It is imperative and urgent to achieve an institutional change that will enable the European Union to have its own defense and foreign relations policies, based on universal principles such as fundamental ethical values and human rights, accepted by all Member States as a requisite for belonging to the EU.
The EU must be a light house beacon for democracy, and it is disgraceful that due to occasional pressure from groups within the European Parliament or from political parties in government at a given moment, the EU has supported the inclusion of Honduras (against the OAS!) in certain commercial negotiations. This constitutes the de facto recognition of a country in which the coup leaders –representatives of an oligarchy that for years has ruled the destinies of this country and many others in Latin America, demanding obedience and submission from the immense majority of citizens, who could do little more than barely survive- continue to cling to power that they have taken by force. The formal democracies of Latin America have until very recently been a burden favored and increased by “globalizers”. Today, however, a “Condor Operation” would be impossible. Today we must prevent the large multinational consortia –with their greed and irresponsibility, in the words of President Obama- from ensuring that these countries will never get back on their feet.
For all of the above reasons we must defeat the immense inertia of those who have always been in power, so that they may understand that the time has come for a transition, without delay, from plutocracy to democracy.
And the same may be said on at the global level.
The EU must immediately correct the grave error that it is about to commit and reject this coup government. If it does not do so, the European Union’s already weakened prestige will be even more so.
It will be a disgrace. If in the end a commercial negotiations meeting is called without excluding the coup government, all countries in disagreement –and clearly Spain- should refrain from attending.
Shall we be accomplices of these barbarians who have staged a coup d’etat? No. I trust that good judgment will prevail.
Knowledge is prevention. Foresight is prevention. Avoiding, to the extent possible, any illness, injury, suffering; this is the best political action.
I, who in the 1960s implemented the National Plan for the Prevention of Mental Retardation in Infants, will certainly not support a reduction in preventive health and safety measures when faced with natural or man-made disasters. To the contrary.
But as a citizen and a “specialist” I do believe it is my obligation to demand an urgent moderation of the excess publicity and scientific inaccuracies that are giving rise to so much concern, both locally and at the international level.
The H1N1 virus spreads rapidly but its pathological effects are sensibly fewer that those of the “seasonal” flu. It can’t be said that one was killed by the H1N1 virus or that he died from Influenza A, but rather –since almost all deaths occur in persons suffering from serious illnesses- that he died with the virus, which may have, at most, complicated his clinical condition and accelerated the fatal outcome.
Statistics concerning the morbidity and, particularly, the mortality rates of Influenza A should thus be based on strict criteria and society should “return to normal”, as Spain’s Minister of Health has urged us to do, while as it becomes necessary and appropriate, establishing a rigorous protocol for protecting those most vulnerable to contagion.
The Medical Association has likewise accurately warned that “an exaggerated level of anxiety has been created with respect to Influenza A”.
We have many problems to resolve, so many that we should not allow ourselves to be overly distracted by this one. If not, we will have missed a great opportunity to make radical changes in our social, economic and environmental system.
Therefore we need less frenzy and more scrupulous attention to a possible (but improbable) mutation of the virus, such as the one that, in very different and precarious health conditions, caused the “Spanish flu” of 1918-19. (By the way, it was given that name not because it originated in Spain, but rather because although it originated in the United States, the countries then at war did not want to release that sort of information.)
With the exception of 1968-69, mutations in the seasonal flu virus have rendered it less contagious, have been limited to specific areas, and from a global perspective, have had little impact on health overall. H1N1 is very contagious, but mild. H5N1 is not very contagious, but it can be very serious.
Polyvalent vaccines provoke a response in patients’ immune systems, producing antibodies against different types of viruses, which have been duly deactivated.
H1N1 is “stronger” than the three viruses considered responsible for the “normal” flu, so it is very possible that those infected with Influenza A will not suffer symptoms of the illness caused by the other “weaker” viruses.
The ease with which virus sequencing can be carried out today enables us to rapidly detect alterations, so that any change in viral structure can be immediately publicized.
Several days ago the WHO announced that the H1N1 virus has not mutated in the Southern Hemisphere, where it has coincided for several months with seasonal flu. It is thought that the situation will be the same in the Northern Hemisphere. But we must be alert.
In addition to mutation, the development of strains that are resistant to natural immunity or vaccines must also be taken into account.
We hope that, as was the case five years ago with the “bird flu”, the number of victims will be very few and panic will be controlled, avoiding social unrest and unnecessary concern.
Rather than economic or media interests, let’s let science provide the authentic reference as to how to manage a pandemic, which in this case is benign… taking all necessary precautions in the event that it ceases to be so.
“The voice/ that could have been/ the answer/ and for fear/ was nothing”.
After (or in addition to) military, political, economic or technological power, what is now foremost and omnipresent is the power of the media. “No matter what happens, what we want to happen is what will happen”, is the attitude of certain magnates of the communications media. Whether through sound, print or images… the majority of citizens receive their news carefully selected or previously filtered. In some countries, high government authorities –even the Prime Minister- or members of the opposition parties have close ties to large media conglomerates including the press, radio and television… It is true that in some cases freedom of expression and opposition still exist, but they certainly have little room to maneuver.
Certain sports and athletes, actors and actresses –many of whom are controlled by their “managers”- are given exaggerated attention on the radio, television or in the press, reaching fanatical proportions to the extent that certain clubs dominate not only the leisure time, but also the very lives of many people, regardless of the quality of their players and their success on the playing fields.
News of important events that might make us reflect and adopt our own decisions and attitudes (and this is precisely what education is all about) are concealed, distorted or otherwise disguised. The meetings of the G8 (a group of plutocrats who attempt to govern the world) fill pages upon pages, while proposals for reform made by the United Nations as a whole or by its financial institutions (managed by the President of the General Assembly with the participation of Nobel Prize Laureates in Economics) receive only a few paragraphs. The same may be said of worldwide meetings such as the recent UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education (not even a line!) or with respect to the topic that for me (and for that reason I reiterate this) constitutes our greatest problem of conscience: the extreme poverty and hunger, which, in a horrendous genocide, results in the death of 60,000 persons daily, while we invest over 2500 million euros in useless weapons. This simple fact should be capable of mobilizing millions of citizens around the globe, but the powers that be in the mass media want these ethically inadmissible situations to continue to be ignored and, once they have received their financial “bailouts,” continue with the status quo.
This means that we all have to look the other way. All of us minding our own business. All silent accomplices. Silence, even when we should applaud the funds announced by the President of the Government to relieve poverty in moments of crisis. If the thousands who die from hunger each day are unable to awaken our sense of solidarity, what will it take to mobilize our citizens, especially today’s youth?
Gervasio Sánchez has expressed this not only with profound and courageous words, but with his moving photography. And what impact has this had? Very little. Solidarity movements could light the way to a future of inclusion, concord and mutual understanding. But if Sánchez’ photography of lives shattered by land mines or of those who die of hunger and neglect are unable to awaken our conscience, we will continue in the dark, in this simulated world in which millions of people live artificial lives, acting upon the dictates of the media. But I am sure that our youth will soon take action, and will become the flag bearers of an initial resistance, which will blossom into concerted action. Several recent literary works have set the stage to divulge the underlying reality, the real world, what lies behind so much window dressing.
“Money talks”: several Spanish newspapers, some of them quite prominent, have lost their dignity by openly contradicting the “values” they previously defended, commencing with the dignity of women, carrying despicable advertising with images and texts that may seriously affect the behavior of children and adolescents. Schools and teachers are almost always blamed… without realizing that it the mass media that so negatively influences our youth. The same may be said of advertisements for certain brands, especially foreign ones, which are not only in bad taste but also approach the limits of what may be considered tolerable. And in the meantime we continue to be spectators. It would suffice for an association of NGO’s to recommend a boycott of publications that contain these repugnant articles or the products of companies whose advertisements are as indecent as they are ridiculous.
Some journalists toe the line, others don’t: not long ago it was made known that a “live” press conference of an autonomous community official had been pre-recorded.
And, as has become customary but is also inadmissible, no questions were allowed. Press conferences have given way to simple press releases. Disguised as simple news, because there was really no press conference, while avoiding any contact with journalists. Some firmly criticized this tactic. Rest assured that sooner or later the truth shall be known. I am convinced –after having defended in UNESCO freedom of expression and the right to accurate information- that the age of citizens as mere recipients and witnesses is coming to an end.
Those who control information basically control our daily activities, including our free time. They control our lives. Through images the reigning “videocracy” impose their points of view on television audiences. Silent indifferent spectators, who fail to realize that they should never relinquish their only strength: being themselves.
It is time to take action, to rebel, to initiate a profound change toward transparency and a true knowledge of reality (the initial requisite for transforming that reality).
It is time to make use of all available communications networks, particularly digital ones, to counteract the omissions and concealments of the lying manipulators, the great “information empires” that, moreover, presumably spy on the “famous” to feed their gossip columns.
It is time to demonstrate the premeditated contradictions of those who have been bailed out, and who soon thereafter condemned the politicians of the very governments that tossed them a lifeline from public funds; the contradictions of those who, yearning for a Condor Operation, consider that the coup in Honduras “puts an end to a populist adventure of a constitutional president”; the contradictions of those who insist that the European democracies with the support of their multinational companies should continue to exploit the countries of Latin America, Africa or the Far East; the contradictions of those who immediately believe videos that are shameless fabrications based on the idea that there is always some truth in an accusation, aimed at world leaders –such as has recently been the case in Guatemala and Ecuador— who are no longer mere subjects and wish to become allies and partners.
It is time to take a stand, to join fora and services that facilitate the mobilization of citizens. We may very well be on the threshold of a new era in which the people will finally take the stage through their democratically-elected representatives, who will have been chosen with complete freedom and responsibility.
Let us refuse to be deceived any longer. Let’s say “no” to those who promote new cults, with ceremonies that attract large numbers of adherents, as a result of mass publicity on the one hand, and on the other the informational and conceptual “vacuum” that they have so skillfully created. Above all, young people must be free to be themselves and to refuse to follow the dictates of others. They should not spike their hair, wear low rise jeans or get tattoos unless they really do so on their own initiative. They must learn to distinguish the tendencies dictated from afar by the powers of the media that, while making huge profits, seek to standardize citizens in general and –what is even more dangerous- young people in particular. But we can now take action from a distance, thanks to new communications technologies. We can make ourselves heard. We must make ourselves heard. We must take a firm stand against this new form of submission and exclusion. A freer and transparent world is the legacy that we must leave to those who will come after us.
Let’s urge them, as in the 2008 Oscar-winning song from the film “Once”, “Raise your hopeful voice…/ you have a choice”.
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