The U.S.-Canada border is long, and border controls were once extremely loose.
Residents of the Canadian province of Quebec cross the footpath to enter the U.S. town of Derby Lane in Vermont.
The three flower beds on the right are the American and Canadian border walls
In this town, the Haskell Library spans two countries, half in the United States and the other half in Canada.
Entering the library, it's easy to mistake it for a typical small-town American library. But it soon becomes unusual, with librarians recommending a large number of books in English and French, and even many books on the history of French-Canadians.
The black line on the floor reveals the mystery, which is an international border, the original library front door, community billboards and children's books in the United States, the rest of the collection and reading room in Canada.
Readers are free to cross the black bands that mark international borders, and babies come to "challenge" national borders
According to Librarian Nancy M. According to Rumeri, visitors often grimace around the border or lie across the border posing. Although from time to time people are intimidated by rumors that it is illegal to cross the line. In fact, in this library, "crossing the border" is encouraged.
Canadian Hal · Newman said: "The borders on the map were meant to separate people, but in reality, they brought people together. How amazing is that!"
Newman was the former director of the adjacent Haskell Small Theater, which also crossed borders. The stage is in Canada, and most of the seats are in the United States. Of course, this is well-designed and not accidental. More than a century ago, the Haskell family intended to build libraries and opera houses in the border areas to promote cross-border exchanges and friendships.
Haskell's Little Theater staged in Canada, while most of the audience was seated in the United States
Managing a two-state business is "absolutely complicated," Rumeri said. Even though he's Canadian, he uses "we" when referring to Canadians or Americans.
In library spending, both U.S. dollars and Canadian dollars are accepted, which means dealing with international exchange rate issues. While there is no penalty for overdue borrowing, they sell postcards and other souvenirs, as well as different security regulations in the United States and Canada (libraries can only follow the strictest set).
Library staff go out for lunch and all need to cross international borders, so it's easier to order takeaways. In this cross-border library, not only do you have to have the same curiosity as fans of suspense novels, but you may also have to deal with agencies such as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the International Boundary Commission.
Fifteen years ago, the library wanted to install a new elevator. Elevators are located in Canada, but if the crane is moved from the United States to one side of the Canadian territory — even if it's just a few hours of operation — it means paying high tariffs. What to do? Cranes remain on U.S. soil but operate in Canadian airspace.
This library on the U.S.-Canada border is more than just a geographical wonder; In this age of geopolitical tensions and walled borders, it reminds us that borders are fictions created by human beings, which can be as real and sinister as people expect.
In the Memègog Lake Park shared by the United States and Canada, canoeers may accidentally cross the U.S. border into the Montreal jurisdiction of Canada, and it is clear that the U.S.-Canada border is too flat, with occasional slight crosses, and no one will come to enforce the law.
Of course, national borders are not a paradise.
As the international situation changes, border areas can become scorching or tense.
This U.S.-Canada border has changed significantly after the September 11, 2001, World Trade Center terrorist attacks. Streets crossing the border are closed to vehicles. Today, a Department of Homeland Security vehicle is parked outside the library entrance 24 hours a day. The biggest change, however, is that asylum seekers, especially after Trump took office, saw a large number of immigrants without legal status choose to live across the border from the United States to Canada. Nearly half (1489) of those arrested at the northern border were from Mexico.
"I used to have as many Canadian friends as american friends," said Bhutz Thompson, a pharmacist at Brown's Pharmacy. Roy said. "You don't see them as Canadians or Americans. They are all friends. In our view, boundaries do not exist. ”
Today, the two towns on the U.S.-Canada border still share a water supply system, but nothing else but fond memories. The library and the small theater next door are the last places where border residents of the two countries can move around each other.
Like many small towns, the economy of derby line has been damaged, as evidenced by many storefronts. Roy said competition from hypermarkets was part of the reason, but tighter border control was also part of the reason.
The library's community bulletin boards and children's books are in the United States, while the rest of the books are in Canada
An 85-year-old Vermont man drives to visit his Canadian girlfriend. When he returned, the Department of Homeland Security's computers were all broken, so the agent who knew him insisted that he wait an hour until the computers were back to normal.
However, the U.S.-Canada border, the world's longest and busiest land border, with a total length of 5,525 miles, even if it is tightly controlled, it is difficult to completely curb all kinds of cross-border violations.
In 2011, a Montreal man was arrested on suspicion of smuggling a rucksack full of guns in a washroom at haskell Library. The librarian said it was a blow to library staff and an "invasion of sacred space."
It has also raised concerns that in the current environment, the one-of-a-kind library across the U.S.-Canada border may not see the future. Still, Vermont Lawmaker Smith predicted that closing the library would not be possible without a fight.
"You're going to see the anger of citizens," he said, "whether it's Americans or Canadians."