The conflict in Iraq is the most deadly war on record for journalists.
The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists says 108 reporters have been killed on duty while covering the conflict during the past four years, and Iraqi journalists are bearing the brunt of these fatalities with a total of 86, according to the committee. And yesterday, a 35-year-old woman was shot to death on her way home from work in Mosul. Despite the casualties suffered and the constant perils looming over their work, Iraqi reporters defiantly gathered yesterday at a Baghdad hotel to celebrate their national press day marking the 138th anniversary of the country's first newspaper.
"Some people want to kill all of the independent voices in Iraq," said Jumana Al-Obeidey, 29, a correspondent for Radio Free Europe. "But we have a responsibility to fulfill as journalists, and we must continue our jobs."
Shihab Al-Tamimi, 74, who heads the Iraqi Journalists Union, said that while many "free voices," including newspapers, magazines, radio and television reporters, are operating in the country, they face enormous risks.
"The people outside (Iraq) don't know the dangers we face," said Al-Tamimi, who cut a stately figure in an olive suit. "It's a very sad life."
The hazards confronting Iraqi reporters are imminent and widespread, running the gamut from targeted assassinations to kidnapping, in addition to the car bombings and mortar attacks all Iraqis face daily.
The hardships of one Iraqi news agency tells part of the story.
The Baghdad-based Safeer Newspaper has lost six of its journalists, including Firas Shalan Abed, 37, who was shot dead in the streets in the northern city of Mosul in September 2005.
Abed's widow, Ban Aziz Al-Obeidi, 35, who is also a reporter for the paper, continued to work for Safeer in Mosul despite repeated attacks on its staff there and threats to her life until insurgents destroyed their office in April.
