A group of South African journalists is planning to hold a vigil on Sunday, 28 January 2024, in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and to protest the widespread killing of Palestinian journalists since the war in Gaza began afresh on October 7, 2023. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, a global NGO that advocates for the rights of journalists to work safely and unhindered, 83 journalists have been killed in Gaza as of 23 January 2024. A further 16 were reported injured, three journalists were reported missing, and 25 journalists were reported arrested. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, however, the number could be as high as 118. Al-Jazeera reports that 25,700 people have been killed and 63,740 wounded so far in Gaza.
More journalists have been killed in the four months of the war in Gaza than were killed in the entirety of World War 2, or the war in Vietnam, reports Daily Maverick. This scale of killings has never been seen before.
“We are deeply concerned about this loss of life and the Israeli refusal to guarantee our colleagues’ safety. In any other situation, that would be outrageous. We are concerned about the effect this deadly approach to journalists will have on the documenting and reporting of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and acts of genocide. Similarly, there is potential for evidence connected to these crimes to be destroyed,” the group said in a statement which has been released to the public.
“We view Israel’s indiscriminate attacks on communications infrastructure as a deliberate attempt to silence journalists, as it has become difficult and near impossible for media workers to carry out their jobs. Dead journalists mean a media blackout,” the statement said.
At the time of publishing, the statement has been signed by over 380 media practitioners, including journalists and editors.
“It is with immense gratitude that we can say we have almost 400 signatures to our letter of intent, mostly from journalists but supported by people like chefs, educators, and therapists. Colleagues have been sharing the posts and have rallied behind this vigil. I think there is a real feeling that this is ‘ours’, as an industry,” said journalist Deshnee Subramany, who helped organise the vigil and statement, in an interview with explain.
She continued: “At first, the idea was for each interested person to do their own event. But it became obvious that it had to be a national movement and we have received so much support. From editors and designers offering their time for free, to colleagues assisting in the planning and picking up on aspects organisers forget, this has been an almost seamless process from inception to now because of how much other journalists also believe in this.”
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