Journalists Lives are at Stake......
All around the world, journalists go out of their way to bring us breaking or relevant news. This coverage could be in relation to our democracy, weather, economy, education, government, healthcare, military, international issues, social, or perhaps security issues. With the recent captures and beheadings of several journalists throughout the world, I want to pose a question to each of you, "Is informing us of the happenings throughout the world really worth their lives? Although I am a firm believer that each of us must have a "Purpose" for our existence, I also believe that we must have a "Cause" to which we are willing to lay down our lives for. I am willing to lay down my life for Jesus, my Christian beliefs, my family, my friends, the children, the elderly, the poor, the downtrodden, the forgotten, the widowed, the orphaned, and the least of these. Regardless of the person's skin color, I VALUE LIFE! When we see foreign countries paying ransom for the release of their citizens/journalists, we ask, "Is that the right decision?" Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. I do believe that what it has the potential to increase the likelihood of repeated kidnappings. But, if journalists are willing to risk their lives to inform us of the happenings in the world, they should be HONORED, RECOGNIZED, COMMENDED, APPLAUDED, and SPOKEN HIGHLY OF. You see, journalists know their purpose, and is pursing a just cause on OUR behalf. WE MUST NEVER FORGET THE PRICE THAT IS BEING PAID, DAILY, FOR OUR FREEDOM!!
Amanda, I applaud your efforts to raise awareness about journalist and the sacrifices they incur. You are absolutely correct in that they sometimes give their lives trying to bring stories to us. They should be protected as here: What protection do media professionals have under international humanitarian law?
ReplyDeleteAt first sight, one could get the impression that international humanitarian law does not provide a whole lot of protection for journalists, given that the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols contain only two explicit references to media personnel (Article 4 A (4) of the Third Geneva Convention and Article 79 of Additional Protocol I). However, if one reads these provisions in conjunction with other humanitarian rules, it is clear that the protection under existing law is quite comprehensive. Most importantly, Article 79 of Additional Protocol I provides that journalists are entitled to all rights and protections granted to civilians in international armed conflicts. The same holds true in non-international armed conflicts by virtue of customary international law ( Rule 34 of the ICRC's Customary Law Study ).
Thus, in order to perceive the full scope of protection granted to journalists under humanitarian law one simply has to substitute the word " civilian " as it is used throughout the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols with the word " journalist. "
Even if not a holiday, name a road or building after them.
I think it is great that you brought this issue up. Although I believe it is not worth these people's lives to get reports on certain topics or issues, I do however know that the violence is very unpredictable. All jobs come with certain risks. We have had this problem with journalists getting killed or kidnapped for decades now. I agree there needs to be more protection set up for these people taking I these jobs. That being said I also know that the people who sign up for these risky jobs are fully aware of the danger it includes. So I don't think all the blame can be geared towards the sources who send them
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with you that lives are by far the most important thing we can protect in this world. However, I disagree with the insinuation that the reporting of the media could potentially increase these situations. If we take a look back in history, terrorists still beheaded innocent people, still murdered people, and still committed atrocious crimes, without the media. Just because we are actually seeing it first hand now, doesn't mean that it's not happening without media coverage. Thousands are murdered every day, and more times than not, the media doesn't care to report about it. Many are kidnapped daily, and we never hear a word. With or without media coverage, it will happen, and it will happen just as frequently. We tend to hear primarily about journalists who are murdered or kidnapped, but we don't hear about the soldier who was shot and killed in battle. Sure, journalists risk their lives to report us with information, but what about the thousands who risk their lives to give journalists the freedom to do this? Why don't we hear as much about their deaths, their kidnappings? Our soldiers are really the true heroes, and I think it's pretty sad that journalists get more attention than them. The only reason we have the freedom to have media is because of the brave in uniform.
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I totally agree with you on your justification of the cautious "cause" journalists go through in order to inform the public. It's horrific to see the results some journalists experience; instead of telling a story they become the story. The first journalist I think of who risked his life is James Foley. Foley was a freelance journalist during the Syrian Civil war who was beheaded by ISIS after the United States conducted airstrikes in Iraq. According to the CPJ, 1078 journalists have been killed since 1992. I believe journalists are aware of the risks their job includes; however, journalists should be protected to ensure democracy in our country.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cpj.org/