1. Introduction Education has always played a vital role in the shaping of any nation. It has been the torch-bearer of human progress and thereby remained a natural component of all societies. Many men and women, both in the East and the West, have dedicated their lives for the betterment of their societies through education. One among them is Paulo Freire. He is one of the luminous intellectuals of the 20 th century whose words and deeds are closely intermingled with his experience of poverty, hard work, oppositions and exile. He was born in 1921, in Recife, the Northeast of Brazil. Freire’s family suffered greatly during the great depression of 1929. Even as a boy he vowed to fight against hunger and injustice. Qualified as a lawyer he went on to complete his doctoral studies on education. Soon after the military coup in 1964 Freire was jailed for seventy five days for his subversive educational activities. It was in exile that he came to be known as a radical
Do we build walls to
welcome people? Strange isn’t it? We make bridges, not walls to connect people.
It would be a ridiculous idea to build a wall so as to build a better
relationship. The fall of the Berlin wall was the beginning of a new era not only
for the ideologically malnourished Eastern Germans but for the entire world. I
remember reading about the fall of the Berlin wall from the history books. What
person will ever erect a wall, not in the periphery of his property but right
in the middle of his home to beautify it? Who will segregate his own household
as 'seeables' and 'unseeables'? Have those live beyond the walls become zombies, a
threat to national and international security? Questioning is seditious these
days, I know! But how to pause over in silence when open and not so open
prisons are being erected every day throughout the length and breadth of this
country all in the name of development? If we are truly superpower, as some
claim to be, why should we be caging in people? Are the poor ‘the surplus
people’ of this country? This is another myth that we are fed that the visit of
someone, who integrity is well known worldwide, will make us prosper! Walls do
not welcome but bridges do! Those who live in ideological cocoons cannot but
erect walls alone! Grow up the world today knows what exists beyond the walls
and lies that the fascist establishments busy spreading have a short lifespan! Your messiah, another wall builder, may not see the abject poverty and may not experience nauseating stench but they do exist and you will ensure its continuity is what everyone knows.
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