June 2000
Dear PMers,
Sometimes, here in former East Germany, I wonder what I am doing...or, what should I be doing? Confronted daily by evidence of recent history, and recalling the words of Cartier-Bresson, "The world is in chaos, and you are photographing rocks!" (he was criticising Ansel Adams and Edward Weston apparently), and so...soap-box time...
MEDIA and the TRUTH??? once again wracked by doubts about our erstwhile press-people...and wondering if you are aware of a 2 hour documentary, "New World Order (Somewhere in Africa)", by Phillipe Diaz, recently premiered at Cannes: what is really going on in Sierra Leone!!! He stunned the audience with scenes of UN troops (our defenders of human rights) tacitly approving of the murder of civilians...etc. After the screening, the director faced a barrage of questions including: "How can this be? The UN - how could they? Why have the journalists not told us of this?"...a reasonable question...I wonder what the answer is! Someone once said "History repeats". Well, it seems it has to, because no-one listens!" Hmmm...boiling blood and itchy feet bothering me again!
Dean