BorderTowns
ThoughtStorms Wiki
Spent five days in Chui on the Brazil / Uruguay border this year.
Borders are places where two different systems rub against each other and sometimes strike sparks. The DifferenceWhichMakesADifference is another term for "information". And borders create it. Chui is nowhere. But it's grown, initially as a place where Uruguayans and Argentinians came to buy goods more readily available in Brazil; then as economic crises hit those countries, they started trying to attract Brazilians with Duty Free shops selling more expensive imports (perfumes, consumer electronics) and casinos (which are illegal in Brazil)
The difference which makes a difference. The town has attracted a large number of Palestinian immigrants, to the extent that the taxi-driver tells us that Arabic is the second most popular language (after Spanish) in the town. Even the Brazilian half. The majority of the large supermarkets selling Brazilian brand foods and cheap consumer items, with names like Torre de Londres and Supermarcado Aleman are actually Palestinian owned.
Contrast :
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