President Obama to a Crowd in Berlin: ‘We Can’t Hide Behind a Wall’
During a meeting on globalization and democracy with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Obama made his first speech since leaving office.
Standing at Brandenburg Gate, which was once cut away by the Berlin Wall, he told a huge crowd to “push back against those trends that would violate human rights or suppress democracy or restrict individual freedoms” and to “fight against those who divide us,” reports the Guardian.
“When we provide development aid to Africa or we are involved in conflict resolution in areas where war has been taking place, [or] we make investments to try to deal with climate change … these things we do not do just for charity, not just because it’s the right thing to do or out of kindness,” he said. “If there are disruptions in those countries and conflicts and bad governance, war and poverty, in this new world that we live in, we can’t isolate ourselves, we can’t hide behind a wall.”
Head over to the Guardian to watch the video.