267137, accessed December 2, 2018

Hjelmgaard, Kim

2018 Trump isn’t the only one who wants to build a wall. These European nations already did. Electronic document,

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/24/donald-trump-europe-border-walls-migrants/532572002/, accessed December 2, 2018

Michelle Ye Hee Lee

2016 Why Trump’s comparison of his wall to the Great Wall of China makes no sense. Electronic document,

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/08/why-trumps-comparison-of-his-wall-to-the-great-wall-of-china-makes-no-sense/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.972ab6dde511, accessed December 2, 2018

ShantiUniverse

2015 Saudi Arabia Builds 600 Mile Wall to Keep Islamic State OUT! Electronic document,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG_m4LKOCBk, accessed December 2, 2018

Further Reading:

The (Anthropological) Truth about Walls

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/anthropology-in-practice/the-anthropological-truth-about-walls/

The Trump Wall in Archaeological Perspective

https://howardwilliamsblog.wordpress.com/2016/11/14/the-trump-wall-in-archaeological-perspective/

Images:

Figure 1. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2018/05/24/donald-trump-europe-border-walls-migrants/532572002/

Figure 2. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2016/03/08/why-trumps-comparison-of-his-wall-to-the-great-wall-of-china-makes-no-sense/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.26dac171f9e3

Forensic dentistry or forensic odontology is a discipline that applies dental knowledge to criminal and civil laws. It is responsible for areas including identification of found human remains, identification in mass fatalities, and age estimation.

Disaster types and modes of identification of victims

The first case in which a dentist used dental evidence in a court case demonstrated the method of Comparative Dental Identification. In 1814, a lecturer of anatomy Dr. Granville Sheep Pattison and two of his students in Scotland were charged for the violation of Mrs. Mc Alister grave. They have moved the body of Mrs. Alister after the burial to the nearby college. Mrs. Alister’s dentist Dr. James Alexander testified that the maxillary denture of one of the heads in the dissection room fit Mrs. Alister. The dental identifications of individuals are also effective after mass fatalities, such as the Sumantra Andaman earthquake and Tsunami waves in Indian Ocean in 2004. More than 92% of non-Thai were identified ,and out of them 80% were identified by dental formation.

The dental features on postmortem remains can be compared with ante mortem dental records, including written notes, study casts and radiographs. In the system of identification, dental restorations, similarities and discrepancies are noted. How are the discrepancies formed? In some cases, they are related to time lapse between ante mortem and post-mortem records; while in other situations, the discrepancies are unexplainable. Thus, there are four conclusions recommended when reporting identification results: positive identification, possible identification, insufficient evidence, and exclusion.

Postmortem PM (a) and ante mortem AM (b) dental radiograph with many restorations (dense radio opacity)

One process about forensic dentistry is to recover the life of a set of human remain: we can not only identify this person’s physical features, but also decipher the life experiences, such as socio-economic status includes occupation, dietary habits, and habitual behaviors, dental or systemic diseases. Erosion can suggest alcohol, substance abuse, an eating disorder or even hiatus hernia, while stains can indicate smoking, tetracycline use or betel nut chewing. The quality, quantity, presence or absence of dental treatment may indicate socioeconomic status or country of residence. These dental profiles can help forensic artists construct a facial reproduction.

Forensic dentistry is also utilized to determine the age, ancestry, and sex. For example, in 1897, due to the story which said another child instead of Prince Louis XVII was buried in the monument, three experts aged the skeleton near the side of the church at between 16 plus and 18 plus years, proving that the remains were not Dauphin. What’s more, a forensic dentist can determine race within three major groups (Caucasoid, mongoloid and negroid) from skull appearance and tooth features such as cusp of Carrabelle, shovel-shaped incisors and multi cusped premolars. Sex can be examined by the presence or absence of y-chromatin and DNA analysis.

References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439663/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4111024/

Campbell JM. Glasgow: Pickering and Inglis, Ltd; 1963. Dentistry then Now.

Schuller-Götzburg P, Suchanek J. Forensic odontologists successfully identify tsunami victims in Phuket, Thailand. Forensic Sci Int. 2007;171:204–7.

Craniofacial identification by comparison of antemortem and postmortem radiographs: two case reports dealing with burnt bodies. Campobasso CP, Dell’Erba AS, Belviso M, Di Vella G Am J Forensic Med Pathol. 2007 Jun; 28(2):182-6.

Body identification guidelines. American Board of Forensic Odontology Inc. J Am Dent Assoc. 1994 Sep; 125(9):1244-6, 1248, 1250 passim.

Amoedo O. Paris: Masson Co., Booksellers L’Academie of Medicine; 1898. Dentistry in Forensic Medicine.

[Studies on sex determination using human dental pulp. II. Sex determination of teeth left in a room]. Adachi H Nihon Hoigaku Zasshi. 1989 Feb; 43(1):27-39.

Review A look at forensic dentistry–Part 1: The role of teeth in the determination of human identity. [Br Dent J. 2001]

Further Reading:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4149164/

https://www.adc-fl.com/dental-anthropology-and-bioarchaeology/

Images:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4439663/