Speaking Truth To Torture

THE KINGDOM OF FEAR

26th June

Today is International Day Against Torture.

By tragic irony, the Uruguayan military dictatorship was born the following day in 1973 and soon turned the country into one huge torture chamber.

For obtaining information torture was useless or practically useless, but it was very useful for sowing fear, and fear obliged Uruguayans to live by silence or lies.

While in exile, I received an unsigned letter:

Lying sucks, and getting used to lying sucks.
But worse than lying is teaching to lie.
I have three children.                                                            Eduardo Galeano


Postscript: an Orwellian touch of irony

Today we are engaged in a deadly global struggle for those who would intimidate, torture, and murder people for exercising the most basic freedoms. If we are to win this struggle and spread those freedoms, we must keep our own moral compass pointed in a true direction.
Barack Obama