At least three journalists a month since 2001 have fled their country to escape violence, imprisonment, or harassment, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has found in a new report for World Refugee Day, June 20.
Only one in seven exiled journalists ever returns home, and those who remain in exile face slim opportunities in journalism. Less than one-third of journalists now in exile have found work in their profession. The exiled journalists came from 36 countries, but more than half were from just five troubled nations: Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Colombia, and Uzbekistan.
CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon deplored the conditions that have led to the exodus of journalists in so many countries and called on governments to do the following: investigate and offer protection when journalists are assaulted or threatened; prosecute all parties when a journalist is murdered; cease unlawful arrests of journalists; and reform criminal defamation laws. “The fact that in two out of three cases, the exiled journalists were driven out of the profession altogether, only finishes the job of those who seek to silence the press,” Simon said.
CPJ began tracking journalists in exile with the launch of its assistance program in July 2001. The program helps journalists in dire situations as a result of their work, including those who need to go into hiding or exile to escape threats.
CPJ limited its survey to those individuals who research determined had fled persecution for their work as journalists, and whose whereabouts, status, and current activities were known. The survey does not include dozens of journalists and media workers who left their countries for professional or financial opportunities, or individuals who fled their homelands before July 2001. The survey also does not include journalists who may have been targeted for activities other than journalism, such as political activism.
The survey found that the leading reason journalists flee their homelands is the threat of violence, followed by imprisonment or threat of imprisonment, and harassment.
CPJ determined that 94 journalists fled their homelands after violent assaults or death threats from fundamentalist militias, paramilitaries, and political gangs. In some cases, they heeded ominous warnings from military or government officials. The worst offenders in this category were Colombia, Haiti, Afghanistan, and Rwanda, where 50 journalists went into exile at some point during the survey period in fear of violent attack.
In many cases, authorities could not or would not provide adequate protection for journalists, and attempts to relocate within their countries did not bring an end to the threats. In the other cases, 76 journalists fled upon their release from prison or under threat of imprisonment for their work, and 73 left after enduring sustained harassment.
The 243 journalists surveyed by CPJ came from 36 countries, with more than half hailing from just five: Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Colombia, and Uzbekistan. Sixty per cent were from African countries, where porous borders and harsh press freedom conditions contribute to a steady exodus of journalists.
North America, Europe and Africa host the most journalists in exile, with the United States, Britain, Kenya and Canada ranking as the top four countries of refuge in the CPJ survey.
Nearly three-quarters of the journalists currently in exile landed outside their region; 123 sought and obtained asylum on their own or were resettled by the UN High Commission for Refugees. At least three dozen ended up in neighbouring countries, in many cases unable or not permitted to find work. Most of those are living in extreme poverty, and some have been harassed by police who routinely shake them down, threatening to send them to refugee camps or report them to officials in their home countries.
Over the period surveyed, 34 journalists who had gone into exile eventually returned home when conditions seemed safer for them. Of those who returned, 86 per cent resumed work in journalism, either in their former positions or in comparable jobs.
This is in sharp contrast to the journalists who remained in exile: Just 30 percent were able to obtain jobs related to journalism (a category that includes teaching), though larger numbers have continued to contribute sporadically to expatriate media or media outlets in their homelands. The vast majority, however, have had to take jobs requiring a lower level of skills.
