site.btaUPDATED Journalist Encho Gospodinov: Our Planet and Generation Are Heading for a Chasm

Journalist and humanitarian diplomat Encho Gospodinov, who is taking part in the 2024 Academy for the International Festival of Red Cross and Health Films here between June 20 and 23, warned in his speech that our planet and our generation are heading towards a chasm.

Gospodinov said: "The bell tolls, we listen to it, and the media engages in superficial propaganda and politicians say things we are ashamed of when we listen to them. We now see leaders like Helmut Kohl, Francois Mitterrand, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela as distant demigods who had the morals and courage to say things that journalists dare not say today. The International Red Cross and the United Nations are tight in the vice of the battle between the Great Powers."

The journalist said that the Geneva Conventions are the backbone of international humanitarian law designed to regulate the behaviour of armies and politicians in times of war when it comes to information, but also propaganda, because "the first casualty of any war is the truth". Gospodinov said that the world has changed for the worse, as it is awash with propaganda and lies.

He said: "After seven years as a direct participant in humanitarian work in Yugoslavia, I can tell you that there are no angels in the Balkans. There is everything that can be seen in the rest of the world, there are talents, good people, humanity, but also cruelty, lies, propaganda."

Gospodinov praised the BBC News's programme The Context, which interprets current affairs while also looking at historical events. 

In his words, humanity is a delicate business, since a balance must be struck between the national interest and the treatment of one's own citizens and care for the other. He stressed that the Red Cross does not discriminate against anyone but helps both warring parties while promoting peace.

Gospodinov has worked for Pogled, the Union of Bulgarian Journalists' weekly paper. He has reported from hot spots around the globe. Member of the Internation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies since 1989.