Inspiration and admiration come form all aspects of life. After seeing
this poster
on Huffington Post, I thought about how powerful visual imagery can be
to deliver a message and how awesome it is to have people daring to
publish things against all the big fish out there trying to stop them or
sometimes jail/make disappear/ kill them. The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights states:
“Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion
and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without
interference, and impart information and ideas through any media
regardless of frontiers”.
And thanks to those reporters, journalists and activists around the
world, we get a piece of the truth and hope that it never gets censored
or manipulated by the governments. Because we all want the truth.
Reporters Sans Frontières
(RSF), is a France-based international non-profit, non-governmental
organization that promotes and defends freedom of information and
freedom of the press. The organization has consultant status at the
United Nations and UNESCO. Reporters Without Borders’ activities are
carried out on five continents through its network of over 150
correspondents, its national sections, and its close collaboration with
local and regional press freedom groups. Reporters Without Borders
currently has 10 offices and sections worldwide. Starting in 2001
Reporters Without Borders has published its annual Predators of Press
Freedom list which highlights what it feels are the worst violators of
press freedom.
Their work needs our support because this way they can keep defending
journalists and other media workers who are imprisoned or persecuted
for doing their job, and draws attention to the many cases throughout
the world of journalists being harassed, mistreated or tortured. Their
campaigns are against laws designed to restrict press freedom, and
fights censorship. They provide money to assist exiled or imprisoned
journalists and their families and the unsupported families of
journalists who have been killed; to enable journalists to leave their
home countries if they are in danger there;
to repair the effects of vandalism on media outlets; to cover the
legal fees of journalists who have been prosecuted for their writings or
the medical bills of those who have been physically attacked; and upon
occasion, to provide bullet-proof vests for use by journalists.
We live in an age of information but some of us are fortunate enough to
live in countries where the press is not controlled by politicians or
corporations. With our phones, cameras and social media connections, we
act like journalists sharing the events live with each other, and
governments are not happy about that. They want to control our freedom,
they are scared of our freedom of expression on the Internet. How about a
big “f*** off” to them? Support our journalists and defend your right
to freedom of opinion and expression.
Lots of love. xo
