Hussam Muhammed, Baladi News, Damascus
Only one day after celebrating the journalists' international day, journalist Abdo Ameen nicknamed "Khattab Abou Omar" died while covering the battles between rebels and regime forces on the "Family House" front west of Aleppo. He died for the sake of conveying the real image to the world regarding what's happening in Syria.
Ameen and his fellow journalists didn't escape the danger of the regime, ISIS , or even some of the opposition factions. The revolutionary media formed during the years of the Syrian revolution a precedent in terms of courage of Syrian activists, as the camera or the media activist were a great source of horror for the Syrian regime and his security forces since the beginning of the Syrian revolution, so it fought against the revolutionary media and did not hesitate to arrest or even kill the activists.
The estimates of victims among media cadres in Syria since March 2011 were unimaginable; Syrian regime forces and its intelligence killed 481 media cadres, activists and journalists, Russian occupation forces killed five journalists, while the Kurdish self-management killed two, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, not to forget that ISIS has killed 26 of the media cadres.
Killing of Journalists
Media activist in the Governorate of Aleppo “Ismael Al-Raj” sees that the mission of journalists is very dangerous in Syria generally and in Aleppo particularly for several reasons.; Journalists should deliver massacres to the world public opinion and news agencies, so that the crimes of the regime and its allies do not remain under wraps. The media activist pointed out that the Syrian regime and its agents are murderers pursuing journalists and targeting them directly. They are also targeting the offices of local news agencies through airstrikes and bombardment to silence the voice of journalists who try to deliver such crimes to the world public opinion.
“Journalists are also subject to kidnapping, especially by al-Assad’s intelligence agencies that suppress and arrest them in the regime-held areas in addition to the real difficulties in journalistic mission that activists face in the areas where ISIS takes over," “Al-Raj” added.
In the same context, media activist in the Eastern Ghouta Ala'a Al-Ahmed pointed out that media job is now called ‘sedition’ by some opposition factions. Any media activist carrying a camera to show to the world the violence of the regime against civilians has become threatened by such factions that adopt an egoistic policy in all their projects and acts, away from their prisons in which the most severe means of torture are being carried out, we find threats and attempts to suppress journalists or media personnel from fighting injustice and corruption.
Profession of Troubles
Homs Media Center spokesman Muhammed Al-Houmsi said: “ One of the difficulties that pose a real obstacle in the way of media mission is the unavailability of work basics, such as internet connection and the necessary equipment like computers, shield vests, helmets and even the scarcity of electricity and diesel. However, our objective is more sublime than any obstacle or difficulty; we always try to find alternative solutions and relentlessly seek to deliver to the international community, especially the UN, the reality of what is being done to Syria by Al-Assad and his allies.
He pointed that they have succeeded in many situations to put pressure on the United Nations to visit or provide assistance to a particular region, pointing out that they are working in the center without any funding from any institutions, whether opposed or private.
“We completely rely on non-persistent awards by some influential friends or self-sufficiency through our work in local business in shops through which we manage to earn our income to pay communications and internet bills.”