Kyiv, Ukraine — The World Newspaper Congress will take place in Kyiv on September 2-5, 2012 and is expected to bring up to 1,200 delegates, representatives of influential international media. The event will also feature the World Editors Forum as well as the annual Info Services Expo 2012.

Now that millions of European football fans and the leading international media discovered Ukrainian hospitality during the EURO 2012, it is high time to establish a deeper and more comprehensive cooperation between Ukrainian and foreign journalists, stated Oleksandr Kurdinovych. Number one objective of the World Association of Newspapers and Publishers (WAN-IFRA) congress is insuring that objective information on developments in Ukraine reaches the “western world,” he mentioned.

According to Ukrainian media the upcoming congress is going to be the second largest international event in Ukraine after EURO 2012 championship.

In preparation to the sports tournament Ukraine drastically improved its infrastructure and, according to Michel Platini, UEFA President, the country’s success was extraordinary. He also noted that the Ukraine’s infrastructure leaped 30 years into the future after having built and renovated airports, built new roads, constructed and renewed 290 hotels. In addition, Ukraine was listed as number one among CIS countries regarding railroad infrastructure development, according to the World Economic Forum’ latest Global Enabling Trade Report.

World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers is a global organization of the world’s newspapers and news publishers that represents over 18,000 publications and 15,000 websites in 120 countries. It has a status of an official consultant, which represents the interests of newspaper industry in UNESCO, United Nations and the European Council.

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Do journalists get post traumatic stress from listening to victims of extreme violence?

Being a journalist in countries where rape is used as a weapon of war is no easy task. Interviewing victims and listening to their most traumatic experiences can have a toll on anyone.

It was the early 1990s, years before the international community would formally recognize that the Guatemalan government used systematic rape on its Mayan women. Victoria Sanford was pursuing an anthropology doctorate at Stanford University. Moved by the stories of her Mayan friends, Sanford joined the non-profit Guatemalan Forensic Anthropology Investigative Team and went to Guatemala.

Though the team’s job was to exhume mass graves, Sanford talked to the women, who told other women about her, before she began recording their stories. Sanford joined a team of journalists who interviewed victims across the globe.

The stories of the experiences these women went through are painful, graphic and sad. One girl was raped in a Darfur refugee camp and made an amputee when her assailants tried to kill her by cutting off her arms and legs. The Kosovo women cried, screamed, and let out their rage as they told how soldiers climbed on top of them, choked and beat them, and did things too graphic to explain. The soldiers killed the babies that were the products of the rape in order to further torture these women.

Each interview took hours as the women explained every detail at great length. Some women smothered their own children in order to spare them from the brutality of the soldiers.

Through all the experiences these women told her, Sanford remained silent. She cried with them, hugged them and let them pour their souls. However, the stress began to get to Sanford. She had trouble breathing and sleeping. She couldn’t tell these women to stop telling their stories because the least thing these women could do is explain their experiences in hope that the world would hear.

After a while, Sanford began experiencing secondary trauma. The women she was interviewing called it “susto,” fright sickness.

One morning when Sanford awoke, she was paralyzed. She couldn’t move her neck or sit up. Her body locked up from the stress of the interviews. Psychiatrists explained that she had a temporary psychosomatic paralysis, a rare symptom linked to post-traumatic stress disorder and secondary trauma. Though she got better through treatment, Sanford returned back to interviewing.

PTSD is a severe anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to any event that result in psychological trauma. Some of the symptoms include re-experiencing the original trauma through flashbacks or nightmares, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, and increased arousal such as difficulty falling or staying asleep, anger and hyper-vigilance.

The traumas that these journalists face through interviewing are not from their own experiences, but that does not entail that the journalists cannot get PTSD. The paralysis that Sanford endured may be rare, but it shows that anyone can get it by just listening to the tragic experiences the victims explained in detail.

Image Courtesy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/53478302@N02/4943573594/sizes/z/in/photostream/

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Reporters Without Borders recently released a detailed report regarding the freedom of speech in Turkey, with the title of “A Book is Not a Bomb!” The prime minister of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a “great” contribution for this title, since he likened a book with a bomb at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), trying to rebuff the questions of freedom of press in Turkey:

“It is a crime to use a bomb, but it is also a crime to use materials from which a bomb is made. If informed that all materials needed to construct a bomb have been placed in a certain location, wouldn’t the security forces collect these materials?”

This outrageous claim refers to the seizure of journalist Ahmet Sik’s unpublished book “The Army of Imam” on March 24, which unveils the “deep state” in Turkey.

In Turkey, more than 57 journalists are being held in prison at the moment, mainly referring to the Ergenekon trial which claimed to be a terrorist movement organising a coup d’etat against the ruling party AKP. The crediblity of the Ergenekon case is very much under suspicion, because of the convictions of reliable journalists and intellectuals of the country. There are several indictments of thousands of pages since October 2008 and the wave of arrests are continuing without a trial, without reaching a definite verdict.

Ergenekon trial is mainly based on the conflict between islamist-rooted ruling party AKP, and seculars who depend on the founder of the Turkish Republic, Kemal Atatürk.

Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey report, deals with some top issues regarding freedom of press in Turkey, namely the Ergenekon Case, the imprisonment of two influential investigative journalists, Ahmet Sik and Nedim Sener, the impact of Fethullah Gulen cult on Turkey’s politics, the repressive laws against freedom of speech, and the issue of independency of media.

One of the conspicuous remarks on the report, is that many journalists feel under pressure, and it has became a crime to have an opposing attitude against the government, since journalists are being accused of being a part of a terrorist organisation without any kind of proof. The seizure of an unpublished book is one of the obvious proofs how dangerous and terrifying the situation is in Turkey.

Despite of the claim of the ruling party, that they are the pioneers of Turkish democracy, many people feel under pressure regarding freedom of speech and media. The arbitrary arrests of the journalists, and the defence of the authorities by likening a book with a bomb, unfortunately causes a big disgrace for the country’s democracy challenge.

Reporters Without Borders’ Turkey report reveals the unstable and unreliable environment in the country, especially when it comes to freedom of speech. The ridiculous enforcements, for example the internet censorship and the overwhelming pressure on journalists who are only doing their jobs, are some of the stains on country’s modern and democratic face.

Despite the protests all over the country, Turkey still seems to hold on to the current situation. Especially after the results of 2011 elections, it seems that the importance of the freedom of speech and media has not been realised yet. Still the struggle has to be persisted with the motto “A book is not a bomb!”.

Please find the special report of Reporters Without Borders here: http://en.rsf.org/turkey-fact-finding-mission-a-book-is-not-16-06-2011,40471.html

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Honduras can be categorized as one of the most dangerous countries in Latin American in regards of performing a Journalist career. Since March 2010, eleven journalists have been murdered, and no justice has been made in order to fight against violence and corruption that the country is suffering.

The past Tuesday, journalist Héctor Medina Polanco, was shot to death while he was going to his home. He was a journalist form the Morazán province in Honduras. Two men followed him on a motorcycle, which shot him few meters away from his house. He received four shots, one in his arm and three in his back. With his death, Honduras has summed up to eleven murders to journalist, since the president Porfirio Lobo Sosa assumed his position the 27^th of January 2010.

Honduras is facing a lot of instability and impunity. The death of several journalists leaves the impression of insecurity and corruption. Where the truth wants to be hidden. The violence started to have severe repercussions since 2009, when the president at that time, Manuel Zelaya was thrown out of power threatened with guns.

The family of the reporter claimed that Medina was threatened several times. His figure as a journalist was known nationally. He was the coordinator from the news local channel Omega Visión. He denounced several corruption cases where many functionaries of the town hall were involved. As well as irregularities committed by farmers, who were having land disputes, and also the alleged abuses made by mafias.

Mauricio Handal, the mayor of Morazán, claimed: “It is Illogical”. He assured that he had a friend relationship with the reporter, and he affirmed that he would insist the authorities to investigate the case.

On the other hand, the family just asks that the crime follows consequences and that the investigations do not stop. The reporter brother, Carlos Medina has asked the Presidential Government for some protection, safeness and security for the family.  He also notified that the family has also made a denounced to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Juan Darte, the local police official claimed: “There is nothing clear, about this murdered, there are several versions”.

The director of Reveistazo.com, Claudia Mendoza expressed her position toward these cases of impunity, where several colleges of her have been murdered, and no justice has been made. Her disappointment, and helpless feeling were emitted though these words: “ The impunity is the perfect ally for both authorities: the entrepreneurs and the politics, whom form part of the powerful groups that manage, in any way they please, the justice, the country’s finances, and allow the violation of human rights in Honduras, as well as the liberty of expression and press”.  She also stated that Medina had previously made denounces  in regard of harassment to the authorities, but he continued without any response.

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