By Rachel Santini, mag.art., cultural anthropologist, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Olle Johansson, associate professor, retired from The Karolinska Institute Medical University, Stockholm, Sweden
While the politicians and the rest of the population all over the world are busy going about with their lives, the telecommunications industry is working at high speed. Billions of dollars and top salaries are at stake.
The purpose of the operator TDC A/S in Denmark is to “rollout” Ericsson’s new medically and biologically untested and not evidence-based (1) 5G radiation products right over the unsuspecting Danes before they can protest. The small town Elsinore (Danish: Helsingør; Swedish: Helsingör) has been designated by TDC and the government as a “test area”. The telecommunications industry “informs” Elsinore’s citizens that the product will be “exciting”, and the mayor of Elsinore states that the children want it (2).
Unsuspecting citizens in the municipality of Elsinore are thus chosen as guinea pigs. These facts give a chilling reality to the famous words in the theatre play “Hamlet, Prince of Danmark”, by William Shakespeare, where an officer of the Elsinore Kronborg palace guard says “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” after the ghost of the dead king appears, walking over the palace walls.
No one at their full senses would, of course, say yes to participation if they were informed it can be with their – and their family members’ – health or life at stake. Against that background, it is highly enigmatic that those who are responsible for this rollout failed to ask all the citizens the inconvenient, but correct, question “Do you want to risk your life?”.
It should be noted that the Danish Energy Agency accepts this rollout. It looks like a loving embrace between the Danish Energy Agency and one of the largest industry sectors in the world, but why was not the Danish citizens invited to have their say about this love affair? On its website, the National Board of Health informs us that they “will follow the development”, and that they do not “believe that there is cause for concern”! Beliefs are normally vocalized in a religious sermon … but where are the genuine facts?
This is despite a recently released EU report which clearly shows that there is a great cause for concern (3). In addition, hundreds of leading international scientists are warning about adverse health effects and global harm to the environment, animals, and people (4), and request immediate pause or stop. As a consequence, several places, and most recently Hvar in Croatia, have decided to halt the further rollout (5). In February 2019, the telecommunications industry in the United States was forced to admit during a Senate hearing that no (!) safety studies regarding 5G exist.
We, the citizens, need our health boards and authorities to only work from the perspectives of a precautionary principle and safeguard our health interests rather than lead us wrong because they are blinded by monetary profit instead of human and biological needs. We do not want to be misled because of political interests or lack of professional update.
In February 2020, the European Parliament has stated that more research is needed on this issue regarding potential negative effects of electromagnetic radiation as well as of 5G on human health (6). Denmark, however, still shines with naivety bordering on the criminal, lack of timely care, and ignoring a Danish legally prepared response which concludes that the establishment of 5G networks would be contrary to human and environmental law, the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, EU rules, and the Bern and the Bonn Conventions (7).
We already know that previous versions, such as 2G, 3G, and 4G, potentially may cause severe health problems. There are no reasons to believe 5G would not be equally bad! As a direct consequence, insurance companies have refused to cover any damage caused by radiation. Instead, the telecommunications industry has announced that they are “self-insured”, i.e. each customer has the burden of proof against the telecommunications industry in relation to health damage. Does this procedure sound familiar? Exactly! When it comes to, for instance, the tobacco industry, it is the same procedure and sleeping health authorities. So much for our tax money!
To the politicians, there is only one thing which needs to be said: Do not let 2020 become the year of the global downfall of democracy where we once again chose short-term economic growth over the long-term health and the safety of our environment and citizens.
Unfortunately, the whole above-given story is the same all over the world, with some very few exceptions. Compared to the potential adverse health and biological effects of artificial electromagnetic fields, such as from cell phones, wireless baby alarms, tablets, laptops, and smart meters, the current coronavirus debacle actually must be deemed pretty small.
If politicians do not show responsibility, when the citizens’ health and rights are at stake, the citizens need and will take power. History has proven it over and over! With this in mind, always remember Martin Luther King’s words: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
References
- Ny EU-rapport: Et 5G-eksperiment kan krænke menneskerettigheder
- 5G. Helsingør får bedre mobilnetværk”, HelsingørDagblad, p. 2, October 24, 2019
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Ny EU-rapport: Et 5G-eksperiment kan krænke menneskerettigheder and We Have No Reason to Believe 5G Is Safe
- EMF Scientists and 5G Appeal
- Radiation concerns halt Brussels 5G development, for now and Switzerland halts rollout of 5G over health concerns
- EMF Scientists and 5G Appeal
- Advokat Christian F. Jensen, RESPONSUM ”om hvorvidt det vil være i strid med menneske- og miljøretlige regler at etablere 5G-systemet i Danmark”