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“Everything is yet to be done
and everything is possible...
But who shall do
it if not all of us?”
Miquel Martí
i Pol
The COVID-19 confinement has shed light on many issues. It has been an enlightening experience. And now, it is our duty to remember, it is essential not to forget. And we must realize that —since we can now finally express ourselves freely, after remaining silent and submissive for so many centuries— the time has come for us to participate, to listen and to reconcile, to take action, to build a new future, to defeat the huge media power which should be seen as a terrible “weapon of mass distraction”, using the fortunate expression coined by Soledad Gallego. Now finally the voice of “the peoples”, who are all —and this is a great step forward and a great opportunity— equal in dignity, regardless of sex, ideology, religion, race... At last the voice of the peoples will be heard and they will hold the reins of world governance in their hands, releasing it from those of a few plutocratic groups (G-6,G-7,G-8,G-20), who are themselves the slaves of large international corporations,keeping an eye at a global scale on each one of us, controlling us, determining our decisions... The same technological giants that have made it possible for us to express ourselves freely now prevent us from doing so in order to correct current gloomy trends.
We must remain at all times awake and diligent so that the post-COVID period has nothing to do with the pre-COVID, so that the “new normality” is not the same one we had before. We must read again and again, hear again and again the beautiful verses written by Mario Benedetti in “When the Storm is over”, and brilliantly recited by Nacha Guevara: “… And then we shall remember everything we lost / and we will once and for all learn / everything we had not yet learned “. For the first time in history we are facing global threats and some of them are potentially irreversible. I know exactly what the terrible expression “there’s nothing left to do”means, because in 1967 I started working with newborns on the early detection of metabolic disorders which —if not treated on time— can have a big impact on neuronal functioning and produce a serious an irremediable disability. At first, we could only prevent half a dozen disorders. Later the number of disorders was gradually increased and today —thanks to “the test of the heel”— it is possible to prevent around 30 pathological diseases... And we are trying to rely on genomics to further increase this quantity.
A large portion of funds currently allocated to defending the territory should rather be invested in health and, especially, in irreversible disorders... In the meanwhile the inhabitants of these well-protected territories are lacking food, drinking water, quality health services, educational means...
I never tire of insisting that it is morally intolerable to see everyday thousands of people die from hunger, most of them boys and girls ranging from one to five years old, while more than 4,000 million dollars are invested in weapons and military expenditure. We have the moral obligation to build a new concept of security allowing us, once and for all, to make the transition from the reason of power to the power of reason, from the sinister adage "if you want peace, get ready for war” to “if you want peace, get ready for speech”, mediation, dialogue. Because peace is the reflection of our daily behaviour, of an education allowing each of us to learn how to be “free and responsible” ̶as stated in article 1 of UNESCO Constitution̶ and to fully exercise the unique capacities of human beings: thinking, imagining, foreseeing, innovating…creating! Each one of us capable of expressing our own opinions and refusing to follow the dictates of someone else, to assume ideas based on fanaticism, dogmatism, supremacism... We should change ourselvesbefore entering into a new era where it will be possible to put into practice the great formula that was prematurely introduced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt at the end of the Second World War, and which is mentioned at the beginning of the Charter of the United Nations: “We the peoples... are determined to save future generations from the scourge of war".
But at that time the General Assembly consisted only of States... and there were five vetoes (from the victors of the war). The great powers repeatedly ignored the warnings of scientists who advisedthem to take care of the biosphere (UNESCO, since 1949: the limits of growth, Club of Rome 1972; limiting CO2 and other greenhouse gasses emissions, as well as the deterioration of marine phytoplankton, that is essential for their recapture, United States National Academy of Sciences 1979; and the 21 Agenda, carefully drawn during the first Earth Summit, Maurice Strong, Rio de Janeiro 1992; the excellent “worksheet” for the transition to the Anthropocene represented b y the “Charter of the Earth”, 2000 and the 2nd Summit in Johannesburg, 2002)…
And then, after leaving aside once again the United Nations, it addressed—in a way that was both self-serving and erratic- the “Arab Spring”... And it was not until a democratic President, with the qualities of Barack Obama, was elected in the United States that a period of hope became possible with the approval of the Paris Agreements on Climate Change and the United Nations Resolution "Transforming our world" that led to theimplementation of the 2030 Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals)...
It lasted a very short period: only a few months had passed when President Donald Trump proclaimed, shortly after his nomination, that he would not carry out the agreements adopted by his predecessor. And going even further in his anti-scientific attitude, he accelerated the extraction of oil by the highly polluting procedure of "fracking". Faced with all these unacceptable decisions and attitudes, the world remained silent. And the European Union, that had so much to say and to argue, also choose to say nothing. Every space was occupied by markets, every index, the GDP; and the political decisions taken in Latin America and elsewhere were conditioned by merchants, who also exploited the sources of raw materials of any sort (fuel, lithium, coltan...), while overtly or secretly privatizing essential public services, and dealing with what should have never become a marketable good.
In the global maelstrom of neoliberalism, everything had been forgotten... and a good portion of the citizenship had been abducted̶especially by social networks̶and was involved in a consumption contest, remaining absent-minded and receiving just a few warnings whose impact rapidly decreased, and which alerted them about the situation of migrants drowned in the Mediterranean or abandoned to their fate in ignominious concentration camps... or about queues formed in their own "rich" cities by those who were lacking everything, even a roof over their heads... or about the worn out democracies that allowed the most diverse forms of fanaticism, xenophobia...
And then the coronaviruscame. And what could have been another epidemic in the long and rich history of humanity became a pandemic due to the huge mobility of world citizens... to the point that countries such as Spain hadalready become in a great extent recipients of tourists... relocating a considerable amount of their own production and paying attention only to the stock market index. And Regional Unions were inefficient and irrelevant, when they were most needed in the global playing field. The European Union itself had already become a simple monetary union, unsupportive and precariously democratic (decisions must be taken unanimously!and unanimity is the opposite of democracy)... In the opening sessions of the UN, only two European States —France and Spain— were in favour of unambiguous multilateralism...
During confinement, the “peoples” were able to reflect about and assess what they already had and what they were willing to have... And realize what really matters... They finally had the serenity they needed to be able to discern what is essential. And to be able to act with nerve, without ties and, above all, without passions and constraints that can lead to contempt towards“others”. And also citizens forced to stay at home asked themselves, among many other things, how anyone could tolerate that justice be delivered by judges who are clearly biased in favour of one ideology or another... How can it be —they wondered— that in countries such asUS or Spain citizens naturally speak of “conservative” or “progressive” judges when justice should be a reference of impartiality and independence?
Yes, many people have become aware of the “globalisation of ignorance and poverty” they are immersed in, thus becoming impassive spectators instead of “active players”. In January 2021 a high percentage of people have already become aware of the fact that, for the first time, they have a voice. And they may now promote big clamours either personally or through the cyberspace so that “the peoples” themselves “resolve to spare future generations the horror" of deterioration in the quality of life on Earth, of disaffection, of fanaticism, of animosity... And they can value the countless good things that computer technology has made possible, and take special care so that "artificial" intelligence is always at the service of human intelligence, of which it is the fruit, and not the other way round.
It is the voice of the peoples and the duty of memory that shall allow us to start together a new era. Knowing that each human being is capable to foresee —and to create!— it is now possible to invent the future. The solution lies in the capacity to spot sparks of light, in perseverance, in never giving up. During my life I’ve always tried not to forget the cry of a young Italian who said “Presidente, non si renda!” at the end of a meeting I was chairing in Rome in the early 21st Centuryon the right to food. Everyone voted in favour..., except the representatives of President Bush Jr. The same thing had happened with Bush Sr. during the Convention on the Human Rights of the Child. United States was the only country that refused to acknowledge the supreme value of each child. As long as the US maintains its hegemony, the nuclear threat will not be eliminated and billions will continue to be invested daily in weapons and military expenditure. And there will continue to be no funds for endogenous development, for healthcare aimed at ensuring a dignified life. And no funds to help scientists design the new future that is yet to be done.
The voice of the peoples actively participating in multilateral governance will be heard, and action will be taken, as per the 2030 Agenda, to “change direction and embark on a new ship” asJosé Luis Sampedro advised young people to do during the 15-M.
“A change of track is needed”, said recently Edgar Morin, who is about to turn 100 years old. A change of track and a change of lifestyle. How wonderful it would be if this were the offspring of the COVID-19!
Now we know that it’s possible because, as Maria Novo tells us in her verses:
“We have learned the value of reflection
and time. / Let us now use them to weave peace every day”.
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