Three months after his triumph in the United States Elections, Donald Trump he has begun to deploy his particular "empire of terror" from the White House, with immigration being the main priority of the businessman who became president. The new anti-immigration law that bans entry to members of seven Muslim-majority countries has been the last pearl of the leader of the impossible toupee, a reason that has led to 65 writers and artists from around the world to sign a letter against Donald Trump in which creativity and communication are defended over paranoia and misunderstandings.
Art and politics
Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, one of the writers included in the signed letter to Donald Trump.
A week after his arrival at the White House, Donald Trump rolled up his arms and began to fulfill some of the many promises that he had been announcing regarding immigration, the first of them being curb the migratory flow from seven Muslim-majority countries for three months: Syria (four in this case), Libya, Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Iraq and Yemen. For 90 days, no one except diplomatic posts from these countries will be able to enter the United States until all immigration laws are reviewed, so the measures could become even more demanding throughout 2017.
Given the attack that this implies for human rights and also the arts as a form of dialogue and expression in a troubled world, the association of writers and artists PEN sent a few hours ago a letter to Donald Trump signed by 65 writers and artists, including JM Coetzee, Orhan Pamuk, Zadie Smith, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Sandra Cisneros or Lev Grossman, many of them known for their work on topics such as globalization, racism or immigration. The letter notes that this new law, in addition to the negative circumstances it represents for human rights, "further impedes the free flow of artists and thinkers at a time when a vibrant and open intercultural dialogue is essential in the fight against terror and oppression. In turn, the letter points to "creativity as an antidote to isolationism, paranoia, misunderstandings and violent intolerance."
The letter, via El País, you can read it below along with the names of the 65 artists who have signed it:
THE LETTER FROM THE INTELLECTUALS
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
As writers and artists, we join PEN America in calling for it to rescind its Executive Order of January 27, 2017, and to refrain from introducing any alternative measure that similarly impairs freedom of movement and exchange. world of arts and ideas.
By banning people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States for 90 days, banning all refugees from entering the country for 120 days, and blocking migration from Syria indefinitely, his January Executive Order caused chaos and hardship. for divided families, altered lives and enforced respect for the law under the threat of being handcuffed, detained and deported. By doing this, the Executive Order further impeded the free flow of artists and thinkers and did so at a time when vibrant and open intercultural dialogue is indispensable in the fight against terror and oppression. Its restriction is contrary to the values of the United States and the freedoms that this country defends.
The negative impact of the original Executive Order was immediately felt, causing stress and uncertainty for internationally renowned artists and disrupting important cultural events in the United States. Oscar-nominated director Asghar Farhadi, a native of Iran, who was hoping to travel to the Academy Awards ceremony in late February, announced that he will not attend. Syrian singer Omar Souleyman, who performed at the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, may not be able to perform at the World Music Institute in Brooklyn in May 2017. The possibility that Adonis, a poet from 87 years celebrated worldwide who has French nationality, but is of Syrian origin, may attend PEN's World Voices Festival in May 2017 in New York, remains in doubt.
Preventing international artists from contributing to the cultural life of the United States will not make the country safer and it will damage its international prestige and influence. Such a policy not only prevents great artists from performing in the country, but also limits the exchange of important ideas, isolating the United States politically and culturally. Reciprocal actions against American citizens, such as those already taken by the governments of Iran and Iraq, will further restrict the ability of American artists to move freely.
The arts and culture have the power to allow people to see beyond their differences. Creativity is an antidote to isolationism, paranoia, misunderstandings, and violent intolerance. In the countries most affected by the immigration ban, it is writers, artists, musicians and filmmakers who are often at the forefront in the fight against oppression and terror. If it disrupts artists' ability to travel, perform and collaborate, such an Executive Order will help those who would silence critical voices and exacerbate the hatreds that fuel global conflict.
We firmly believe that the immediate and long-term consequences of your original Executive Order are completely contrary to the national interests of the United States. As you consider possible new measures, we respectfully encourage you to comprehensively adapt them to address only legitimate and confirmed threats and to avoid imposing extensive bans that affect millions of people, including writers, artists, and thinkers whose voices and presence help foster international understanding.
Anne tyler
Lev grossman
Jhumpa Lahiri
Norman rush
Chang-rae Lee
Jane smiley
Janet malcolm
John Green
Mary karr
Claire messud
Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
Siri Hustvedt
Paul auster
Francine Prose
Paul muldoon
david henry hwang
Jessica Hagedorn
martin amis
Sandra Cisneros
Dave Eggers
Stephen Sondheim
Jonathan Lethem
Philip Roth
Andrew Solomon
Tobias Wolff
robert pinsky
Jonathan Franken
Jay McInerney
Margaret Atwood
Random Nafisi
Alec soth
Nicole krauss
Colm Tobin
Patrick Stewart
Philip Gourevitch
Robert Caro
Rita dove
JM Coetzee
Anish Kapoor
Rosanne cash
Zadie Smith
George packer
John Waters
Art spiegelman
Susan orlean
Elizabeth strout
Kwame Anthony Appiah
Teju Cole
Alice sebold
Emerald Santiago
stacy schiff
Jeffrey Eugenides
Khaled hosseini
Rick moody
Hanya yanagihara
Chimamanda adichie
John lithgow
simon schama
colum mccann
Sally mann
Jules feiffer
Luc Tuymans
Michael Chabon
Ayelet waldman
Orhan Pamuk
What do you think of this initiative?
Excellent initiative. What a pity that this man does not think much ...