Costa Rica Call Center Blog

Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica and winner of the 1987 Nobel Peace Price wrote:

“We live in a world crisscrossed by borders, drawn and redrawn throughout history, chosen by fancy or caprice, and all too often defended by bloodshed. They have always been imperfect, and today their flaws are visible in new ways.

Waves of immigrants, driven from their homes by poverty and desperation, blend one nation’s struggles into another’s. Climate change caused by environmental destruction in one place can cause floods, storms, drought, and famine anyplace, and easy global travel means that diseases travel more quickly. Increasingly, we must recognize that our borders are not fortress walls. They are simply lines that we have sketched in the air.

In short, no nation on this changing, shrinking planet can truly address its own problems in isolation.

Fortunately, many countries in this part of the world have recognized that regional welfare must be addressed as a regional challenge. I am proud to list Costa Rica among them. Our nation may be small, but our commitment to improving the well-being of this region is anything but.

It has been said that “good fences make good neighbors.” There is undeniable wisdom in those words, but it is time to reevaluate what “good fences” really are. In today’s world, they must be low enough for us to shake our neighbor’s hand, understand his problems as we do our own, and find feasible solutions. They must be built with the knowledge that no fence, wall, or even an ocean or a continent can truly divide us from the problems of others.”

Given the biggest and strongest relations among people and nations are thru trade (both services and goods), shouldn’t trade help us build a better world for all?

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