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Eric Fichtl
<p>Trees peek through the mist in Val di Funes – a great welcome for a day of hiking!<br /></p>

Thanks for visiting. This website features my photography, writing, and a bit about me.

PHOTOS

Here is a random sample of my photos. Visit my galleries for many more.


<p>Argentine trade unionists rally amid a forest of flags at the Plaza del Congreso. </p>
<p>A Stolperstein (stumbling stone) embedded in the pavement outside a flat in Berlin. <br /></p> <p>Begun in the 1990s by German artist Gunter Demnig, the Stolpersteine mark the last place of residence of those persecuted by the Nazi regime and share basic details of that person's life. Over 75,000 Stolpersteine have been placed in numerous countries, and the project continues. This one reads:</p> <p><em>Here lived Gertrud Baruch.<br />Born in 1876.<br />Deported 24 Oct 1941 to Łódź / Litzmannstadt. <br />Murdered 4 May 1942.</em><br /> </p>
<p>A night at a cosy bar in the Marais. <br /></p> <p>One of my favourite photos (of mine).</p>
<p>Elephants already alert shortly after sunrise.</p>
<p>In Dili's Santa Cruz cemetery, a large cross commemorates the victims of the 1991 massacre by Indonesian security forces. On 12 November, a large crowd including many high school students marched to the cemetery in a funeral procession for a young activist killed by Indonesian forces two weeks earlier. Soldiers opened fire on the crowds, killing over 200 people at the cemetery and in the streets and hospitals after the march.</p> <p>The Santa Cruz massacre was a turning point, ramping up Timorese resistance to Indonesia's annexation of the former Portuguese colony. Smuggled footage of the massacre increased pressure on Jakarta from the international community, but brutal years still laid ahead. A long and ugly guerrilla war eventually led to Indonesia's withdrawal in 1999, a UN-administered transitional period, and Timor-Leste's independence in 2002. </p> <p>Studies suggest more than 200,000 Timorese were killed during the 24 years of Indonesia's occupation – a staggering figure made all the more disturbing when one considers that Timor-Leste's total population in 1975 was only 630,000 people.</p>
<p>Teenage prank? Threat? A black handprint on a wall raises unfortunate allusions to the old <em>mano nera</em> extortion tactics.</p>
<p>Designed by Viktor Andreyev (who also did the Hotel Cosmos just down the road), this 25-storey tower block dates from 1968 and is something of a Moscow landmark. The trees block the stilts that give it its unusual name, the House on Chicken Legs (Дом на ножках in Russian). </p>
<p>A caiman (yacare) rests in the Pantanal wetlands of western Brazil. The menacing pose is actually a way for the caiman to regulate its body temperature, although this photographer must admit it is a touch intimidating to get this close. Shot from a canoe somewhere in the Pantanal wetlands.<br /></p>
TEXTS

A lot of what I write professionally carries no byline. Here are some of the works I have put my name to.

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The Ambiguous Nature of “Collaboration” in Colombia

Most Colombians have done something that might result in them being labeled a collaborator or sympathizer by one of Colombia’s armed groups.
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Let Them Eat Cake… The End of the Tortilla Subsidy in Mexico

The cost of that most Mexican of basic foodstuffs jumped by 25% as the government repealed price control legislation.
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Not this time, FIFA

On boycotting the 2022 World Cup.