For Benjamin Davis, the senior FAO official who lost his job recently for speaking up about famine and genocide in Gaza, the last three years have been exhausting.
"We were constantly on the edge, trying to figure out what we could say and what we couldn't say. How far could we push, and how far couldn't we push," says Davis, "and as a result, we did self-censor ourselves."
In this episode, Davis reflects on the professional cost of speaking up about Gaza, the pressures driving self-censorship in the UN, and how aid workers can stand by their principles.
Guest:
Benjamin Davis, former head of FAO's Rural Transformation and Gender Equality Division
Key moments
[05:53] — Why the FAO ousted Benjamin Davis
[15:57] — The FAO Director-General's threat to fire more staff
[20:14] — The quiet creep of self-censorship
[31:39] — The contradiction of being apolitical in a political world
[41:52] — Speak up or stay silent?
[44:08] — "I would absolutely do it again"
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