BEING A GUEST AT AN AWARDS CEREMONY TO HONOUR PERSECUTED WRITERS BROUGHT HOME HOW LUCKY ARE WE WHO ENJOY FULL FREEDOM OF SPEECH
Seth Freedman
freedman/2008/04/a_really_useful_index.html
April 22, 2008 2:30 PM
Champagne, champagne everywhere, and not a drop to drink. At least,
not for those bound by the laws of Passover, myself included, so I made
do with the bottle of kosher wine I’d smuggled in past security. I was
a guest at the Index on Censorship awards, an annual event honouring
the courageous souls who risk their own security to bring to light
stories of oppression from round the world – and its coinciding with
Passover was more than apt.
Passover celebrates the emancipation of the Jewish people from
slavery in Egypt, and the concept of liberty is the central theme for
anyone trying to interpret the festival’s message for use in modern
times. Physical freedom must go hand in hand with freedom of expression
for it to be true independence and, after listening to the harrowing
tales of the awards’ recipients, it was clear that these most basic
rights are still being cruelly denied across vast swaths of the globe.
The keynote speaker was Alan Johnston, who delivered a moving account
of his own experience of captivity, but in truth he is one of the
lucky ones.
Countless numbers of journalists still languish in captivity –
from Guantánamo bay to Iraq to Zimbabwe and beyond, not to mention
the scores killed in the line of duty trying to shine light on the
injustices of today’s world.
A Burmese monk gave an impassioned speech as he collected an award
on behalf of a jailed colleague, U Gambira, who was charged with
treason following last year’s anti-junta protests, and could become
the first monk to be executed in 70 years. Despite the abundance of
wine on every table, the audience set aside their glasses and fell
into a sombre silence as the monk’s words rang out, entreating the
world not to forget the plight of his people and the hardships they
face in taking on their oppressive rulers.
The Guardian-sponsored journalism award was presented to Arat Dink,
the genial editor of an Armenian newspaper who has suffered immense
personal tragedy for the "crime" of speaking out in Turkey about the
Armenian genocide. His father, who preceded him as editor of the paper,
was shot to death last year for giving an interview to Reuters about
the genocide, and then – to rub salt into the gaping wound – Arat
was himself sentenced to a year in prison for daring to republish
his late father’s words.
Sitting a few metres from someone who has risked all to pursue truth
and justice for his kinsmen was a sobering experience, especially in
the context of the medium in which I write. Cif commenters and writers
alike are regularly up in arms about what they see as the draconian
measures taken by the moderators when cleaning up the threads, with
people making the most outlandish accusations about conspiracy,
religious bias, and so on, when it comes to their having had an
offensive comment removed from the system.
However, in the context of what truly ruthless censorship and censure
entails, the fact that the likes of Cif and its peers exist and
flourish at all is testament to the immensely privileged position
citizens of the free world enjoy. And, as I reflected on the ceremony
on my way home, I once again gave thanks that I live in a country
which, for all its faults, does nothing to impede my own dissenting
voice, no matter how harsh I am in my criticism of the powers that be.
While I am not convinced by the argument that Israel is "the only
true democracy in the Middle East" – given the embedded anti-Arab
discrimination of state policies, not to mention the theocratic
elements that bubble under the surface – the truth is, it’s streets
ahead of the pack in terms of freedom of expression. Commenters on
my threads often bemoan the fact that there isn’t a "Palestinian
Seth Freedman", but the chances of that happening are slim to none,
thanks to the fear most Palestinians have of speaking out against
their leaders.
It’s the fact that Israel, in the main, has a more than benevolent
attitude towards its internal dissidents that gives me hope that
change can, and will, come about in its system. The conditions are
sufficiently clement for anyone with a differing view not only to
have their say without fear of arrest (or worse), but also to be
able to organise groups of similarly-minded activists to challenge
the status quo and bring their protest to the streets.
The same cannot be said, unfortunately, for those so-called supporters
of Israel who try to strangle at birth any voices of opposition to
the current regime. From hounding speakers off university campuses to
orchestrated campaigns of demonisation against government critics,
the Israel-right-or-wrong crowd does a huge disservice to free
speech and justice in their relentless mission to stifle any voices
of disapproval.
I’ve found that out for myself – on a relatively small scale, though
still no less vicious in essence – but listening to the awards’
recipients last night more than bolstered my resolve to continue.
Because they bear the true scars of forced restriction and repression,
yet their desire to effect change remains undiminished despite all the
hardships they’ve suffered. If their like can keep going through all
of the torment and pain, then those of us who live in countries far
more accommodating to dissent have no excuse not to follow suit. And
similarly, those who shout from the rooftops whenever they get a
comment pulled from a Cif thread would do well to be thankful that
a moderator’s reprimand is the closest they’ll come to the dark side
of censorship.
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