Wishing for peace

Nemo, 2024 Eurovision winner (Copyright AP Photo)

A few days ago, regarding Donald Trump's abhorrent reaction to the murder of film director Rob Reiner and his wife, Portuguese journalist Patrícia Fonseca commented that, a few (not many) years ago, a reaction of this type would have initiated an impeachment process. This time, there were many people who classified Trump's attitude as unworthy of the office he holds. However, the truth is that there’s a kind of anesthesia around what Trump says or does, as if it were something natural or inevitable, as if it were not possible to demand decency. The same happens with other politicians and so-called "influencers," thus normalising hate speech or not challenging misinformation. With all the damage this causes, I believe it is not due to a lack of sensitivity that most people do not react, but to a lack of a sense of agency. We don't react because we think it's not worth it, because nothing will change.

It's a matter of scale. The awareness that, while we cannot change the world, we still have the power – as individuals and, above all, as a collective – to dream, to work for the world we wish to belong to, and to make things happen.

At the Acesso Cultura annual conference in October 2025 (whose theme was the mission and values ​​of cultural organisations), it was striking to hear writer Mariana Jones say that she had never before thought that, as a person and a citizen, she could expect anything from cultural organisations in terms of posture, positioning, and the defense of values. Just as citizens are not used to thinking about this relationship in this way, we, professionals in the cultural sector, are not used to thinking of our organisations as having a personality, shaped by values ​​and guided by a mission. We ourselves are, for the most part, comfortable in a supply-enjoyment relationship, without a clear purpose, convinced of its importance and value, but unable to answer the question "Why?". Why do I do what I do?

Recently, like other people, I found out about the group Bandidos do Cante, but not because of their music. A few days ago, 11 Portuguese contestants at the Song Festival announced that, should one of them win in Portugal, they will boycott theEurovision stage due to the participation of Israel (a state accused of committing genocide). The Bandidos do Cante were not among them, and so we got to know them a little better. In a post on their Facebook page, where comments are restricted, they inform us that:

They value the land, family, love, friendship and belonging. They believe in the power of songs to bring people together, create community, and remind us of who we are. They desire a more humane, more supportive world, with more music and, above all, peace. And in their dreamed-of world – kind, humane, creative – a world we all desire, the Bandidos do Cante defend “all artists, all forms of expression, and all conscious choices. There is room for everyone.”

What room is there really to stand alongside someone who represents a genocidal state, headed by a Prime Minister indicted for war crimes? When we value land, family, love, friendship and belonging, how can we applaud and celebrate someone who represents the murder of innocent civilians, the destruction of homes, the bombing of hospitals and schools, and famine? What song is there to celebrate the death from cold of a baby by decision of a government?

Nemo's position, last year’s Eurovision winner, is different. Nemo returned thetrophy, stating that there is a clear conflict between the ideals of unity,inclusion, and dignity for all people, which Eurovision claims to defend, and the decision to allow Israel's participation. "I no longer feel this trophy belongs on my shelf," they said. Also in Portugal, not only was there an announcement of a boycott by the competitors, but one of them, Dinis Mota, proposes to hold an international concert in Austria, during or near theEurovision Song Contest, with musicians from Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Ireland, Iceland, and others, with the profits going to the Palestinian people.

Authors Laura Restrepo, Giuseppe Caputo and Mikaelah Drullard

In another cultural field, that of literature, at least three writers (all Latin American)withdrew from participating in the Hay festival, which takes place next month in Cartagena, Colombia, in protest against the invitation extended to Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, María Corina Machado. It may seem strange to those less attentive, but the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to Machado has been criticised since the moment it was announced, due to her relations with far-right leaders, her praise for Donald Trump (to whom she dedicated the Nobel Prize and whose administration has been attacking Venezuelan boats in international waters without a warrant), as well as her support for a US military intervention in her country. That much peace….

The festival's response expresses the usual ingenuousness (if we can even speak of ingenuousness with all that we know today): it believes that open and diverse dialogue is essential to defend "the free exchange of ideas and freedom of expression," clarifying, at the same time and as usual, that it does not align itself with or endorse the opinions, positions or statements of those who take part in its activities, nor their political views. That's how it should be, but are all political views equally welcome? Do we give them a stage or a microphone?

The reach of our actions as individuals may be residual, but as a collective it can be quite significant. Here we refer to people who will not change the world, but who use the power they have (we all have some power) to truly defend values ​​that can bring us closer to the world we dream of  - kind, humane, creative, and supportive - rejecting barbarism.