Going to war to seek peace

Journalism and the “Battles for Survival”

The world has witnessed many instabilities and fierce wars in 2023. And the press has also just gone through many "wars" that can be said to be of survival. That is when they plunge into the midst of bombs and bullets to report on conflicts or disasters. In addition, it is also a war with misinformation to regain the truth and a war for existence against the oppression of technology giants!

During war, the mission of the press is not only to bring the truth to the public, but also to warn about the cruelty of war, thereby contributing to the search for peace for humanity.

As 2022 comes to an end, press organizations around the world are reporting that it was the deadliest year for journalists, with 58 people working in the media and journalism industry killed on the job. This is the highest number in the previous four years, and even up 13.7% compared to 2021. Looking more broadly, the period from 2003 to the end of 2022 is also considered the deadliest decade for the journalism industry, with nearly 1,700 people killed.

However, 2023 is the most terrifying year for the world of journalism in recent years, when a series of major changes in the world, from natural disasters, catastrophes, gang violence, hatred and especially war, have directly caused dangers to journalists who engage in these events.

As 2023 has not yet passed, a “sad record” for journalism has been set. As of the end of November 2023, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has counted 69 journalists who died while doing their work, such as in combat or indirectly because of their journalism work, such as being murdered for reporting on gang activities.

Of course, that number does not capture the full extent of the dangers journalists have faced over the past 12 months. There are simply no comprehensive statistics on the number of journalists who have been physically injured, let alone those who have been traumatized and psychologically threatened by the terrifying events they cover, particularly in armed conflict.

International reporters work in the southern Israeli city of Sderot as fighting with Hamas rages. Photo: AFP

The Israel-Gaza war is too fierce for journalists

The entire press world was devastated when it was announced on October 25 that Wael Dahdouh, the Gaza correspondent for Al Jazeera, had lost his entire family to Israeli airstrikes, including his wife, son, daughter and grandson. The event was particularly emotional as the news of the journalist’s death came while he was reporting live from the scene of the war.

After receiving the bad news, journalist Wael Dahdouh's live broadcast continued, but this time the camera lens was focused on Wael Dahdouh as a subject. The reporter team continued to film and followed him to the hospital, where the bodies of his loved ones were lying. The image of Wael Dahdouh painfully holding the body wrapped in the shroud of his little daughter, shown live on television, made all viewers choke.

War journalists are always aware and advised that they must protect their own lives first. But for Palestinian journalists in Gaza, ensuring their lives is impossible, simply because they have to play two roles in this war: as citizens of the war zone and as journalists with the responsibility to go to the field to report. However, Wael Dahdouh and many other journalists have not given up on their mission to bring information to the world even after losing their loved ones and knowing that they could lose their lives at any time.

There is no doubt that the war in Gaza has been more than a nightmare for Palestinian journalists, it is not an exaggeration to say “hell”. It is worth noting that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is the largest war in Europe since World War II and is much larger in scale than the war in Gaza, but in the past nearly two years, it has only seen about 17 journalists killed in the line of duty.

Palestinian journalist Wael Dahdouh grieves as he receives the bodies of his wife and two children at a hospital in Gaza. Photo: Al Jazeera

Threats to female journalists on the rise around the world

Despite the progress in gender equality in the world over the years, the threat and discrimination against women journalists is at risk of increasing due to instability and crisis in the world. According to a study by UNESCO and the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) in May 2023, 20% of female journalists worldwide have been harmed by threats, abuse, hate speech and online harassment. Furthermore, on the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, 2023, Women in Journalism (WIJ) released a survey that sheds light on the issue of violence against women journalists. Of the 403 respondents, 25% said they had experienced sexual harassment or work-related sexual violence. 75% of female journalists said they had experienced a threat or challenge to their safety, and nearly 20% of female journalists considered leaving the industry altogether.

Female journalists are victims of hate speech on social media. Illustration photo: GI

Yet as of November 21, just about a month and a half since the outbreak of war, the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has seen 53 journalists killed on different fronts, from Gaza, the West Bank to the clashes on the Israel-Lebanon border.

According to statistics, the dead included 46 Palestinians, 4 Israeli journalists and 3 Lebanese. In addition, dozens of journalists were injured while working in the war, including members of major news agencies in the world such as Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera.

The war in Israel and Gaza and its related fronts is the most daunting challenge for even the most veteran war correspondents, because the distance between the targets of attack and the journalists' work sites is very fragile. For example, two journalists from the Pan-Arab TV channel Al-Mayadeen were hit by artillery and killed on the Lebanese border with Israel in mid-November. Before that, a media center in Lebanon with many international journalists was also hit by artillery, killing one person and injuring six others.

Thus, not only Palestinian journalists in Gaza are in danger of their lives in the war, but international journalists who are bravely reporting on this war can also face death at any time. In this war, major international media agencies such as CNN, Reuters, AP, CBS, FOX or ABC News also sent war correspondents to report and directly report on the fighting between the two sides. The breathtaking footage that journalists recorded during their work journey has brought to the world terrible images and extreme fear in war. Those footages partly help us understand how scary war is, how precious peace is!

Danger on the "battle lines"

Of course, 2023 is not only a year of great risk for journalists in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but also in many other wars and many other crises. Note that the 17th journalist killed in the Russia-Ukraine war only took place on November 23 of this year, when Russian television reporter Boris Maksudov of the Rossiya 24 channel was killed in a Ukrainian airstrike and shelling in Zaporizhzhia.

So the danger to journalists in Russia and Ukraine – who bring the world firsthand information about the war every day – has not diminished in nearly two years, regardless of which side of the conflict they are on. And now, like the general situation of the war, there is no sign of it ending.

Wars and disasters will erupt across continents in 2023. And obviously, these are the places where journalists must set foot to help the world know what is going on. That means that as many crises as there are in the world, journalists will face as many dangers, possibly losing their lives or even having to give up their jobs.

The civil war in Sudan earlier this year illustrates that picture. Fighting between two military factions in the African country has put journalists in danger and exacerbated the challenges they face in their work. Because of the crisis, hundreds of journalists not only face risks in their work, but also the possibility of pursuing their careers, as they are forced to emigrate or their news organizations are forced to disband due to the fighting.

In Afghanistan, most female journalists have also had to give up their jobs because of the Taliban government's harsh policies towards women, many of whom have had their homes raided, arrested, threatened, imprisoned, etc. The above is a common situation in many other conflicts around the world in 2023, as well as before.

Meanwhile, the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria have brought other terrifying experiences to journalists. In addition to being victims of aftershocks, witnessing this terrible disaster will affect the spirit of journalists. According to the sharing of war correspondents, escaping the heartbreaking stories they witnessed in horrific events such as the earthquake that killed nearly 60,000 people is not easy, even becoming a lifelong obsession.

Attacks on journalists while on duty happen all over the world. Photo: WAFA

Reporters are attacked while working, everywhere!

Reporters being attacked or robbed while working is becoming more and more common and happens almost everywhere in the world. Right at the APEC 2023 conference in San Francisco in mid-November, a group of Czech reporters were robbed at gunpoint and had their equipment stolen. Previously, in August in Chicago, two journalists were robbed while reporting on a robbery! Also in the US, at the end of February, a reporter for Florida TV was shot dead while reporting on a previous murder. In Mexico alone, reporters investigating gangs are shot or attacked almost every day. Meanwhile, in Ecuador, a letter bomb was sent to a TV station at the end of March. Notably, a shocking incident occurred when a famous news anchor in the Philippines was shot dead while broadcasting live.

A mission to warn about the cruelty of war

In addition to wars, conflicts and disasters, 2023 will also witness many other instabilities that will have a huge impact on journalism. For example, the ongoing political, security and economic crisis in Pakistan has put journalists there at extreme risk while doing their work. They are facing threats to their lives, kidnappings, attacks, violence, etc.

According to a UNESCO report, 90 journalists were killed in the country between 2002 and 2022. This continued in 2023. In April this year, the director of Bol Media Group was kidnapped for ethnic reasons. Meanwhile, Muhammad Qasim, a veteran reporter for the newspaper Ummat, shared: “The consequences were swift and terrifying. I became a frequent target of threats. My life was changed forever by the headline of a newspaper article.”

Muhammad Qasim's story is no doubt echoed in other countries plagued by gang violence and corruption, such as Ecuador, Haiti and especially Mexico – which was the most dangerous place for journalists before the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The year 2023, with so many terrible events, has directly caused great pain and loss to the world of journalism in general. But no matter what, 2023 has shown and highlighted the value and role of true journalism. Journalists and war correspondents have bravely gone into war to help the world know what happened, even though it was terrible.

That also means that journalists are not only recording the truth, but also contributing to world peace and sustainability with their articles, images and films; helping the world understand that war, violence or climate disaster are not jokes, but extremely cruel!

Hai Anh

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/dan-than-vao-chien-su-de-tim-kiem-hoa-binh-post278845.html