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This article is accompanied by subtitled interviews on YouTube, which can also be read in english as a transcript here. As millions of people escape the war in Ukraine, last month, Kseniia Tomchyk returned to the city where she was born, Berehove, near the border with Hungary. After spending 7 years in Brazil, the conflict motivated Kseniia to return to her home country to help her family. Aside from love and concern for the country, she is motivated by human values. According to Tomchyk, Putin is a “psychopathic dictator” who does not accept the independence of her country, much less its tendency to lean towards European values. The debate which orbits this tragic geopolitical event tends to focus on the relationship between NATO and Russia, and the international policies of the United States. But, for Kseniia, "using NATO as an explanation is a lame apology." In the intimacy of the family realm, where there are dreams of a better future, Kseniia shows how the ethical and moral principles of her people are closer to the real reason for this conflict. In the interview above, Kseniia introduces herself, and tells us why she is returning to Ukraine. What are European values, and how do they differ from Russian values? Kseniia describes Russia as an authoritarian country where there is no democracy, the press is not free, and there is no freedom in general. On the other hand, Europe preaches “democratic” values: life, freedom and respect. They are formalized in an article of the European Union Treaty, and aim to guarantee that the population has the freedom to “express opinions”, including through voting. Russia, in theory, also had elections. Putin always won, and when he reached the limit of consecutive terms, Medvedev came into power but never ran again. United Russia, the country's hegemonic party, has values ​​that exist in symbiosis with those of its leader. These principles are denominated “conservative”, “pragmatic”, and “anti-radical”. “Conservatism” can be seen as associated with the values ​​of the Russian Orthodox Church. Among other things, it formalizes the Patriarchy, as an individual in the role of Patriarch exercises political power and works closely with the party. “Pragmatism” can be seen as prioritizing the ensuring of social order above any other moral or ethical motivation (such as freedom of expression). And “anti-radicalism” represents the rejection of the binary political paradigm of Left and Right, favoring ideological and governmental centralization. "Anti-radicalism", in particular, has a direct bearing on the precarious state of independent journalism in Russia (Source) — which has recently become a global issue. Russia is notorious for being a dangerous place for journalists, with hundreds of deaths and disappearances recorded (Source). Since the 1990s, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the country's constitution has included freedom of the press, but in practice, journalists are coerced into self-censorship (Source). Today, Russia becomes a threat to international journalists; since the war in Ukraine began, at least 12 journalists have been killed (Source). For this reason, among others, Putin is not a leader who conceptually represents the values ​​of Democracy, but he has the support of many people in Russia, as there are many people who adhere to the principles of his party. If there were elections, he would have high chances of winning. Kseniia believes that "we can't just blame this on lack of information or manipulation by the media. The Russian population had access to the internet before this conflict started" and, in theory, a world of information was at their fingertips. The government can formalize great and beautiful values, and put them on paper, but each person also has a responsibility to put these values ​​into practice, on a daily basis. Now, there is an opportunity for these people to rethink this complacent position with dubious political values, as Russia's reputation is shaken, and sanctions are causing discomfort throughout the population. In the above interview, Kseniia tells us what she has been doing in Ukraine and her perspective on the political situation in her country. [Transcript available below] Europe has its contradictions, it has amassed wealth through the occupation and exploitation of colonized countries, it still has Monarchies, and in many cases, at least until recently, laws prohibiting “injury to the majesty” in the media (Lèse-majesté). So when we talk about freedom of the press, coercion of independent journalists is not just a Russian affliction. In the US, some famous whistleblowers (e.g. Assange) have gone into exile, some even in Russia, such as Snowden. In Brazil, politicians, researchers and writers have received threats to the point of exile in Europe (Jean Wyllys, Larissa Bombardi, Marcia Tiburi, for example). Not to mention political assassinations, as in the case of Marielle Franco. Moving towards a European value such as Freedom of the Press or Democracy does not necessarily mean believing that European civilization is superior, as it is far from perfect and from putting its values ​​properly into practice. In the case of Ukraine, as described by Kseniia, preferring a set of values, even if they are not yet perfectly practiced, means believing in a journey towards a horizon, a desirable potential for the future. This exists in opposition to a society whose authorities offer a horizon, an ultimate goal for the people, which, despite aiming at social equity and minimizing economic inequality — values ​​registered in the United Russia manifesto — also aims at an existence confined in the paradigm of Christian patriarchy. And more, where authorities aim to centralize power through the eradication of divergent ideologies, in favor of 'order' through social control. This is not to say that some Ukrainians do not embrace Russian values ​​and prefer to choose this path. Given the history of coercion, corruption and less-than-truthful reporting, judging the authenticity of these positions can be tempting. But in the end, we all deal with disinformation which fuels political polarization. What guarantees the existence of a State is the consent of the population, and creating and maintaining this consent is a major challenge, as much as it is essential for the effectiveness of its policies. In other words, the population of a democratic country, in theory, actively allows the existence of the State and makes its actions viable. However, it is common for this consent to be acquired through coercion and media manipulation. This is not just true in Russia. It is common, in a democracy, for individuals to vote for a “lesser evil” — a candidate whose values ​​do not robustly represent the voter – because they know that the politician (usually a man) has a better chance of winning. Especially in a nation like the USA, which, despite considering itself politically decentralized and free, elections are centralized in 2 parties. In Brazil, many people who were critical of Lula's and Dilma's political regime, also took a stand against the 2016 impeachment, and are more than willing to put their party back in power if it means removing Bolsonaro from office. No option is perfect, but it is a preferable alternative when we don't see any other. The terror and urgency of this global paradigm of democracy and the struggle for freedom is that it threatens the survival of vulnerable people. Certain options are preferable enough to the point where we risk our lives to ensure that we go towards them. In Ukraine, “no person wounded in the war, who is in the hospital now in Berehove, intends to return home after recovering. Everyone will return to war. We want to be free, not to exist to satisfy the desires and ambitions of one individual [Putin].” Kseniia took the risk of returning to her hometown to defend her values ​​and support her family. “Big organizations help, but each one doing their part takes us much further, and we achieve much more.” Everyone in her village with space at home is sheltering a refugee family. Donations of clothes, medicine and food keep coming. “I'm asked how I can go back to Ukraine in this situation, and I answer 'how can I not go back!' To surrender is to say we agree. We'd rather die than surrender to it. It is not an option to live under Putin's control. Ukrainians don't want to be slaves to a psychopath with ambitions, and live to fulfill those ambitions. It is even difficult to answer the question 'why not surrender?', this possibility has not even crossed our minds. Surrendering is not an option.” Published originally at Abeautifulresistance.org. ________ Mirna Wabi-Sabi is a writer, editor and translator. She is founder and editor-in-chief of the Plataforma9 initiative and author of the bilingual pocket book Anarco-Transcriação.

“Latin America is known for its mambo and salsa dance styles, but there’s something else shaking up the region”… (Salas, 2022) Could anything good come after this opening line? FINTECH. Fintech is short for Financial Technology, and investors are claiming it will be the solution to income inequality. It includes online banking, cryptocurrency, crowdfunding, stocktrading apps, mobile payments, and so on, as tools for “financial inclusion” of economically marginalized people. The ultra wealthy have the ability to convince themselves, and those around them, that what poor people need to get out of poverty is something a venture capitalist can offer. And what’s hotter in venture capitalism than tech giants in Silicon Valley? New apps and online banking inventions are being sold in Latin America as the solution to all our money problems — making transactions quicker and cheaper — as if the problem with poor people’s finances was lack of tools to manage money, not lack of money. This month, Forbes.com published a hopeful article about how fintech can be a solution for income inequality called “Fintech Leaps Forward In Latin America”, written by Sean Salas, CEO of an online financial service company based in Los Angeles. Camino Financial, his company, has a website which bans visits from my region of Brazil — my IP address is blocked, but a VPN overrides the ban. According to the US Department of the Treasury, internet-based financial service companies, like his, “developed Internet Protocol (IP) address blocking procedures” to unsuccessfully address the “firm’s compliance risks”. Banning IP addresses from certain geographical regions can be done if they want to comply with US sanction policies, or “satisfy their due diligence requirements” (US Department of the Treasury, 2004). In other words, the man who argued for the revolutionary nature of fintech in Latin America is also CEO of a financial enterprise which bans website visitors from certain locations in Latin America. Of all people, he knows first-hand how the internet, specifically Internet-based financial services, have severe potential to become inaccessible, restrictive, and expensive — just as banks are now. “Five banks control over 80% of every financial product in Brazil. Combined these banks have become the most profitable in the world. If you see the interest rates and fees consumers pay for these products it’s extremely expensive.” (Salas, 2022) What can we do to ensure we are truly solving the problem of banks, and not just transferring the problem to the internet? By demanding dignity to all people, first and foremost. Is your local venture capitalist paying their workers a living wage? These shiny new gadgets will keep us entertained and distracted for some time, but it will certainly not solve the real problem here: working people around the globe are not getting paid enough. Wealthy people hoard their wealth by not paying workers a living wage, and until that changes, this belief in meritocracy will continue to disappoint. To be at the “Forefront of Financial Inclusion” is to properly remunerate workers, and to provide every citizen with basic health needs and education — not to provide modern ways for poor people to feel broke and inadequate. In this sense, Fintech “Unicorns” is a fitting term for these ventures, because they are clearly out of touch with reality. Surely, they are useful, since they can be used imaginatively (especially during a pandemic which requires social distancing), but let’s not oversell them. We still unquestionably have a much bigger issue at hand: people are homeless, hungry and dying while oligarchs wage war, obliterate forests and go to Space. In fact, some of these oligarchs probably have their toes in the fintech pool. Latin America is known for a lot more than just beats and swinging hips. We are known for incredible biodiversity, stunning nature, indigenous resilience in face of colonialist exploitation and the spiritual power of the African Diaspora. If Fintech entrepreneurs don’t acknowledge the need to worship and protect this legacy, their contributions to the Latin American landscape will be puny. Sources: Salas, Sean. (2022) “Fintech Leaps Forward In Latin America” US Department of the Treasury. (2004) “Compliance For Internet, Web Based Activities, And Personal Communications” Published originally at Abeautifulresistance.org. Mirna Wabi-Sabi is a writer, editor, and translator from Brazil. She is the founder of the Plataforma9 initiative and the author of the bilingual pocket book Anarcho-Transcreation (Anarco-Transcriação).

The original version of this piece, in english, can be found at Truthout. The version below can also be found at Abeautifulresistance.org. PHOTOS: Protest for Justice in the Moïse case in Barra, Rio de Janeiro (Credit: Fabio Teixeira) Saturday, February 5th, protesters went to the streets of major Brazilian cities asking for Justice. A young African man has been lynched — tortured to death — on a beach in Rio de Janeiro. The perpetrators, working men themselves, are in custody, and claim there was no intention to kill; that they were responding to the erratic and irresponsible behavior of the victim. The victim’s family, on the other hand, claims he was only asking to be remunerated for two days of work. No narrative, however, justifies what happened, which was caught on video. Is the arrest of the men who tied another man down to beat him what Justice looks like? Moïse was a Congolese refugee living in Brazil for a decade. At the beach where he was brutally murdered, he was known as the “Angolan”. That’s like nicknaming a US American “Mexican”, or a Brazilian “Venezuelan”, just because these are neighboring countries in the same continent. The lack of understanding his community had about the circumstances which brought him to Brazil in the first place is already an injustice — one which will not be reversed with someone’s imprisonment. By 2008, the Second Congo War, which started in 1998, had killed over 5 million people and is considered the deadliest since World War II. The First one happened right before, also in the 90s, and was a direct result of Colonial and Imperialist forces meddling with African leaders and exploiting ethnic differences in the region. Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was made into a rope in the thug-of-war between Communist and Anti-communist forces, until the dissolution of the USSR and of the USA’s interest in endorsing its leader. Moïse was born the year one war ended and as another one started, which was a period where over 5 million children did not receive an education due to political turmoil — literacy levels were at their lowest, and child labor and exploitation at their highest. Throughout his youth, his country was under a so-called “peacekeeping” United Nations operation (MONUSCO) which did more to create a clandestine weapons industry than to prevent conflict. Among the countries involved in this operation was Brazil, with its military and police personnel. Today, a Brazilian general is Force Commander of MONUSCO, and he is the fourth Lieutenant from Brazil to hold the position, making it the most represented country in terms of leadership. Much before all that, the Congo region had already lived through atrocities under a Belgian regime and its rubber industry. At the turn of last century, between the last decade of the 1800s and the first one of the 1900s, Africans under the colonial regime of the Belgian king were enslaved, mutilated, and killed at barbaric rates. Famine, disease, and exploitation perpetuated by Colonialism and its for-profit industries were responsible for the deaths of over half of the local population — uncountable lives. But barbaric foreign meddling is not all there is to say about this Central African country. (Credit: Fabio Teixeira) Despite incessant geopolitical opportunism, Congo has endured geographically and thrives culturally. According to the WWF, “The Congo Basin has been inhabited by humans for more than 50,000 years and it provides food, fresh water and shelter to more than 75 million people.” The Congo River is the largest in volume after the Amazon River. Its tropical forest is also the largest after the Amazon. As a Brazilian, our passion for preserving our most magnificent and precious asset ought to be extended to our ecological neighbor, since, together, our countries are the keepers of the world’s most “important wilderness areas left on Earth.” Congolese musicians and writers have also found artistic expression as a tool for self-esteem and power. Kolinga, a Congolese group, is around today making decolonial feminist anthems. Last century, soukous and Congolese rumba hits became international classics, perhaps best represented in the Congo Revolution compilation “Revolutionary and Evolutionary Sounds From The Two Congos 1955-62”. Literature, in much need of translation and wider distribution, is even more moving and representative of the artistic tide of the nation. The poem “Second Dimension” by the Congolese writer Rais Neza Boneza, from his book “Nomad, sounds of exile,” is particularly insightful, perhaps even specifically to the plight of Moïse and his immigrant community in Brazil. May it speak for itself: Near his table rests a glass of water; Through his window he glances at passerby: He observes and always waits, waits, waits. Bitterness nourishes his being; Subjected to misunderstandings And false airs of 'people' He is a prisoner. He sits, hands cupped around his chin Solemnly thinking In his dreaming, his spirits escape The world of hardships And travel in the expanses of the Wild blue sky He leans on his table, half worried, half-contented. In this place of his there is no compassion; Evil prowls around its prey; Rancor sings its melody of morning, A stranger to his land, He melancholically sips from his glass-- A sip of freedom. Marginalized and needy, Very far is the wind of liberty blowing for him He is a clandestine, always without address, Not a nomad, but a recluse in the midst of humanity. In his unbroken crystal enclosure He follows the echoes of his silent screams. A rock of madness, only solitude answers him. He startles! His heart rapidly beats! He rises from his bed! Ah! It's only a nightmare! This is a nightmare Moïse and his family will not wake up from, nor will the African diasporic community at large be shielded from the inhumanity of such barbaric acts. But we can, as a society, begin to perceive Justice as a much border concept — not only as something the judicial system can provide. Justice means seeing, respecting, and appreciating the value of welcoming people who are different from us into our communities. Justice means doing what we can to learn, understand and fight against a geopolitical paradigm driven by abuse and exploitation (e.g. by demanding reparations). Justice means thinking, asking and feeling the Humanity in all of us. Protest for Justice in the Moïse case in São Paulo, MASP, February 5 — Photo and video (Credit: Mirna Wabi-Sabi). _____ Mirna Wabi-Sabi is a writer, editor, and translator from Brazil. She is the founder of the Plataforma9 initiative and is the author of the bilingual pocket book Anarcho-Transcreation (Anarco-Transcriação).

Protesters demonstrate in memory of the murder of 24-year-old Congolese Moïse Kabagambe and against violence against refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 5, 2022. On February 5, protesters took to the streets of major Brazilian cities asking for justice. A young African man, Moïse Kabagambe, was lynched — tortured to death — on a beach in Rio de Janeiro in January. The alleged perpetrators, working men themselves, are in custody, and claim there was no intention to kill; that they were responding to the erratic behavior of the victim. The victim’s family, on the other hand, claims he was only asking to be remunerated for two days of work. No narrative, however, justifies what happened, which was caught on video. To protesters, Kabagambe’s case went beyond the debate in court of whether his death was a homicide or an accident. The men involved claim their intention was to punish the immigrant for causing trouble, but the video shows how the beating went on for several minutes after Kabagambe was unresponsive, and the sheer physical stamina needed for the act implies hate was the fuel. Written by Mirna Wabi-Sabi Photographed by Fabio Teixeira Read it at Truthout

Trigger warning: violence and death. Photos by Fabio Teixeira, taken on February 11, 2022 in Vila Cruzeiro, Rio de janeiro. The content of this photojournalistic series poses an ethical conundrum to me as a writer and is deserving of a stern trigger warning. The term ‘trigger warning’ is often associated with so-called woke culture and “social justice warriors”, but, here, I use it in quite a literal sense. Actual triggers have been pulled, and are you prepared to see photographic evidence of the consequences? On the one hand, to reproduce these images is, also, to reproduce the barbaric violence depicted in them. On the other hand, perhaps, being exposed to it, as a reader and as a citizen, may provide the dose of reality needed to spark a combative awareness, which can be used to stir real change. Change not only in which triggers are being pulled where and when. Change in how we speak about each other and to each other. The words used to describe what happened in Rio de Janeiro on February 11th, 2022, have been mostly based on that the Brazilian Military Police had to report. “Criminals” were shot in a favela. They are unidentified, nameless, but there were 8, and they were “marginals”. According to the police’s spokesperson, they were after Chico Bento, a leader of Rio’s largest criminal organization, who got away by using young, poor and black civilians as shields. In other words, the wanted man escaped because the police were aware of the strategy and unwilling to sacrifice innocent lives. Lives were sacrificed nevertheless, shamelessly and savagely. The remains treated inhumanely, perhaps only as a final reflection of how the bodies were treated when they were alive — and the brutality continues in the dissemination of the rhetoric around who these people were. In this peace-less rest, not only the dead are victims. A whole community is subjected to the dehumanizing narrative used by the police, and perpetuated by mass media, to justify unjustifiable actions. So, instead of repeating what has already been said about this case — which favela, which gang leader, how many weapons, how many drugs — here we ought to discuss what the consequences of these police operations are. There is no evidence that Military Police operations or the presence of the Pacifying Police Unit in Rio’s favelas has achieved any success in dwindling the illegal drugs and weapons industry. Marginalized communities are terrorized by the police as much as they are by local traffickers. In fact, marginalized black communities have been terrorized by authorities since before the existence of organized crime, even before the existence of the police or the State which it protects. What is organized crime? Firstly, there must be the concept of a crime, defined by law, and backed by governmental institutions. And for it to be organized, it must be bigger than a single infraction, big enough to become a parallel and profitable industry. Favelas became organized enough to endure a legacy of terror which has persisted for half a millennium. The police force which execute “pacifying” operations in the favelas was created before the Brazilian State was formed, to hunt down enslaved people who ran away. The policing institution precedes the constitution and the establishing of basic human rights. What distinguishes organized crime from failed police intelligence operations is the backing of the Authorities, whichever they may be. Throughout history, we have witnessed shifts in institutional authority, from the Monarchy, to the Republic, to a modern constitution. But the Police Force has remained, it commits crimes, it sometimes aids organized criminal organizations, but it has succeeded in controlling the narrative. The steering of public discourse is the most valuable tool of an institution. Its ability to summon support is the secret to its longevity. When it comes to the police, the narrative that “marginals”, “criminals”, are nothing more than just that has not only maintained but fed a thirst for blood in much of the population. Gun-loving Bolsonaro supporters lust after the brutal punishment of criminals, reveling over robberies-gone-wrong videos online. The slogan from the 80s, created by a Rio de Janeiro Police Chief, is still massively popular: “A good thug is a dead thug” (“Bandido bom é bandido morto”). There is no doubt Brazil lives under a political strategy of extermination, the question is which narrative a citizen buys into. One which propagates the idea that some people deserve to die because they are nothing more than marginal criminals. And another, which believes all people deserve dignity. There are no criminals, there are people who commit crimes. There are no marginals, there are people who have been marginalized. There are no slaves, there are people who have been enslaved. When we fail to see the humanity in others, we fail it in our selves. Perhaps, by being confronted with images of dignity being savagely denied to others, we may fight for their dignity as much as we fight for our own. _______ Mirna Wabi-Sabi is a writer, editor, and translator from Brazil. She is the founder of the Plataforma9 initiative and the author of the bilingual pocket book Anarcho-Transcreation (Anarco-Transcriação).

The debate of whether or not to vote, or for whom, ought to be replaced with the conversation of whether voting is the only way to be politically active, or if the National scale is what matters the most. The Bolsonaro administration has made it difficult to refrain from voting in the upcoming presidential elections. For those who avoid engaging in electoral politics, it is no simple task to continue this practice in face of his grotesque stances and policies. On the one hand, it seems to me that Presidents do less in terms of actual policy and more in terms of ‘selling’ to the general public and manufacturing support for whatever policy is already on the way — which is in the interest of a global Capitalist economic system as opposed to the interests of voters. On the other hand, the principles held by these individuals in major administrative roles have the power to stir public discourse and behaviors, normalizing retrogressive values which have concrete repercussions in society at large. Engaging in local lobbying initiatives, however, puts into perspective what the actual outcomes of voting are in our immediate environment. I live in an area of Brazil with unique rocky Atlantic forest vegetation — unique enough to grant the demarcation of a nature protection reserve called Tiririca ‘Mountain range’ (Serra da Tiririca). This demarcation came after plenty of damage was already done by the swift and massive real estate industry of the last 40 years. The land my house was built on used to be a swamp, where alligators and birds lived, as well as rare plants. Unfortunately, my house is one of the few if not the only one in the neighborhood where spontaneous growth is allowed, and animals are welcomed rather than shunned or killed. Written by Mirna Wabi-Sabi Read it in full at Abeautifulresistance.org

People are able to organize very complex distribution and exchange mechanisms in a very short time without the intervention of state institutions. Even if one didn’t have an immediate experience of disaster at the doorstep — like flood, storm or wildfire, which are happening globally on a weekly basis affecting many millions of people — we all share an experience of global surge of mutual aid during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many places, it implied a different relation to material reality such as provision of food, medics and, in peculiar cases, toilet paper. In non middle-and-up-class contexts, the pandemic increased risk of losing the roof over head or being stuck below dignifying conditions in at home. This intense period became a sharp reminder of local sufficiency, the scale of our community, and the importance of understanding a home as space that goes beyond our rented or owned four walls. While asked to distance ourselves for solidarity, we soon understood what are the outlines of our dependency on others, including both closest circles and large global supply chains. What role will these dependencies and material sufficiency have in a degrowth future? When speaking of degrowth, I optimistically account collective action to mitigate coming disasters and to reorganize society around a different material reality — one that recognizes limits. Written by Jere Kuzmanić Edited by Mirna Wabi-Sabi Read it in full at Abeautifulresistance.org

It feels like we live in unprecedented times, and, indeed, no one alive has witnessed a viral pandemic of this magnitude before. This isn’t, however, the 1st viral pandemic in history, which is why political commentators have drawn parallels to others such as SARS, Ebola, Influenza, etc. Based on where I live, though, the parallel that stands out is with mosquito-borne infections; Dengue, Chikungunya, Yellow Fever, and so on. Public health campaigns about Dengue prevention in Brazil were constant throughout my lifetime, and it never occurred to me or anyone around me to question its message — mosquitoes transmit it, and clean stagnant water is what they need to proliferate. Therefore, everyone ought to do everything they can to minimize these vectors for disease, since the mosquito born in your house respects no property line and will feed on anyone. This has never become a partisan issue, the science behind it has not been questioned, and slacking on the public health requirements is frowned upon. Despite not having learned to distinguish between mosquito larvae and that of other animals, and considering I am highly suspicious of government and authority in general, questioning the science behind the life cycle of a mosquito that transmits disease never occurred to me. I am a woman who lives alone, and the Dengue inspector is the only strange man from the street I allow in my home. Every small artificial body of water I see comes with a flashing danger sign, and I have developed muscle memory from flipping over water-gathering containers. In 2008, NPR published a piece describing mosquitoes as “nature’s Viet Congs”; defenders “of ferns, butterflies, beetles and ants from humankind”. At the time, I thought that made sense. Cities grow, take the place of the forest, and mosquitoes are the nuisance which remains. But upon further reflection, especially in the COVID context, the analogy seems inept. Aren’t Viet Congs part of humanity, and humanity part of nature? Most importantly, weren’t there humans living in the forest before mosquitoes began trying to repel humanity from ‘nature’? How did indigenous people handle virus-drenched-mosquitoes? The answer is: they didn’t. There was no Dengue before colonization. It is widely known that viral infections were weaponized against native civilizations by settlers, the chicken-pox blanket as the most notorious example. The Aedes aegypti, the mosquito which spreads Dengue, Chikungunya, Zika, Yellow fever and other viruses, came as eggs in water brought in ships from Africa in the 16th century. By the 18th century, there had been outbreaks of infections in 3 or more continents at once. Well, we are here, now, still struggling to keep this virus under control. The approach has been to make our urban living environment unwelcoming to these creatures. Meaning: no excess of plants that give them shade and block the breeze which sweeps them away; no organic matter because they contain plant sugars mosquitoes feed on; no irregular, dirty surfaces that can hold the liquid for them to lay eggs in. What this also leads to is the expulsion of any other living thing aside from humans. No plants also means no butterflies; no organic matter also means no worms and fertility for plants; no water also means no frogs and dragonflies. The paradox is the need for more water, plants and organic matter to attract more animals that are natural predators of mosquitoes and their larvae. Biodiversity has a positive cascading effect, where water attracts mosquitoes, which attract frogs who eat mosquitoes. If adding to the mix beetles, birds, spiders, lizards, snails, ants, butterflies, dragonflies, worms, water striders, etc., we can see that mosquitoes come alone when there is a random tire getting rained on by the side of the road. In some ways, it’s like the principle of a vaccine — don’t avoid the problem, safely expose yourself to it and find a healthy organic balance to fight it. Balance is no simple thing to achieve, much less in the scale of a whole planet. Perhaps the change towards balance we can achieve lies in the realm of our personal lives and a shift in perspective. This is already a lot of work, but it’s where every great idea starts. To question authority and its untrustworthy institutions does not come at the expense of learning biology. In fact, it relies on this knowledge — how else will we know the fallacies of the system and gather the tools to speak the truth about power? Written by Mirna Wabi-Sabi She is site editor of Gods and Radicals, founder and editor-in-chief of Plataforma9, author of the book Anarcho-Transcreation, and a political commentator through writing, editing, teaching and translating. Originally published at Abeautifulresistance.org

It's with great sadness that we learn of the passing of one of the most influential feminist voices — bell hooks. She was an inspiration to me as a thinker and writer. The issues discussed in her conversation with Laverne Cox about reproducing white patriarchal beauty standards, her comments on Beyoncé's failure at representing black women, and her call out of white feminism in From Margin to Center have always been present in my intellectual production. My work would have not been the same without her, and the future, if it's up to me, will be forever marked by her legacy — her books. Resources: FEMINIST THEORY from margin to center FEMINISM IS FOR EVERYBODY By Mirna Wabi-Sabi

The average citizen knows very little about nature and their local ecosystems. It has become easier for us to imagine a mosquito that is genetically engineered to be sterile, than to learn about which animals in our area are their natural predators. This is probably because it is easier to vote for a politician who might endorse research and implement anti-dengue-fever policies, than to observe and study the behaviour of local wild-life. Most of us don’t have the time and resources for this type of research, but, most importantly, we lack interest or motivation (who knows which came first). We don’t need to look closely, however, to see that government policies and politicians are flawed and misguided, specially with regard to environmentally sustainable practices. An alternative to continuing relying on them could be taking certain things into our own hands, even in the microcosm of our own lives. Written by Mirna Wabi-Sabi Read it at Abeautifulresistance.org

In my view, Africana womanism has been the most effective anti-fascist strategy Brazil has ever seen, tackling all realms of oppression from self-esteem to material conditions, infrastructure, community development, and, most importantly, survival. Unlike Western patriarchy, which feeds competition, individualism, and authority through the use of violence or force, the ‘matricommunity’ guarantees all the basic spiritual and practical needs [1] that a fascist government not only fails to provide, but systematically deprives in order to marginalize and exterminate an unwanted contingent of the population. Written by Mirna Wabi-Sabi Read it at Abeautifulresistance.org

In English here. El último sábado de agosto, prendí las luces del balcón e una nube de termitas corrió hacia las lámparas. Se arrojaron contra la ampolleta nerviosamente y cubrieron cada centímetro de la pared. Una mariposa voló entre ellos, desorientada. Y una lagartija estaba allí, verticalmente, al lado de una de las lámparas, emocionada, pero en gran desventaja numérica. Es el comienzo de la primavera, hora de salir en la búsqueda por nuevos apareamientos, con la ayuda de la luna. Entonces, pasé un tiempo en el oscuro mientras las termitas se orientaban. Al día siguiente, a pesar de la pandemia, la gente llenó las playas para disfrutar del sol. El invierno se terminó y también el aislamiento. Los humanos, en muchos sentidos como un enjambre de termitas, tienen instintos que no les dejan acompañar los cambios drásticos del contexto. La luna ya no es la única fuente de luz en esta tierra — que antes era un pedazo de bosque atlántico costero. Aunque seamos adaptables encontramos maneras de racionalizar comportamientos irracionales para retrasar los cambios. Ciertas cosas ya cambiaron, irreversiblemente, como la manera que nuestros cuerpos existen en el mundo y lo influencian. Nuestros cuerpos son importantes, por lo tanto la distancia entre ellos también importa. Así como las termitas son importantes para el mundo — un mundo que no circunda solamente los bienes humanos — ellos ayudan a descomponer los cuerpos de los árboles muertos, devuelven los nutrientes al suelo abriendo el camino para una nueva generación de árboles. Como nosotros, a ellos también les gustan los cadáveres de los árboles, aunque practiquen este culto de forma mas sostenible. ¿De qué formas insostenibles ​​practicamos nuestra devoción? Poniéndonos devotos del dinero, de otras personas o de nuestro propio cuerpo, puede ser que estemos practicando rituales que no solamente nos aleje de las cosas que mas valoramos, sino que también pueden destruirlas. El instinto de socializar y tomar el sol, por ejemplo, como homenaje a las personas que amamos, incluye a nosotras mismas, aunque tuviera validez antes del año 2020, hoy puede ser una maldición más. Así como las termitas tuvieron la capacidad de disfrutar de la luz de la luna, aunque se distraen con una luz bastante débil solamente por su cercanía, al encontrar nada más allá del vidrio, concreto y de madera químicamente tratada. El COVID-19 y el aislamiento puede haber remodelado la forma como vemos nuestros cuerpos en el mundo y, por lo tanto, va a remodelar la practica de nuestra devoción, en lo que sea. Esto no es algo malo, las tradiciones pueden evolucionar para volverse aún más poderosas. En cierto modo, es por el cambio que nos ponemos devotos. Si alguien adora la riqueza, aunque la idea que hacemos de ella pueda ser inmutable, el deseo es que se cambie la cuantidad de la riqueza. Mismo en la adoración de las deidades, por eternas que sean, son consideradas con poder de Cambio. Yo fui una de las personas que fueron a la playa en este domingo, sin saber que formaba parte de un enjambre. La multitud me sorprendió y me hizo super-consciente de no estar usando un barbijo. Lo más sorprendente, sin embargo, fue percibir que ahora me dio una sensación fragilizada de lo que mi cuerpo es capaz, de lo que puede soportar y de como las cosas pueden amenazarlo. Yo solía ser tan desteñida, andar en bicicleta entre los autos, escalar las enormes rocas en la playa, explorando senderos escondidos y mirando hacia abajo del acantilado. Probablemente sea seguro decir que el año 2020 nos hizo sentir vulnerables ​y muchos de nosotros simplemente no queremos aceptarlo pero existen nuevas formas de reconstruir la confianza en nuestros cuerpos, solamente tenemos que querer buscarlas. Ciertas cosas cambian y volver a las antiguas formas de afrontarlas puede ser contraproducente. Especialmente para aquellos de nosotros que quieren seguir resistiendo a los cambios, es importante mantener nuestros objetivos inmutables para que conozcamos a las tácticas cambiantes ​​en las que podemos confiar para alcanzarlas de manera efectiva, sin distraernos con cosas brillantes en el camino. ________ texto: Mirna Wabi-Sabi traducción: Marina Mayumi revisión: Angely Zambrano