Tuesday, February 25, 2003

The Silencing of the Lambs

The worst part after witnessing something like the all out attack against democracy and national identity like the one that took place last week is Euskal Herria is the aftermath. The worst thing that can happen to the victim of such a brutal attack is not the attack per se, but the indifference of those who could stops things like these from happening. The Spanish governent and the international media made sure to create a smoke curtain on the facts so people could shrug it and continue with their lives. That is ok with me, common people that cares about nothing will not raise an eyebrow when learning about cases like the one at hand.

The problem is when the people that does not care about such an attack on the freedom of speech is the people that works in news papers and other information outlets. So far I wrote two letters to my local paper and the answer has not come yet, there was absolute no coverage of the events and not even having a columnist to mention the Basques on saturday made them do or say something. But my local paper is not the only one getting letters, other news organizations have been getting letters from people from all over the world, the answer, nothing when we are lucky, the spanish version of the facts when we are not that lucky.

Where is the good old journalism, when reporters were the crusaders of the truth, were is the people that moved public opinion like during the Watergate case? Those times are gone, the real professional journalists are gone, the new ones are a joke, they kneel before the almighty dollar, they forget their duty as information sources, they forget our right to hear the truth.

They cater to numb people, and they had become as numb as their readers. The same readers in the US that over a year ago wanted the whole international community to feel sorry for what had happened now can care less when tragedy strikes other people, they are unable to even show simpathy, they are afraid to speak out their minds.

And in the mean time the Spanish government takes advantge of this lack of involvement to perpetuate their violence on Basque civilians, international organizations have documented the torture endured by the 10 journalists detained on tuesday, news leaked that one of them had attempted suicide which for those familiar with torture victims means that the people "questioning" him where a little bit "too loud" when "asking the questions". The one, his name is Pello Zubiria, has a terminal illness (Ankylosing Spondylitis), nevertheless, he has been held incomunicado for five days and not his lawyer nor his family can contact him.

And while some voices speak out against these barbarian acts, the majority is happy celebrating someone earning 8 grammys.

There is nothing worst than the silence of the lambs.

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