The Europeans are no less determined than the US to secure their borders, relying on everything from drones and unmanned ships to guys in zeppelins to protect themselves from those who hope to sneak in from North Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere.
In his series Mission and Task, photographer Julian Röder documents the officers and equipment the European Union uses to guard its borders with the rest of the world. The topic is of particular interest to him, because he lives in Berlin and grew up in East Germany, which of course stood behind one of the most iconic borders in history.
“For me it was important to do something on my side of Europe because I’ve seen so many stories about the fate of migrants and how complicated it is for them to get to here,” he says.
Röder focused the advanced surveillance systems used by Frontex, Europe's equivalent of the US Border Patrol. The European Border Surveillance System (Eurosur) helps protect some 9,300 miles of border. According to its website, the system was designed to stop illegal immigration and to help prevent tragedies like the one off the island of Lampedusa, where a boat carrying African migrants caught fire and sank, killing more than 350 people.
Eurosur's technology varies. It uses unmanned boats that patrol the Mediterranean, SUVs fitted with long-distance infrared thermal imaging surveillance systems, aerial drones and even zeppelins carrying cameras. Frontex also uses more traditional means like fences, dogs, and patrol officers on the ground.
The system has helped curtail illegal immigration and helped rescue those who got into trouble trying to cross, but it's also been criticized for leading to unnecessary deaths. As security grows ever tighter, those looking to evade it take ever greater risks to get past EU borders. And some argue the system isn't terribly effective. Between April and June of this year, Italy saw an eightfold increase in the number of immigrants trying to land on its shores compared to same period in 2013. The number of immigrants trying to enter Greece for those months doubled, and Spain's numbers went up by 50 percent.
Röder photographed Frontex from 2011 through 2013. His work is documentary, but also political. He believes too many people paint immigrants as the “others"---those who would take our jobs or commit crimes. He wanted to turn the camera back on Europe and its practices, questioning why the EU is so concerned with keeping immigrants out. Though the border systems do catch potential terrorists, the majority of people seeking refuge are often looking for a better life. Röder asks why sharing the wealth and opportunity is a bad idea.
“I grew up in East Germany and remember what it felt like to have a glossy shimmering society right in front of your nose and I imagine that it’s kind of a similar feeling for those people,” he says. “If we let them in I assume that I would need go give up part of my prosperity, but that’s fine.”
Mission and Task is part of a larger body of work published in Röder’s book World Wide Order. It focuses on power in various forms---political, economic, militaristic, nationalistic---and, among others, includes a photo essay about the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX), which is something like a massive military hardware trade show held every two years in Abu Dhabi.
Mission and Task is the final chapter, in part because it addresses some futuristic technology and because of how this technology is changing the definition of security and power. Instead of building fences or walls to police national boundaries, some countries are choosing cameras and other systems. There are no physical delineations, just eyes in the sky.
“We used to have physical barriers to protect our countries and the inner circle of our power systems," Röder says. "Now it’s just electronic."
Mission and Task* is part of the Moving Walls 22 / Watching You, Watching Me exhibition at the Open Society Foundation in New York from November 4 through May 8.*
