LETTER: If international borders are no longer sacred, all borders become fragile

Ukraine lies on the fault line between two worlds controlled by vastly different ideologies: one ruled by the will and power of the people, the other controlled by the will and the power of the state.

We are now lectured on what those differences are on a daily basis in very simple terms on television screens in our living rooms. Even the man in the street should now get the clear message what the two worlds are about. No-one can plead ignorance any longer.

We are all connected through our common humanity. An attack on one is an attack on all. We live in an interdependent and interconnected global village. Pain inflicted on one member of the family has a ripple effect throughout the family of nations.

If international borders are no longer sacred, all borders become fragile. If the rule of law is no longer applicable, we live in a lawless world. If the rule-based international system is disregarded, we are subjected to the rule of ruthless gangsters and totalitarian regimes.

The foundations of the world we have come to know, imperfect but created over centuries by a tried and tested international system, are now shaken by the will of one man. There is no doubt about what kind of world he wants to create. You decide whether it is a world you want to live in.

Dawie Jacobs
Sterrewag

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