This is an article I wrote for Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) to mark World Press Freedom Day 2009, which falls on May 3. On Wednesday, April 29, there was a panel discussion 'Reporting in Afghanistan', held at the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Ontario:
Seasoned Journalists Dodge Landmines, Kidnappers to Report On Afghanistan War
By: Josh Bentley-Swan
“I’ve been shot at, RPG’d, masked gunmen kicked in my office door in February 2007… Dangerous things happen in a war zone.”
Not your typical day at the office. But events like these were common enough for The Globe and Mail’s Graeme Smith, who worked as the Globe’s lead correspondent in Afghanistan from 2006 until early this year.
Smith, along with CBC Television’s Susan Ormiston and award-winning photojournalist Louie Palu discussed the dangers and rewards of reporting from the war-torn country in a panel discussion at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto last Wednesday. The discussion was moderated by Anna Maria Tremonti, host of The Current on CBC Radio. The panel discussion was held to commemorate World Press Freedom Day 2009.
Canada’s military has been in Afghanistan since 2001, the year when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City ushered in an era of tightened border security and heightened terrorism fears.
Palu, whose photography assignments often necessitate trips to the front lines of combat, is well aware of the dangers he faces while documenting the war in pictures.
“My fear going out was landmines. I was terrified of having my legs blown off,” Palu said.
Soldiers advised Palu to keep a five-metre distance when trailing them because of the possibility of stepping on a mine. Avoiding landmines isn’t the end of his worries; Palu limits the time he allots to photo shoots when he’s outside Kandahar Airfield because he worries about being kidnapped by members of the Taliban.
“As soon as you walk out of the Kandahar Airfield, it’s almost more dangerous than going into a war zone. You are worth money; they can kidnap you.”
Ormiston spoke of the complexities of setting up interviews with locals. Translators, known to foreign correspondents as ‘fixers,’ who speak English and the local tongue, must arrange these interviews, and before leaving the airfield, all the risks of traveling the Afghan countryside on any given day must be considered.
“(I have to ask) What’s my risk tolerance today? It’s a very fluid situation,” Ormiston said.
“There’s an underground network of information that (foreign journalists) aren’t privy to all the time.”
Smith would often write his stories for The Globe and Mail in complete darkness, surrounded by the soldiers he was writing about. Usually the only light was coming from Smith’s computer screen as he typed away.
Despite the immense dangers, Ormiston, Smith and Palu all took away positive memories from their postings in Afghanistan. Throughout the discussion, the journalists and Tremonti kept returning to the point of how important coverage of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan is.
“Journalists always find a way… the stories will come out,” Palu said.
Palu’s work, which can be viewed online at — http://pa.photoshelter.com/c/louiepalu graphically documents the war and its’ consequences to civilians and soldiers alike. He told the Gould Studio audience of times where he had to put down his camera to care for someone bleeding on the ground in front of him.
“Some images are in your mind forever.”
Smith remembers being welcomed into the homes of Afghan civilians for tea and meals.
“Ordinary conversations (in Afghanistan) can last for three, four, five hours sometimes. In Canada the length of a thought seems to be 140 characters,” he said in a reference to popular social networking site Twitter’s character limit for status updates.
“I like that pace of life,” Smith said.
Ormiston told the audience about her experience covering the Sarpoza Prison, which served as a prison for several Afghan provinces. On June 13, 2008, roughly a month after Ormiston’s story ran, the prison was attacked, and several prisoners freed.
“You can’t cover a place like this without being impressed by the humanity… And humanity is really the core of reporting,” she said.
World Press Freedom Day falls on May 3. For more information, and to see the events planned to mark the occasion, you can visit Canadian Journalists for Free Expression’s website at — http://www.cjfe.org or contact CJFE by phone at: (416) 515-9622
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The review of Ezra Levant's new book, Shakedown: How Our Government is Undermining Democracy in the Name of Human Rights, in last Saturday's Globe and Mail was far and away the best piece in Toronto newspapers this weekend.
A quick recap for those not familiar with Ezra Levant and his fight for freedom of the press when he was publisher of the now defunct Western Standard magazine:
A few years ago, when the controversy over Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed was reaching its' peak, Levant made an editorial decision to publish the cartoons in his magazine. These are the cartoons, keep in mind, that sparked riots in other countries and earned death threats for the cartoonists who drew them. Following the publication of the cartoons in Levant's magazine, a Calgary Imam tried to have Levant arrested because said Imam took offense to the cartoons. Imagine, thinking you can have a person arrested because something they've done has offended you.
When that didn't work, the Imam filed a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. According to the book's review, written by the CBC's Rex Murphy, being the target of a human rights tribunal in Canada is, "very costly." Murphy's review says Levant's case has so far cost Levant $100,000. As you read this, keep in mind the Imam who filed the complaint (and later withdrew it) never paid a penny in legal fees.
Murphy writes:
"Now, some people do not like Levant's style. They say he is too aggressive, too noisy and assertive, that he courts controversy and publicity. They should read Shakedown, and they will quickly realize that anyone less "aggressive" or "noisy" would have long ago been suffocated by the remorseless, inequitable, taxpayer-funded, bureaucratic grinding of Canada's human rights tribunals and commissions."For my part, I would certainly like an explanation of the reasons why a magazine publisher is required to defend himself at a human rights tribunal just because a series of cartoons published in his magazine have offended someone. People offend each other all the time, but you don't see Ms. Jones hauling her neighbour before a human rights committee just because he's told Ms. Jones to fuck off, or given her dog the finger.Again, from Murphy's review of Levant's book:
"Ezra Levant, for my taste, could be the love child (ideologically speaking) of Noam Chomsky and Ontario human-rights impresario Barbara Hall, but his indictment of the procedures, practices and ideology of Canada's human rights commissions, their Orwellian character, shameless amateurism and overweening reach is simply right. He has their number. He has experienced their practice. He has documented their absurdities and pettiness. And he has — with courage and no little cost — stood up to them in a manner so straightforward and clear that he is positively un-Canadian."
I especially enjoy the last line of this paragraph where Murphy suggests that Levant's conduct is 'un-Canadian.' The stereotypical Canadian being polite, reserved and clearly (from my experience) obedient and passive in the face of authority and power. Good for Levant that he stands up for himself and refuses to take such absurd persecution lying down.
You can read The Globe and Mail's full review of Shakedown here.
I find myself in complete agreement with Rex Murphy's take on the state of political correctness in Canada. Too often I hear the words 'appropriate' and 'inappropriate.' These words make me cringe because of the implied assumption of mass consent they carry. Fact is, there's no such thing as mass consent in 2009, especially not in Toronto. which is home to people of all races, socio-economic statuses and sexual orientations.
Levant's ordeal with the human rights watchdogs of Alberta should be a cautionary tale for anyone in the public eye whose actions or words could make them the target of a human rights complaint. Be careful what you say, you just might get taken to court for it.
So far, Levant's case has been ignored by leaders of all the federal political parties. Even Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper is mute on the issue. Which is surprising considering that Levant is a conservative himself, a former Member of Parliament, and he worked for the Conservative Party in the last federal election. You would think Harper wouldn't mind doing Levant a favour by standing up for him.
It seems that members of Canada's political elite have little interest in defending freedom of the press and freedom of speech these days.
A country where people constantly worry about being reprimanded or taken before a tribunal for offensive behaviour (and everyone has different standards as to what they consider offensive) encourages a culture of self-censorship. But maybe that's the price Canadians are willing to pay to ensure everyone behaves 'appropriately.'
A built-in Big Brother; how convenient.
