“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Martin Luther King, Jr

Monday, May 3, 2010

World Press Freedom Day

I am proud to live where I live. I am proud to be able to say what I feel like saying, when I feel like saying it. I can blog openly about my government and have the opportunity to disagree with the President of the United States if I want to. I have the right to tell my state representatives what I want in my community, tell them what laws I feel are important to me. I can complain when things seem to be going wrong, in my opinion.

If you live in Egypt you cannot blog about many of these things. You cannot tell your readers the things that are happening for fear of being jailed.

If you live in Zimbabwe, you cannot know the truth, because the state runs the television stations, the newspapers the radio and only for the brave people who tell the truth and live in fear of being caught, can you hear the truth.

In Iran, journalists who reported prisoner abuse were jailed. They stood up for human rights, and were jailed. They are being accused of "heresy" which carries the death penalty, "disrupting public order", and "propagation against the regime" which have penalties ranging from public lashing to long prison terms. As of March,2010 I ran has jailed 52 journalists. In China there are 24 in prison, in Cuba there are 22. 

Today I must have my say, I want to stand tall and let the world know that every one has the right to participate in their own governance, have a say in what the needs of the people are. Everyone should know what their regime, dictator, government is up to. It is a basic human right to know what someone else plans to do with your future!




Here are some of the journalists who have been killed since 1992 for speaking the truth!



Ivan Safronov


Kommersant
Russia


Atwar Bahjat


Al-Arabiya
Iraq


Marlene Garcia-Esperat


Midland News and DXKR
Philippines


Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota


Cameroon Express
Cameroon



Hiro Muramoto


Reuters
Thailand


Stanilas Ocloo


Télévision Togolaise
Angola


Sunday Gyang Bwede, The Light Bearer

     April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Nathan S. Dabak, The Light Bearer

     April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota, Cameroon Express

     April 22, 2010, in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Azamat Ali Bangash, Samaa TV

     April 17, 2010, in Orakzai, Pakistan

Malik Arif, Samaa TV

     April 16, 2010, in Quetta, Pakistan

Hiro Muramoto, Reuters

     April 10, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand

Muhammad al-Rabou'e, Al-Qahira

     February 13, 2010, in Beni Qais, Yemen

Rupert Hamer, Sunday Mirror

     January 10, 2010, in an area near Nawa, Afghanistan

Stanilas Ocloo, Télévision Togolaise

     January 9, 2010, in Cabinda province, Angola

Valentín Valdés Espinosa, Zócalo de Saltillo

     January 8, 2010, in Saltillo, Mexico


Sunday Gyang Bwede, The Light Bearer

     April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Nathan S. Dabak, The Light Bearer

     April 24, 2010, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

Germain Cyrille Ngota Ngota, Cameroon Express

     April 22, 2010, in Yaoundé, Cameroon

Azamat Ali Bangash, Samaa TV

     April 17, 2010, in Orakzai, Pakistan

Malik Arif, Samaa TV

     April 16, 2010, in Quetta, Pakistan

Hiro Muramoto, Reuters

     April 10, 2010, in Bangkok, Thailand

Muhammad al-Rabou'e, Al-Qahira

     February 13, 2010, in Beni Qais, Yemen

Rupert Hamer, Sunday Mirror

     January 10, 2010, in an area near Nawa, Afghanistan

Stanilas Ocloo, Télévision Togolaise

     January 9, 2010, in Cabinda province, Angola

Valentín Valdés Espinosa, Zócalo de Saltillo

     January 8, 2010, in Saltillo, Mexico

Edo Sule Ugbagwu, The Nation

     April 26, 2010, in an area outside Lagos , Nigeria

Patient Chebeya, freelance

     April 5, 2010, in Beni, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Manuel Juárez, Radio Super 10

     March 26, 2010, in Catacamas, Honduras

José Bayardo Mairena, Excélsior

     March 26, 2010, in Catacamas, Honduras

Clodomiro Castilla Ospina, El Pulso del Tiempo

     March 19, 2010, in Montería, Colombia

Nahúm Palacios Arteaga, TV Channel 5, Radio Tocoa

     March 14, 2010, in Tocoa, Honduras

Evaristo Pacheco Solís, Visión Informativa

     March 12, 2010, in Chilpancingo, Mexico

David Meza Montesinos, Radio El Patio, Radio América

     March 11, 2010, in La Ceiba, Honduras

Arun Singhaniya, Today Group

     March 1, 2010, in Janakpur, Nepal

Joseph Hernández Ochoa, TV Channel 51

     March 1, 2010, in Tegucigalpa, Honduras

Jamim Shah, Channel Nepal and Space Time Network

     February 8, 2010, in Kathmandu, Nepal

Jorge Ochoa Martínez, El Sol de la Costa and El Oportuno

     January 29, 2010, in Ayutla de los Libres, Mexico

José Luis Romero, Línea Directa

     January 2010, in Los Mochis, Mexico

Bobi Tsankov, freelance

     January 5, 2010, in Sofia, Bulgaria




1 comment:

A. @ A Changing Life said...

You are right, we often forget just how little freedom the press has in many countries. I sometimes complain that the press and media give biased pictures, but that's nothing compared with other places. At least I can make the effort to find out more. Not everyone has that luxury.

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