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Eric Fichtl
<p>A woman waits at a level crossing in Buenos Aires.</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>Portrait of Caroline under a willow tree.</p>
<p>A waterbuck stands in the open, with a herd of elephants in the distance. The waterbuck is a species of antelope, and prefers to stay near water as its strong swimming skills can serve as a defence mechanism.<br /></p>
<p>Greenhouses form an abstract pattern in a valley more than a stone's throw away.</p>
<p>The gentle slope toward a sheer drop at Sørvágsvatn.</p>
<p>Jungle meets sea along a stretch of the almost untouched coastline of Timor-Leste's far east, between Com and Jaco.</p>
<p>A dramatic view from Chapman's Peak across Hout Bay, on the Cape Peninsula.</p>
<p>A boat beckons, a cottage calls... Many homes in the area come replete with a boathouse. </p>
<p><em>Autoconvocados</em> (self-organised protestors) from Corrientes province, in Buenos Aires' Plaza de Mayo. Argentina has a rich tradition of autonomous worker movements who eschew formal affiliations with unions or political parties, yet can successfully mount sustained popular protests around shared concerns. <br /></p> <p>In these protests in 1999, a diverse front of teachers, state employees, farmers, pensioners, healthcare workers, small business owners, transport workers, and the un(der)employed organised months-long demonstrations against government corruption, unpaid wages, and diminishing quality of life in their province. Using tactics such as strikes, roadblocks, <em>escraches</em> (loud demonstrations outside the homes of targeted individuals), and mass marches, they amplified their call for reforms. Six months in, the Corrientes <em>autoconvocados</em> had even brought their protests to the national capital. <br /></p> <p>Their concerns and protests were an early indicator of the grim politico-economic meltdown that was about to ravage the entire country. </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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On Jacobo Timerman's 'Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number'

A powerful memoir of the Argentine junta's crimes, ripe with lessons for our present period of strongmen and 'friendly fascism'.
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On Nury Vittachi's 'North Wind'

Hong Kong writer Vittachi examines pressure on free speech during the 1997 handover from Britain to China
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Healthy Banks, Hungry People: The PRI’s Priorities for Mexico

President Zedillo plans to begin subsidizing the nation’s richest citizens: its private bankers.