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Momodou
Denmark
11604 Posts |
 Posted - 26 Aug 2011 : 13:02:08
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Daily News Editorial: The Libyan Crisis: A Sigh of Relief
Friday, August 26, 2011
 The media world and its many sympathisers were paranoid on Tuesday when forces loyal to embattled Libyan leader kept around 30 non-Libyan journalists against their will at Rixos Hotel in Tripoli.
Already, the six months long unrest in Libya has claimed the lives of two non-Libyan journalists. Tim Hetherington, 41, an award-winning British film-maker and photographer and a US photographer, Chris Hondros, 41, were killed in April while covering the unfortunate events unfolding in Libya.
When the foreign journalists were put at gun point by Gadhafi loyalists, one could be certain of paranoid scenarios not only in Rixos Hotel, but across the world, particularly journalists who would naturally sympathise with the situation of their colleagues in trouble.
Therefore their release on Wednesday, unharmed, no doubt is one big sigh of relief that has so far emerged from Libya while the chaotic oil-rich North African country remains in a state of confusion as Gadhafi, who vowed to fight till the last bullet does not even seem to wait for the first bullet to be fired in Tripoli before he goes into hiding.
It is inevitable that there are risks involved in being a journalist. But, a lot of people continue to become a journalist’s because of the need to bring to the world the stories that interest justice.
However, some people feel that journalists go too far in their efforts to find the truth. But as a journalist, a person has to travel into the war zones to report a unique story.
This is not the only reason why the job of a journalist is hard and risky. This is a reason why many of them choose the battlefield to get an exciting story. That unique and exciting story can change the journalist’s life. However, some journalists end up giving their life for those unique or exciting stories.
Back home in The Gambia, journalists may not highly likely face with the risk of receiving gun fires, though the unrest in the southern region of the neighbouring Senegal and that of Guinea Bissau, which is now resolved were covered fairly well by Gambian newspapers.
However, there are legal gadgets swinging over the heads of the country’s pen pushers. Needless to say, the killing of Deyda Hydara, the missing of Ebrima Manneh and other forms of attacks none of which have been satisfactorily investigated. There are also risks that journalists, including those in The Gambia face from the society.
As a journalist, sometimes you may have to give your own opinion about things. People in the society, especially the state authorities, may not agree what you have to say and that might pose a threat to a journalist’s life. Yet there are journalists who have even sacrificed their social life to practice the profession. This can mean that you may not get time to have a family or make friends. This is another risk that journalists face.
In Libya, it is unfortunate that Gadhafi and his loyalists have become so desperate that they target journalists and falsely accused them of representing their misconceived masters when our master is the public. It is a familiar story that journalists often endure. But because our mandate is more important than what others feel about us – a threat to their excesses – we keep on moving.
And will remain needed and indispensable to the survival and development of every nation. Of course, an eagle needs every feather to sour.
This is the second in a series of editorial commentary on the Libyan crisis. Many will follow as we continue to monitor events there.
Source: Dailynews
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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