“I can’t breathe.” These were the last words of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul on October 2 2018. He never left the building. His body has not been found. He was murdered in a place that was supposed to protect him. His crime: being a journalist, a voice of truth in an era of disinformation.
Today, as the Zondo state capture inquiry hears testimony of acts of betrayal by journalists who sold their souls for gold, it is easy to forget that hundreds of courageous journalists have given their lives in the line of duty. Some were maimed or jailed. Others, like Can Dundar, a former editor of Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, were forced into exile.
Brave journalist Maria Ressa opened our eyes to the extrajudicial killings of President Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines. In SA, the Gupta Leaks exposé is a proud monument to the courageous journalists who have helped free this country from lies and the abuse of power.
Good journalism matters in 2019 more than ever. It gives us a sense of shared reality. In her book The Death of Truth, Pulitzer winner Michiko Kakutani writes: “Nationalism, tribalism, dislocation, fear of social change and the hatred of outsiders are on the rise again as people, locked in their partisan silos and filter bubbles, are losing a sense of shared reality and the ability to communicate across social and sectarian lines.”
Remember Kashoggi. Pick up his pen. He was us. We are him.
Dr Lucas Ntyintyane
Via e-mail
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