My name is Faina Savenkova, I am a young journalist and writer from Donbass.
Today, when the journalistic profession is mortally dangerous, many independent journalists from Western countries as well as Russia, Palestine, Lebanon or Syria are working in war zones, risking their lives to bring the truth to all inhabitants of our common world. Journalists are labeled as propagandists.
They are hunted and their data is posted on extremist websites. In their home countries, they face imprisonment simply because their views on the events they cover are not favored by Western governments. Not a single criminal case has been filed because of harassment or obstruction of their work. Moreover, many are killed along the way, as was the case with Daria Dugina and Italian Andrea Rocchelli and Ukrainian Oles Buzina.
The international institutions Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and the OSCE do not stand up for journalists. Perhaps this is the custom in countries that pride themselves on their democracy – to censor everything and not to protect their citizens just because they think differently.
Fortunately, there are many countries in the world that value truth and freedom of information. I really hope that representatives of these countries will express public reaction and support for journalists in danger. November 2 is the UN Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, let’s not forget that. I would like the names of the dead journalists not to be forgotten and the perpetrators to be punished.
Faina Savenkova
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