Most major papers/networks/wires have a correspondent or stringer working in Syria, usually under a false name. These reporters are taking huge risks with their own safety to get information out of the country as government crackdowns become more violent and deadly. The Syrian version of the Arab Spring has more in common with Bahrain and Yemen than Egypt and Tunisia, as Bashar Al Assad's government has indiscriminately killed over 1,100 people, including, purposely, children.
The journalists reporting from Syria are at risk of being beaten, jailed, tortured and even killed if found out. Foreign journalists, who are likely to have big news organisations and national governments behind them, tend to fare better than their Syrian counterparts (well, relatively; I'm sure the time Al Jazeera's Dorothy Parvaz spent in Syrian detention was terrifying, but she was released unharmed. Several Syrian journalists and bloggers have simply disappeared. Similarly, when the four New York Times journalists were held in Libya, they were beaten and threatened, but ultimately freed. Their Libyan driver, Mohamed Shaglouf, is still missing.). Both are to be commended, but it's worth remembering that when all's said and done, the Syrian journalists will still be living there, and will have to deal with the future Syrian state, whatever it may be.
That journalists have continued to be able to get out reports on government atrocities, the refugee flow into Turkey and the deaths of 120 members of the Syrian security forces in Jisr al-Shughour (killed by police or protesters, depending on who you ask), despite a government campaign of misinformation, fear and chipping away at what internet freedom exists, is testament to their courage and ingenuity. So thank you to the foreign and national journalists, bloggers, tweeters and revolution organisers, who are putting themselves in very real danger to keep us informed and spur change in Syria.
And a mention, too, for domestic coverage. I caught then end of an excellent interview on Sky News yesterday afternoon. Colin Brazier was speaking to a Syrian government spokeswoman, whose name I didn't have the sense to write down at the time and now can't find. My favourite bit: after listening to the woman go on about how Syrian forces have never fired on anyone who didn't fire on them first, denying the number of people killed, etc., Brazier said something along the lines of: 'Let me ask you a question probably no one ever has. Suppose you are lying. Suppose you are acting as an apologist for people who are committing crimes that might well be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Does that concern you at all?' Would that all interviews included such difficult and important questions!
And a mention, too, for domestic coverage. I caught then end of an excellent interview on Sky News yesterday afternoon. Colin Brazier was speaking to a Syrian government spokeswoman, whose name I didn't have the sense to write down at the time and now can't find. My favourite bit: after listening to the woman go on about how Syrian forces have never fired on anyone who didn't fire on them first, denying the number of people killed, etc., Brazier said something along the lines of: 'Let me ask you a question probably no one ever has. Suppose you are lying. Suppose you are acting as an apologist for people who are committing crimes that might well be investigated by the International Criminal Court. Does that concern you at all?' Would that all interviews included such difficult and important questions!
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