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The extinction of journalism in Honduras

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Moment of the capture of journalist Romero while he was on his evening news. More than 100 policemen were used to capture him, who entered the radio station building to capture a person who was working in front of a microphone.
Moment of the capture of journalist Romero while he was on his evening news. More than 100 policemen were used to capture him, who entered the radio station building to capture a person who was working in front of a microphone. Photo Daily El Heraldo, 07, 18, 2020

Although some newspaper articles state that Mexico and Syria are the most dangerous countries to be a journalist, I think they have long overlooked how dangerous it is for a journalist to work in the Republic of Honduras, a place that in 2013, during the establishment of a dictatorial regime, the highest global indicators of murders and deaths were reached in a country free of wars. Among those deaths, journalists were perhaps the group that experience the highest number of assassinations, mainly due to their commentary an investigative reporting into and against the dictatorial regime.

Every year the Infoplease[1] organization presents a ranking of the countries where more journalists are murdered while performing their work. Most of these countries are going through conflict, which in some way rationalizes the reason for the death of journalists who were at the time covering what happened on the battlefields. However, in the case of Honduras, there has not been any kind of war since 1969. Yet, they carry the rank of having the highest rate of death in the world.

In an interview with Mr. Hector Amador, who is the News Director of The Globe Group, possibly the strongest opposition news group in Honduras where he conducts the morning and afternoon news program.  He began the interview addressing how difficult it is to practice investigative journalism in Honduras: “In Honduras, journalism is a high-level risk profession,” he said.  “Not only because of the marginalization and boycott that opposition journalists are been facing, but also because of the death threats they normally received, especially from state institutions, including the president of the republic itself. Better said, dictatorship of the republic.”

Amador said that the problem of Honduras to the eyes of the international community is that many of the people killed while exercising communication work were not necessarily journalists, which shows a much lower indicator of the reality of the murders in our country than they really are.

He explained that the deaths of journalists in Honduras have been mainly due to complaints that they have exposed acts of corruption of politicians in high government positions as well as irregularities of business unions and in recent years, attacks against the environment due to business reasons.  Even more, many of those social communicators did not just die during the exercise of their profession, they were first kidnapped and then assassinated or have experienced attacks by hitmen while driving or even been killed by “random bullets” to their heads.

In Honduras, there are other people, not necessarily professional journalists and even non-collegiate journalists but who are also engaged in social communication activity, writers or public relations who have also been assassinated. These people have been excluded from the statistics of assassinations because they didn’t have a degree in journalism even though they had a strong relationship with the management of social communication.

Amador mentioned the existence of one government office whose function is, in theory, to protect journalists. however, they have only provided them with a telephone number so that they can be contacted in case of receiving an attack. Unfortunately, in Honduras, it is very difficult to escape an assassination attempt. When it is happening, at least three heavily armed individuals shoot directly from different angles to the journalist they were paid to disappear.  “When you are getting killed”, he used a sarcastic tone, “it has to be very hardly for a person to remember that someone gave him a telephone number to call and report the attack while he is receiving gunshots.”

In this regard, I commented that I remembered three months ago when I heard of a journalist who was shoot while doing an interview.  Two hitmen on motorcycles began to follow him and shooting him to death. The journalist kept his camera and microphone on throughout the macabre event, recording his cries for help as he expired.  To this event Amador said “By the way, this crime has still not been prosecuted.”

One of the darkest and poorly documented passages in Honduran history was the disappearance of journalists by official order, perhaps the most representative case of this genre is being the capture, imprisonment and subsequent murder of the journalist and social communicator David Romero H. when he served as Director of the newscasts of Radio Globo and Globo Televisión. The journalist Romero dedicated himself to the branch of investigative journalism that for many years, disclosing with ample evidence a series of acts of corruption that involved the current president and of Honduras[2].

Among the acts of corruption that the journalist Romero reported in the different newscasts that he directed are:

 

  • The financing of the presidential campaign of the current president with the diversion of funds from the Honduran Institute of Social Security for an amount greater than L.4,000 million (equivalent to 300 Million Dollars).
  • The extradition process and judgment for the introduction of drugs into North American territory of Antonio Hernandez, brother of the Honduran president, Juan Hernandez.
  • The systematic diversion of funds by the president’s wife and sister for more than 800 million dollars from different offices, particularly those that handle donations and international funds aid for natural disasters.
  • The link of the president of the republic with the case of his brother, in the role of conspirator in drug trafficking to the USA.
  • The political and secret movements of the ruling party aimed at launching a third illegal reelection of the current president.
  • More recently, participation in the diversion of 50 million Dollars allocated for the purchase of hospitals for the care of COVID-19.

Amador explained how his capture developed in March 2019.  All began after Romero discovered a political trick to achieve the illegitimate presidential reelection. A few weeks later he denounced the hidden links of the the current Honduras’ president with the drug trafficking operation that his brother operated.   A few days later he was irregularly captured and taken to a maximum security prison. He was charged with libel based on an old judgment that he was practically reinstated and sentenced to ten years in jail.

Never had a journalist or anyone else been sentenced in Honduras to such a long sentence for that same “crime”, which was even being eliminated from the new Honduran criminal procedure code. In an unprecedented speedy trial, he was convicted and transferred to a maximum-security prison where he was imprisoned and isolated for almost 16 months[3].

In the first days of June 2020, his wife was notified that Don David Romero was ill and that he would be transferred to a hospital. The transfer took place almost two weeks later, justifying bureaucratic paperwork. He was admitted to a hospital in the capital with symptoms of COVID-19, where he remained for two weeks. He passed away on July 18 due to complications from the virus.

The journalist Amador mentioned that there were several questions raised about this case. For example, how was it possible for him to have been infected if he was in a maximum security cell, without maintaining contact with anyone?  Another unanswered question is why the medical team at the jail took so long to refer him to a hospital.? A medical source told me that the journalist Romero got infected through his food to an excessive viral load of COVID-19 and was not referred to any hospital until it was difficult, if not impossible, to reverse the delicate state of his health.  He finished his questioning himself by saying that clearly this is a case of murder, which like many other cases, will remain in oblivion and impunity.

Unfortunately for Romero, even with the participation of the inter-American court and human rights offices, he was never able to regain his freedom. Another situation against him is that the Honduran judiciary is under the rule of the current dictatorship, so he could not accuse anyone. His file was disappeared and the investigation into his death was diluted in abandonment and impunity as many other.

After closing Mr. Romero’s story with sad voice, Amador recalled one of the first quotes of this interview, “It is dangerous to do journalism in Honduras”.   “In my case, I leave my house at 4 in the morning to be ready for the 5 am news. I use two or three vehicles alternately and I always travel on different routes. Their fear intensified after great journalists such Anibal Barrow and Alfredo Villatoro, both hosts of the 5 am newscasts of other powerful radio stations, were kidnapped and found murdered several weeks later[4]. None of those cases were solved. Both are in the coldest impunity. Although unofficially, the entire journalistic union of the country knows who the intellectual authors of both deaths were.

He also mentioned that the station where he works simply does not receive advertising from the government. “Worse still, the government puts pressure on and threatens private companies that have an advertising contract with its radio station so that they do not make advertising contracts with said radio station. All this causes great pressure against the finances of the radio station.”  He rest for a few seconds and then he continue developing the problematic the radio station where he works is facing. “Many journalists do not want to work here precisely for this reason. We live in a dictatorship disguised as democracy, where the government has managed to suffocate private companies that have the audacity to question or oppose its wishes and demands.” Then, he took a long pause before closing the interview.

A few days later, I was lucky to get a telephone interview with the journalist Merlyn Aplicano, an independent journalist for the news radio “En la Plaza”.  She told me that being an independent journalist is complicated and even dangerous, since it is difficult for them to find a stable work place, mostly due to their nature of opposition to the government and their interest in discovering and publishing acts of corruption, it is difficult for them to get advertising contracts, and even jobs in other areas related to their profession. She worked part-time in an advertising agency and had to leave it since the agency could not be qualified to participate in government tenders. This boycott occurred because she worked in a news program where they attacked the efforts of the government in power.  She had to quit from that agency.

Then, Aplicano expressed that an estimate of 20 journalists have been killed nationwide since 2000, mostly because at some point in their career, they published some of the scandals or corruption acts of the groups that currently occupy the presidential leadership. She also mentioned that even when there has never been a strong political opposition in Honduras, a few journalists have dared to write against the government as it is “popular knowledge” that the typical government response is not prison, but rather the disappearance, hit-and-run or murder of a relative of the journalist.  She closed the interview by saying “it is hard to practice journalism in Honduras.”

In an interview with the journalist Miriam Elvir, Deputy Director of the Committee for Free Expression, known as C-Libre, she explained that Honduras is a country with a combination of a strong degree of impunity, asymmetry of information, a recent dictatorship that controls all the institutions and powers of the state, the country also has an easily corruptible society.  She said it is not easy to work with all those factors against the people who work in journalism.  She mention that the organization where she works keep records not only of murdered journalists but also of other people who are members of the same “ecosystem,” made up of cameramen, photographers, editors, presenters, even other people who have also been murdered while doing some social communication. She mentioned that between 2000 and 2010 a total of 4 to 6 murders of communicators were reported, but, between 2010 and 2020, an estimated 86 journalists and communicators were murdered where more than 95% of these cases are in impunity, or only a few of the material authors of the murders have been captured, but none of the intellectual authors who ordered the murders. Worse still, there is secrecy for the judicial files of murdered social communicators and journalists, where no one has access to them and they justify it by saying it is “by superior order”, contrary to what the laws and legal procedures dictate.  Besides, obtaining justice is more complicated, given that it is speculated there are strong links between the executive branch, the legislative branch and the drug cartels in the country. The president’s brother is awaiting sentence for his ties to drug trafficking in a New York state jail.  And everybody know that in Latin America, drug dealing is a family business.

The journalist Victor Aguilar, who works with the newscast channel 11, a member of the Diario Tiempo group, states (without mentioning the number of the year) that in Honduras more than 70 journalists have been murdered since opposition journalist appeared almost 20 years ago.  He explained that, historically in Honduras, the written radio and televised media have been controlled by a small group of powerful families and business groups in the country that never held open opposition to government irregularities given their direct links, both with the government itself such is the case of former presidents Flores (1996-1999) and Maduro (2000-2004) who both owned newspaper and radio stations.

Aguilar continued explaining that it was at the beginning of the year 2000 when small newscasts began to appear in different cities of the country that focused their attention on creating a government opposition. These groups have found it difficult to expand their coverage, as they have suffered from targeted boycotts from government structures.

Twenty years later, some of them, such as the Globo Group and the Progreso group, have maintained their fierce opposition and investigative journalism. The rest succumbed to the boycott or accepted government bribes and preventions, making them new national potentates in a short time.  He then said “I do not deny that at some point in the journalistic history of Honduras, a country where the legal framework has been systematically weak, some media outlets have abused their power, not only by publishing false news, but also by using extortion. media, for the benefit of a politician member of the families that have historically controlled the country.”

To support what the interviewed journalists expressed about the journalism environment in Honduras, I read an article written by Edwin Funez on November 3, 2019.  Funez writes about the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights when denounced that in Honduras since 2010 more than 81 journalists have been murdered, which places the country as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for the exercise of journalism. It also stated that more than 90% of the murders are in a state of impunity, regardless of the participation of having created a protection mechanism journalists, human rights defenders and lawyers, which is made up of government representatives and members of civil society[5]. His findings are consistent with the one claimed by the three journalists I previously interviewed.

With similar topic, an article written by The Daily of Las Américas published in Miami Fla, states in its edition of September 28, 2020, that in Honduras, an estimated 85 journalists and social communicators have been murdered, between 2001 and 2020.  This information is a part of an article where they mention the murder of a journalist from the city of Comayagua, whose complaint to the police that he received life-threatening phone calls but never received the corresponding protection from the government. It is worth mentioning that, like this case, many others remain in impunity since not even government entities or human rights societies provide protective measures against journalists who make this type of requests and complaints.

In conclusion, the exercise of journalism in Honduras is highly risky, not only because of the weakness of the legal apparatus, but also because of the dominance exercised by the current dictatorial regime that controls the country, in all the sectors, institutional, judicial even private sectors.

There are two situations that inhibit the economic and social development in Honduras. First, the information asymmetry, where a group of communicators receive braves to presents a false face of the national reality. And second, the official pressure that is practically eliminating the independent journalist for their efforts to communicate their findings and research.

When the official communicators of Honduras express to the world about the country’s economic growth and potential, more than 100,000 people, entire families in caravans, are living the country trough all the borderlines.  The lack of jobs, the unsafe conditions and treats to their life they confront on daily bases force them to leave their homes. They trust on those independent journalists who accompany them inform the world of the reasons that forced them to leave their home.  They don’t want to be seen as opportunistic by the countries they would like to be received.  Honduran people and the world must be informed of the critical situation they live. A situation which, unfortunately, in recent months has been deteriorated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the passage of two hurricanes in the month of July.

 References: 

Once periodistas destacados que fueron asesinados en Honduras

mayo 25, 2018Victor Aguilar

https://oncenoticias.hn/once-periodistas-destacados-fueron-asesinados-en-honduras/

 

Deadliest Countries for Journalists

Updated April 9, 2020 | Infoplease StaffUpdated by an Infoplease Editor on April 9, 2020

https://www.infoplease.com/world/social-statistics/deadliest-countries-journalists

Asesinan en Honduras a periodista que había recibido amenazas de muerte. September 28, 2020, Diario Las Americas.  Las Americas Multimedia Group. LLC.

https://www.diariolasamericas.com/asesinan-honduras-periodista-que-habia-recibido-amenazas-muerte-n4207683

Eduin Funez, OACNUDH:  81 periodistas han sido asesinados en Honduras desd 2001. Noviembre 3, 2019. Diario Tiempo Digital.

https://tiempo.hn/oacnudh-81-periodistas-asesinados-honduras-200

Interview with the journalists:

Merlyn Aplicano, del radio noticiero “En La Plaza”

Miriam Elvir, Director Adjunto de la asociación C-Libre.

www.clibrehonduras.com

www.conexihon.hn

Hector Amador, Head Director – Radio Globo.

 [1] Infoplease Staff. Deadliest Countries for Journalists

April 9, 2020. Sandbox Networks.

https://www.infoplease.com/world/social-statistics/deadliest-countries-journalists

[2] Gilda Silvestrucci. Periodista hondureño David Romero denuncia que fue condenado por revelar corrupción. Junio 2020. Telesur.

https://www.telesurtv.net/news/honduras-detienen-periodista-romero-ellner-corrupcion-gobierno-20190325-0029.html

[3] Mario Galeas. David Romero asegura que Juan Hernandez y Argueta ordenaron su condena. jan 2019

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23IOFbNT0nw

[4] Honduran radio journalist Alfredo Villatoro kidnapped. 2020 BBC.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-18015298

[5] Edwin Funez. OACNUDH, 81 periodistas han sido asesinados en Honduras desde 2001. Nov.3, 2019. Diario El tiempo

https://tiempo.hn/oacnudh-81-periodistas-asesinados-honduras-2001/

Opinion

How to keep a healthy weight even if you are studying at home

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Are we at the age to worry about weight? Possibly not. Some experts believe that it is around the age of 30 when our metabolism begins to slow down. Nevertheless, combined with sedentary lifestyle, especially now that many of us spend all day in front of the screen without almost never leaving the room, the person begins to gain weight, unless they perform an adequate intervention in terms of quality and quantity of their diet, combined with an adequate exercise program. But what should we do to stay healthy and at an adequate weight?

The answer is simple! We must exercise more and eat less, or at least eat more balanced. We need to eat less carbohydrates and sugars, more vegetables, and drink more water. Easy to say, just two lines and I finish the article. However, this is easier said than done.

I myself have tried to lose weight for years, by trying to exercise and moderate what I eat. However, when feeling a little hungry, for some strange reason, cookies, ice-cream or cheese are more accessible than broccoli, carrots or strawberries.

Dr. Maribel Woodward, a physician from Dover, Delaware, indicates some of the consequences of being overweight: Risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes, increased blood pressure, early degeneration of the knee and ankle joints, overstressing of the kidneys, risk of suffering heart attacks, and now, a greater risk of dying in case of acquiring Covid-19, mostly because people with obesity often have underlying medical conditions that put them at greater risk from the coronavirus, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Obesity can also cause metabolic changes, such as insulin resistance and inflammation which make it harder for the body to fight off infections caused by Covid-19.

Sarah Boseley, who works as health editor for the Guardian wrote that “individuals with obesity are also more likely to experience physical ailments that make fighting this disease harder, such as sleep apnea, which increases pulmonary hypertension, or a body mass index that increases difficulties in a hospital setting with intubation.”

I am probably not wrong in saying that we have all met more than one person who, after many years, retain a good figure and physical build. They wear the same pant size that they did when they graduated from high school. We always refer to them as people who have some gene that makes them maintain themselves without gaining weight, however, this is not always the case. Most of them are very disciplined people who are aware that being overweight is not beneficial for health.

I decided to ask them what their formula is to maintain their weight and physical build. What do they eat? How do you overcome the temptations? Have you discovered any special secret? How have you managed to maintain your weight, between working and studying from home? These are their testimonials.

 Sonia Reyes

She repeats to herself that she needs to be healthy for her son.  She walks at least 30 minutes per day. She feels a boost in her mood and the exercise helps her to think clearly.  Her secret, she says, is that she does not overthink about the walking time.  She just does it. She also likes to learn a new sport, even if she would never play it properly.

At the end, she says “playing tennis and trying to keep a healthy diet has helped me enormously in keeping me physically and mentally strong. Keeping a healthy weight is not easy but doing nothing about it is even worse. Take one day at the time and do your best to keep yourself active, it’s worth it. You are worth it! Never give up!”

 Gloria Garcia

Garcia works at home for an insurance company. During the interview, she said “ In order for me not to increase my weight I try to maintain a balanced diet that includes all types of vegetables; limit to ingest carbohydrates to the minimum also watch out the amounts of food and drink plenty water. in addition, I try to exercise at least five days per week, either walking or using my bike.  I like it more when I go with my friends.  Group support. Besides, we talk for a while.”

Then, I asked her:

“What do you do if were to run into a milk shake store?”

She immediately answered, I might try it in sips only….. just a little. That’s enough.  Remember the quantity is very important.  However, quitting bread is hard.  I do the same.  Just a little bit, no more tan twice per week.

Clementina Zelaya

She said: “I eat small portions of everything, I eat slowly and a lot of vegetables.  I drink a lot of water. It is very important to drink a glass of water before each meal.  Something I learned is to drink either room temperature or hot beverages.  Never have cold drinks, never use ice, because they slow down your metabolism”

She finished the interview by saying: “Exercising is the other part of the equation. I walk three times per week. It is my habit.  Eating small portions.  Sometimes I mix the walking with the gym. I get bored if I do the same thing every day and then there is a risk I want to quit.  I general, I try to make it simple.’

Ricardo Banegas

During the interview Banegas expressed “Eight years ago, I increased my pant size from size 33 to 36.  I had to buy new pants but then, a few months later I started to get sick.  Liver, digestive problems, knee pain.

“I visited a nutritionist who recommended me to modify my eating habits. He told me to limit red meat only once per week.  Eat more fish and chicken.  No margarine and limited butter.  He also told me to increase green vegetable and to eat them raw as possible.  To eat a lot of salads and fruits. No dressings but olive oil and lime juice.  I remember he told me to eat a large breakfast, a medium lunch, and a small dinner.

“I learned how order my eating habits.  I exercise every day.  Since then, my pant’s size is 32.  My pants are my warning.  if my pants start to tighten my waist, I become stricter in my regime.  I would never buy a large pant.  I am forgetting something important.  To drink a glass of water before each meal and to drink water in small amounts the rest of the day. I don’t drink coke or artificial juices.  Just plain water.  This is a continuous fight with myself.  There are temptations to which I succumb from time to time. But when my pants just start to tighten, I get stricter in my regimen.”

Claudio Vasquez

“I am just afraid to get sick and being in a wheelchair due to diabetes, compressed joints or obesity.  I have read that a diet containing basically low meat, a lot of vegetables and fruits is good for my health.  I don’t consume coke, cakes, bread, ice cream or things with a lot of sugars.   If I eat too much or if I eat things I should not eat, it could be my mind, but I begin to feel different kinds of corporal pains.  Definitely it is in my mind, but the good part is that helps me to keep my weight and my health.”

When I asked him, how do you overcome temptations? He answered: “it is not easy, almost impossible, I I usually give in to temptations but then, I have to pay the price.  I feel terrible and I can’t sleep at night.”

Marlon Valladares

“I have learned how to eat in moderation.  I pay attention that each meal contains the three basic groups:  Carbohydrates, protein and fibers. I try to eat a lot of vegetables.  If my meal has carbs, I try to eat just one of them.  I do not eat in between meals. And don’t eat anything after 9:00 pm, except of course, when I receive an invitation to a dinner. Very exceptional and rare occasions by the way.  The breakfast is my largest meal and I try to eat small amounts during my dinner meals.

Sometimes there are temptations.  Ice cream, cakes or beers. I take them, but then I try to reduce something from my next meal. That has worked fine for me.  I understand people need to try different options that work for each of them. The same recipe of keeping weight does not work the same way to everybody.

I exercise every day. I use the stairs instead of the elevator, I go to walk to the park, at least twice per week.  I do aerobics and floor routines here at home.  I used to go to the gym three times per week but not anymore.   All this pandemic time, I have just quit bread and sugars and increase my walking time.  I think discipline is the key.”

Graciela Rivas

“I use that old pyramid method. I divide the plate in four parts.  One part of meat, boiled chicken or fish.  No beef no pork. That is the protein. The other part for the carbohydrates, such as beans, rice or potatoes. The other two parts are for the salads and fruits.  A lot of green vegetables and fruits.

“I try to eat a little bit every three hours.  I have small snacks in between meals. Mostly nuts or a fruit.  It is important to mention that all these things work if you combine them with exercise. I walk, bike or even clean up my house every day.

“I eat my last meal, by 7:00 pm.  It is not good to eat late at night. And always drink water.  I keep three to four glasses with water around the house and in the car. When I see them, I drink a little bit of it.  It is also important to learn how to control the stress and to sleep well at night.”

It is important to note that all the people I interviewed are over fifty years old. They work in different fields, and even live in different countries. What I learn from them is that discipline, getting some knowledge about nutrition, doing exercise and drinking water is crucial to keep a healthy and sustainable weight.

Can we solve our overweight problem as they did it? Probably yes, as long we acquire the attitude for doing it.

 

Opinion

Are we aware that COVID-19 cases are increasing in Massachusetts?

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This morning I read an article in the Boston Globe saying that “Over the past week, there have been an average of 656 cases per day, an increase of 8 percent from the average two weeks earlier. As of Sunday morning, there have been at least 142,900 cases and 9,723 deaths in Massachusetts since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a New York Times database.”

A few questions pop up in my mind. Why are the cases increasing? Is it because the public has not become fully aware of the dangers?  Do we need more education? And most important, How are we contributing to reduce these statistics?

Then I remembered, at the beginning of the school term, one of my sons asked me if he could go to high school with his classmates. My answer was the same as my psychology teacher, Dr. Sivright, told us in class a few months ago:  “I think this is going to stay here for a long time, perhaps more than twice the time we think this is going to last.”

My son told me in an upset tone, “but, we are young, healthy and we will take all the pertinent measures.”  And my answer was, yes you are.  However, your mother and I are not, and one of the problems is the extremely high rate of contagion this disease presents.

Throughout this time, we have learned through different media all the precautions that we must follow: Wear a mask, socially distance for greater than six feet and the use of hand sanitizer. However, I have seen many people partying on boats, having barbecues on weekends and also playing basketball in the parks. I have also seen people removing their masks and putting them in their pants pocket, their back bag or placing them in dirty places such as tables at bank’s lobbies or over car’s hoods and then putting them back on their face.  I have also seen people taking off the mask to sneeze and people touching their eyes, nose and eating candy without washing their hands.

But what is happening on the side of the government, policy makers, and scientists?

An article by Propublica Newsletter, “Inside the Fall of the CDC” by James Baddler, describes the chronological failures, bad decisions, and procedures that CDC and other government offices have experienced while handling the Covid-19 pandemic. They argue that the ignorance over handling the situation by some authorities, as well as the political and economic pressure generated by strong industries, such as airlines, cruise ships, hotels and tourism in general have contributed to the spread of the virus all over the country.  Moreover, the biggest problem is that Covid-19 is being used as a political tool by both major parties, which in one way or another contributes to generate false confidence in the public.

Regarding what is happening in the government, the question remains:  What are we the people doing to reduce this? What should we do to acquire conscience and increase our precautionary measures?

Dr. Maribel Woodward M.D. a Delaware physician explains that there are different definitions for conscience.  She said consciousness as a totality is composed of various states: attention, perception, and memory. It is the ability to selectively choose our mental experience and attitude. Attention selects something, and then perception identifies it subjectively according to our beliefs housed in our memory.

In this case, consciousness allows us to perceive what is happening around us (a disease), then to identify the options we have in order to increase our chances of survival (go to party or stay home) and then, based on our belief and knowledge, to choose the alternative that increases our chances of survival.  Normally, people increase their consciousness level after experiencing a disease or a near death experience.

On the other hand, social conscience is difficult to achieve in this situation mostly because the topic is new and not well studied, and the communication that has been sent to the public has been erratic, inconclusive, and even distorted by the political influence that manipulates, discredits and devalues scientific effort.

Consequently, it has a low credibility among the collective, thus preventing the development of a solid social conscience.

As an example, she referred to the AIDS situation, where science has been working for more than 30 years and it has been quite recently when social conscience begins to be created (use of condoms, single partners etc).  It has taken a lot of time and consistency to create credibility resulting in collective conscience.  She concludes saying that it will take a good time to acquire a collective awareness of Covid-19.

In the meantime, let’s follow the CDC rules. It is the best we have so far.

In conclusion, it will be difficult to achieve collective awareness with an environment filled with uncertain information. However, individually we can implement all the safety measures we have been told for the last months.

We should not wait to get infected and then transmit the disease to our closest family member to acquire conscience in preventing the spread of the disease, particularly now, when Black Friday is right around the next corner.