Lunes, 13 de abril de 2020 (Continuación)

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«Dios y el pueblo son la fuente de todo poder (…) Yo lo he tomado, y qué diablos, lo conservaré para siempre». Lo dijo François «Papa Doc» Duvalier en 1963. Y es lo que hizo: siguió siendo presidente de Haití hasta su muerte en 1971, momento en que lo sucedió su hijo, Jean-Claude («Baby Doc»), que extendió la dictadura otros quince años.

Puede parecer historia antigua, pero no lo es para mí. Mi familia es haitiana, y aunque inmigramos a Estados Unidos durante mi infancia, siempre pareció que seguíamos al alcance del cruel régimen de los Duvalier. Nunca olvidé las enseñanzas brutales que aprendieron los haitianos bajo los Duvalier, incluido el hecho de que habitualmente usaban desastres naturales y crisis nacionales para reforzar su dominio.…  Seguir leyendo »

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U.N. Secretary General António Guterres made an unprecedented appeal on March 23 for “an immediate global cease-fire” to facilitate humanitarian access to the populations most vulnerable to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus. This was the first global cease-fire request in the 75-year history of the United Nations.

The response has been swift and wide-reaching — conflict parties across 12 countries have already declared some form of cease-fire. Some 70 countries have backed the appeal, along with prominent figures like the Pope, and nearly 200 organizations.

Across the globe, this simultaneous series of commitments to suspend hostilities for a common purpose is altogether new.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Truth is the first casualty in war, goes the old saying; the corollary might be that journalists are often the collateral damage. That has probably never been more universally true than in the ongoing battle against the coronavirus. Across the world, both autocratic and democratic governments have responded to the epidemic by restricting information, criminalizing independent reporting and harassing reporters — verbally and sometimes ­physically.

“Call it the covid-19 crackdown”, says Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists. His organization has compiled what he says is a partial list of 200 cases of arrests, threats and harassment related to media coverage of the pandemic.…  Seguir leyendo »