Baudrill-war
On the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, I struggle to find the words to aptly commemorate.
As our planet continues its somewhat random cycle around the sun, the human misery continues. People keep dying. And it feels almost banal to use this day to come up with an angle to remind readers about the horrors of this war.
It's not that I think the war merits no attention. It's also not some form of nihilism about anniversaries not mattering –– although they don't.
For me it's probably a recalcitrance to the predictable media cycle. The media (and PR even more so) loves to have 'hooks' to hang stories on, whether that's 'International Toilet Day' or the anniversary of an atrocious act of continuing violence.
In newsrooms across the world the question 'what are we doing for the anniversary of the war?' has probably been on every editorial meeting agenda.
Outwardly, press has been drumming up attention to the anniversary over past few weeks, putting an almost unbearable pressure on what they'll publish on the day itself –– retrospectives, predictions, analysis, 'text messages from the first day of war', etc.
If it wasn't such a tragic episode in humanity's history, it would almost feel like a farce, with the expectation of coverage drumming up more coverage, creating coverage of an event that only exists in coverage –– in an almost perfect example of Baudrillard's concept of hyperreality.
Forgive me if this is taking what could be seen as my childish recalcitrance to media trends into postmodern philosophy, but I think it's important to realise that the conjured existence of such a thing as a 'war anniversary' distracts from the reality on the ground; people suffering, people dying. Every day.
And even though the coverage around the war anniversary could and does cover the suffering, it's through the symbolic lens of that anniversary. It makes it more convenient to forget the suffering once the lens is again removed.
I'm probably taking this explanation of why we don't have a dedicated section for the anniversary of the war way too far, but I think I'm trying to explain it as much to myself as to you.
Removing oneself from issues that might be too hard or too atrocious to face might be human –– and probably the reason why we come up with symbols, euphemisms, jargon and frames to refer to suffering inflicted by other humans. A form of self-defence, maybe. But one that we should always be aware of.
Speaking of self-defence, this is probably why we consistently refer to people seeking safe refuge in our wealthy cities as asylum seekers. It makes it easier to dehumanise them, easier to ignore the growing number of tents harbouring people who fled their home countries –– as Nikolaj Nielsen reported by visiting Brussels' Petit Chateau, where hundreds of people are sleeping rough after being denied decent reception.
Same goes for the inhumane (and illegal) way people are being treated in the French border town of Menton, where Bianca Carrera reported on the legal anomalies and lack of solidarity nakedly on display there.
Onwards to more stories you should not have missed this week:
EU & The World
As EU diplomats talked of unprecedented momentum to seal the deal, the old hurdle remained: having a UK premier invest and risk sufficient political capital at home to convince his parties' Brexit hardliners and DUP to move on.
5,000 Iranians came from all over Europe to demand more sanctions against the Iranian regime, following the repression experienced in recent months.
Ukraine
Crimes committed by Russians you've never heard of feature on a new EU blacklist designed to mark one year of war.
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News editors have a responsibility to give more weight to the unique angles that women war reporters bring to stories; to ensure that more women experts are featured in the news; and to focus on stories relevant to women audiences.
Future EU sanctions should deliberately target "ordinary Russians" instead of sparing them, Ukraine says after one year of horror.
Tax
In the future, major social investment will be needed for the welfare state to reach everyone — but how can the EU-27 finance it?
Migration
Recognition-rates for asylum hovers at around 40 percent across the EU (plus Norway and Switzerland), according to the European Union Agency for Asylum. But this seemingly-low figure doesn't include cases won on appeal and others who received humanitarian status.
Rule of Law
The EU's legitimacy and credibility has also suffered recently due to the Qatargate scandal engulfing the European Parliament, which undermines the EU's ability to protect the rule of law in member states.
As always, thank you to all new subscribers to this newsletter, and also as always, my various inboxes are open for feedback, suggestions, tips, leaks, ideas, gossip or post-modern discussion.
See you next week,
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1yThanks for Posting.