Ian Ellis: We are indebted to journalists who report from dangerous places to tell us the true story

Everyone will have had experiences, good or bad, that will be remembered, perhaps having a lasting effect on their lives.

Time, for every individual, is limited and for that reason it really should never be wasted.

Pericles, the 5th century Greek statesman, who is said to have advanced the foundations of democracy itself, said that “time is the wisest counsellor of all”, meaning that an awareness of the value of time for each of us teaches the importance of using it wisely.

Indeed, St Paul emphasised making the most of time (Ephesians 5:16). That certainly implies seizing opportunities which, after all, may not present themselves again.

Sadly, however, so many lives, with all their potential, continue to be destroyed and lost of a massive scale as a result of wars, with victims' time cruelly snatched from them.

Over this past year, broadcast bulletins and newspaper reports have been dominated by the fighting in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

I found a recent related report regarding the plight of journalists in 2023 of particular interest.

According to the organisation, Reporters Without Borders (Reporteurs Sans Frontières, RSF) - an international non-profit organisation founded in 1985 in Montpellier, France - the total number of journalists killed in connection with their work globally in 2023 in fact reached its lowest annual level since 2002.

In its report covering the period January 1st to December 1st 2023, RSF indicated that since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, in just two months, 17 journalists lost their lives “in the exercise of their duties in Gaza (13), Lebanon (3) and Israel (1)”, a toll that brought to 23 the number of journalists killed specifically in war zones this year.

It was pointed out that journalists have also died while covering armed clashes in northern Cameroon, northern Mali, Sudan, Syria and Ukraine.

The total number of journalists killed while carrying out their work in war zones and in non-war zones in 2023 is recorded as 45, a reduction of 16 compared with 2022.

While the statistics have moved in the right direction, 45 killed is 45 too many.

By contrast, more than 140 journalists lost their lives in 2012 and also in 2013, deaths that were indicated as having been mainly due to the wars in Syria and Iraq.

The reason for the decline in these tragic deaths, at least in certain areas, the report says, is that in armed conflicts journalists are now usually better trained and equipped, while in peace zones they are also better protected, thanks to new regulatory frameworks.

However, it is also reported that in some regions it is “self-censorship in the face of an increase in risks” that may also account for less exposure to risks.

The RSF report also contains detailed information about journalists arbitrarily detained, held hostage and missing around the world.

The figures relating to the arbitrarily detained also show a reduction over 2022 at 521, down from 569. Still, 521 too many.

In this column last spring (issue May 11th), I highlighted the case of the Wall Street Journal's Evan Gershkovich who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges that are flatly denied, describing his incarceration as an assault both on his freedom and on journalistic freedom more widely.

Speaking at a press conference earlier this month in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin commented on the detention of Mr Gershkovich and of former US marine and corporate executive Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for 16 years on charges of espionage that the US government also sees as politically motivated.

President Putin said that Russia wants to make a deal for their release, but that “it should be mutually acceptable to both sides”.

However, it is clear that journalists and other individuals can be held for the purpose of being used as pawns in such moves. Such tactics are cynical, offensive and dishonest.

Regarding the holding of journalists as hostages, the RSF report again indicates a declining number at a total of 54 for 2023, down by almost 17 per cent since last year. Also, 54 too many.

RSF says it considers journalists to be hostages “from the moment they are being deprived of their freedom by a non-state actor who combines this deprivation of liberty with threats to kill or injure them, or continue to detain them with the aim of coercing a third party to perform or refrain from performing an act as an explicit or implicit condition for the hostage’s release, safety or well-being”.

However, as far as missing journalists are concerned – situations in which “there is not enough evidence to determine if they were victims of a homicide or abduction and no credible claim of responsibility has been made” - RSF says there has been an increase from 77 last year to 84 in 2023.

Once more, 84 too many.

We are indebted to the journalistic profession and especially to those really heroic journalists who take assignments in dangerous places for the sake of telling us all the true story.

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Canon Ian Ellis is a former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette