During the eternal lockdown and strict confinement throughout the Covid-19 pandemic in Argentina, we somehow got used to counting the figures of daily deaths almost numbly, indifferently. We interpreted it as something inevitable, a curse, a sort of punishment from evil gods. Nowadays, we act likewise in reference to the rate of violent crimes in Rosario (more than one death per day), and the suburban belt around Buenos Aires City. What’s wrong with us? Why do we lack sympathy? When have we become so callous, so hard-hearted?A famous poem by Bertolt Brecht comes to mind: “First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist. Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak outbecause I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”What if one of us is the next victim?
Buenos Aires Times, April 15, 2023