The Committee To Protect Journalists (CPJ) has published the results of their preliminary investigations on the casualties (killed, injured and missing ones) among journalists that have happened so far since the beginning of the current war among Israel and Palestine, on October 7th. 63 journalists and media workers have been killed in less than 2 months. The highest number of journalists killed in a month since CPJ began gathering such data in 1992 was reached at the beginning of this war.
In addition to the reports of killing the CPJ is also investigating the numerous reports of journalists missing, detained, hurt or threatened.
The highest risks are faced by journalists covering the Israeli ground assault in Gaza.
It is shocking that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), answering to some of the major European press agencies seeking reassurance, declared that they cannot guarantee the safety of journalists operating in the Gaza Strip.
Here the link to the CPJ report with the full list of casualties updated on a regular basis: https://cpj.org/2023/12/journalist-casualties-in-the-israel-gaza-conflict/
After decades, if not centuries, of international conventions, treaties, protocols and agreements meant to guarantee the basic human rights in war-zones and war-times, we are now back to square one. It is scary to realize that the public debate normalizes or even ignores this topic. The pattern of the last 30 years of proxy wars, local and far away conflicts is always the same one:
- The countries’ armed forces do not even try to protect journalists and sometimes even intentionally attack them, openly breaking the Geneva Convention.
- The journalists, being often freelancers, are only a few and have to self-sustain. They are in danger as they are not protected and are prevented from doing their job.
- The people are completely unaware of what is happening on the ground: they know that there is a conflict and they know which one of the two parts in the conflict is right and which one is wrong, because that is what their government tells them.
All of that triggers a vicious circle that is leading the history in the opposite direction to the one set after the Second World War: reporters alongside the troops (remember Full Metal Jacket?), informed citizens capable of influencing wars and even ending them via practicing democracy.
Today reporters are in danger, therefore the information is in danger, therefore democracy is at risk.
We, the Volpi Scapigliate, as citizens, demand this matter to be back to the center of the political agenda, starting from our own country.