Recently, Ronald Rael, a professor of architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and Virginia San Fratello, an associate professor at San Jose State University, installed three pink seesaws on the border wall between Juarez City in Mexico and new Mexico in the United States. In this way, residents on both sides of the border can play games together.
"We want to unite, not separate"
After the installation of these three special seesaws, people living on the border came to "punch in".
A video posted by Rael on social media Instagram showed that both adults and children were interested in the device and had a lot of fun.
According to CNN, Rael said the event, which was carried out on the border wall, was full of laughter and solidarity.
He said the event was “filled with joy， excitement and togetherness at the border wall”。
CNN: Artists build seesaws at the border, so that children at the U.S.-Mexico border can play together
Rael believes that the border wall is the fulcrum of the U.S.-Mexico relationship. He hopes that this "transnational seesaw" will connect children and adults on both sides in meaningful ways and make everyone realize that the actions of one side of the border wall directly affect the other.
The wall became a literal fulcrum for U.S。 - Mexico relations and children and adults were connected in meaningful ways on both sides with the recognition that the actions that take place on one side have a direct consequence on the other side。
San Fratello said she and Rael hope that people will feel joy, happiness, positivity and unity from this action, and realize that people on both sides of the fence are the same. We want our lives to feel the same thing as our children. "We want to be united, not separated."
San Fratello says she and Rael hope， “that people will see this act of joy and happiness and positivity and togetherness and realize that we‘re all the same， on both sides of the fence。 And that we want the same things for our lives and for our children。 ”
“We should be together not apart，” she adds。
This "transnational seesaw" not only brought happiness to border residents, but also received praise from the American media and netizens.
According to Newsweek, the Texas-based Center for Refugee and Immigrant Education and Legal Services praised the "transnational seesaw" device as a powerful reminder that "we are one."
The Texas-based Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services （RAICES） also praised the border wall installation as a powerful reminder that “we are all one。 ”
Newsweek: The seesaws on the U.S.-Mexico border wall allow children from both countries to play together
The center said on its Twitter account that art is an important vehicle for change. This beautiful installation on the southern border reminds us that "actions that occur on one side have a direct impact on the other". We are connected and we are one.
The United States and Mexico, and even netizens around the world, have transformed into pink seesaw "tap water"!
Mexican TV host Mauricio Martínez tweeted that it was a "beautiful reminder: we are always connected." "What happens on one side affects the other."
“Beautiful reminder that we are connected，” wrote Mexican TV star Mauricio Martínez， who shared video of the seesaw installation to Twitter。 “What happens on one side impacts the other。 ”
Claudia Tristán, Latin director of information for 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Beto O'Rourke, also tweeted that "seesaws have magical symbolic significance." Border walls cannot separate us from our neighbours. ”
“The symbolism of the seesaw is just magical，” said Claudia Tristán， the Director of Latinx Messaging for 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Beto O‘Rourke。
Some netizens were touched by this "transnational seesaw" ↓↓
I was shocked and moved by this. After years of conceiving, the device was finally realized in an incredible and meaningful way. Congratulations to everyone who made this happen!
Congratulations on this amazingly great project! We salute this from all over the world.
Some netizens believe that this device is the embodiment of friendship ↓↓
This incredibly beautiful seesaw. Thank you for bringing people together.
Great! "The actions made by one party will directly affect the other party", this sentence is very heartfelt and very touching.
That's how human nature should be
It's so nice. It brings people together, even if they are separated in reality.
The idea from ten years ago finally came true
In fact, this "transnational seesaw" gameplay has been conceived in the minds of the two professors for a long time.
After the passage of the U.S. Security Fence Act in 2006, Rael and San Fratello were already conceiving the project when they were working on construction work on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Rael and San Fratello began conceiving the project while doing architectural work near the border following the passage of the Secure Fence Act of 2006。
In 2009, the two proposed the concept of a "transnational seesaw" in their book Border Wall as a Building, arguing that such a device is to "improve the uselessness of obstacles with humor and creativity."
In 2009， the two designed a concept for a binational seesaw at the border for a book， “Borderwall as Architecture，” which uses “humor and inventiveness to address the futility of building barriers，” UC-Berkeley said。
After 10 years, this idea has finally become a reality. Rael's team transported the seesaw to Sunland Park in New Mexico, which was separated by a steel fence in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico.
Ten years later， their conceptual drawings became reality。 Rael and his crew transported the seesaws to Sunland Park， New Mexico， separated by a steel fence from Ciudad Juárez， Mexico。
San Fratello told Time magazine that they chose to install seesaws here because people on both sides could easily get close to the fence. The seesaw was painted pink because the color was "popular and vibrant, but also in honor of the women who lost their lives in the murder of women in Ciudad Juárez". Since 1993, hundreds of women and girls have been killed in Juárez.
They chose the location because it was a place where people in either country could directly approach the fence。 The see-saws were painted hot pink to “pop and be vibrant， but also to honor the women who died during the femicides and the time of violence in Juárez，” says San Fratello， referring to the hundreds of women and girls murdered in Ciudad Juárez since 1993。
TIME: These three pink seesaws fill the border with laughter and solidarity, and these architects have turned the U.S.-Mexico border into a playground
According to San Fratello, the seesaw is made of lightweight steel and "uses the wall itself as a fulcrum for quick and easy installation." "It can be installed in less than a minute."
They are made of lightweight steel， she explains， and “designed to be installed quickly and easily using the wall itself as a fulcrum。
“We could literally set [them] up in one minute，” she says。
San Fratello said the children lived near the border wall and they were huddled outside when the seesaw was installed. "As soon as someone comes to the border wall, they come around and talk to them." "When we showed up with a seesaw, they were ready to play."
According to San Fratello， the children lived close to the border fencing in both countries， and were already outside when the see-saws were installed。 “As soon as someone comes up to the border wall， they come up and will engage you，” she tells TIME。 “When we showed up with the teetertotters， they were there and ready to play。 ”
This wall is both encounterable and ridiculous
Previously, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to allow the Trump administration to allocate $2.5 billion from Defense department funding to build a border wall.
CNN uses a web page to show readers a panoramic view of the U.S.-Mexico border wall ↓↓
U.S. President Donald Trump promised during the campaign that a wall would be built on the U.S.-Mexico border has since become more politically sensitive. But San Fratello stressed that she and Rael had done similar projects long before.
Though the border has become politicized since Donald Trump was elected President following a campaign built on the promise of wall between the United States and Mexico， San Fratello emphasized that she and Rael had been doing projects like this long beforehand。
San Fratello told Time: "Over the years, we have been traveling in the border areas and have seen the security of the borders continue to increase and the wall has been built. "We started making these opposing proposals and comments, which are also a way to rethink the meaning of national borders."
“We had been traveling in that region and saw the increased border security and the construction of the wall over the years，” San Fratello says。 “We started to develop these counter proposals and commentary as a way of rethinking what the border is。 ”
She argues that while the border wall is formally the dividing line between the United States and Mexico, it is also "a place where people can meet." We wanted to create a scene that would both be warm and friendly while highlighting the absurdity of the wall. ”
While the border is quite literally a dividing line between the United States and Mexico， San Fratello says that is “also a place where people come together。 We wanted to create scenarios that would celebrate togetherness。 And also highlight the ridiculousness of the border wall。 ”
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official said U.S. Border Patrol agents "encountered a small group of people at the wall who claimed to be local university faculty and staff." They placed planks in the middle of the wall, as if to record the scenes of the two people interacting with each other while playing with Mexican residents. ”
In a statement to TIME， a U.S。 Customs and Border Protection official says U.S。 Border Patrol agents “encountered a small group who identified themselves as local university faculty/staff at the border wall。 They had placed boards through the wall and appeared to be playing with residents of Mexico while recording the engagement。 ”
The statement also mentioned that "staff confirmed that no person or object had crossed the border throughout the process." ”
“Agents ensured that no people/goods were crossed during the encounter。 ”
Rael once said in a TED talk that made novel assumptions about the use of the wall — for example, it could be used as a fence for a baseball field, or as a huge tool. "Honestly, [Trump's] presidency is just right to get the public to pay attention to the work we've done," San Fratello said.
Rael had previously given a TED Talk highlighting novel hypothetical uses for the border wall — as fencing for a baseball field， say， or as a giant instrument。 “Honestly， [Trump’s] presidency has just brought attention to the work that we’ve been doing，” San Fratello says。
Intern: Yang Minyi
Reporter: Zhu Yundi