Don't silence us

The democracies of many countries are beginning to show signs of fever. We are not moving forward, we are moving backwards. One of the great achievements of society is freedom. Freedom to express oneself, to demonstrate, to meet, to inform... Telling what is happening in some countries is heroic, we know that; the problem is that it is also starting to be heroic where it shouldn't be. 

The latest studies say so. Reporters Without Borders is concerned about the decline in freedom of expression. And not just in places where we know that being a journalist means risking your life every other day, but also in others where these freedoms have been championed. What is going on? 

The facts speak for themselves. Let's look at Istanbul. If Ekrem Imamoglu bothers Erdogan, because he is his great rival, he is removed from the stage. Protest demonstrations are followed by arrests. Thousands. Reporting what is happening is also punished. Seven journalists were imprisoned for precisely that reason. Various international associations were quick to call for the release of their colleagues. They were released on Thursday. That should serve as a warning. 

Who is in charge in this mad world? Who is siding with whom and how are the sides being drawn? 

Everything is in turmoil. The waters are not clear. The air we breathe reeks of pollution. The looks on people's faces are defiant and mean. The desire for power and permanence makes the end justify the means. Does it justify it? Let's reread Niccolò Machiavelli. 

Not even the horizon is clear, despite the fact that the landscape is. Fog in the sunniest of skies; labyrinths of confused and diffuse ideas where words like loyalty, commitment, freedom, respect, tenderness are lost, or even worse, are said even knowing that their meanings will not be assumed. At what point were the values that should prevail lost or no longer taught? 

What is to be expected in a world where the first people who have to follow the rules are the ones who break them. Power over power. Always that ambition, and may the devil take the hindmost. Nobody looks each other in the eye. Sincerity is of no interest when interests are at stake. The personal above all else. Malicious smiles when nobody has any reason to smile beyond that great place where politics is done, or is said to be done. There, where the red lines are crossed. Where there are so many who leave so much to be desired. 

While people are increasingly tired and frightened, the powerful are measuring their strength, a strength that is being sapped from the weakest. Nothing goes in this scenario where characters who are not supposed to die do die, where roles are changed, where no one enters the time they are supposed to enter. The world, in general, is in chaos. And chaos spreads like a plague... and fear begins to be felt. And they want us to feel it. We will resist, we will do it once again. Even if it costs, and it does cost. 

Silenced mouths, closed eyes, tied hands. So that nobody can bear witness to the abuses of power, the injustices, the desires of citizens, their rights and their concerns. An oasis without water, a house without people, a mountain range without rockroses, a playground without children, a school without laughter, a journalist without a voice. 

Silence and more silence. Taking away journalists' voices is the same as taking away society's right to know. Dumb and blind, that's how they want us. Without cameras, without paper, without networks, without pens or voices. 

We could look in many places, continent by continent. From Mexico to Venezuela to Palestine or Nigeria, to the Congo, Vietnam, China... Europe. Yes, here too, so close, and not only Turkey with its latest chapters. Censorship is taking hold, freedom of expression is going backwards like a crab. And concern is growing. In Spain too they want to ‘regenerate’ us, let's not forget that. 

More and more madmen are acting out their dangerous insanity, which is perhaps why it is not at all silly to have that survival kit to hand, even if it is only for 72 hours, as it is generating fear among the public. Intentional or real fear? Let's prepare that kit just in case..., but without losing our voice. A voice always ready to tell, to inform, to defend that which is so difficult to achieve and which can be lost so quickly.