By Pooneh Nedai
Editor-in-Chief of Shokran Magazine – Iran
TEHRAN: Journalists Day in Iran is named in memory of Mahmoud Saremi, an Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reporter who was killed by Taliban terrorists. He kept working until the very last moment, but on that fateful day, the Taliban attacked the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing Saremi and several Iranian diplomats.
His final, heartbreaking message was:
“Mazar-i-Sharif has fallen. August 8, 1998. This is the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif. I am Mahmoud Saremi, reporter for the Islamic Republic News Agency. The Taliban entered Mazar-i-Sharif a few hours ago. Breaking news, breaking news. Mazar-i-Sharif has fallen to the Taliban. Some Taliban fighters are in the consulate courtyard. Tell me what I should do…”
Those three dots at the end are perhaps the heaviest in the history of Iranian journalism.
We commemorate such a day, but is saying “congratulations” to journalists the right thing? Congratulations for what? Journalism has only recently gained more public respect.
Before the flood of photos, videos, and news sent by smartphone-wielding citizens, who really knew what a journalist goes through to uncover the truth—with minimal tools, low income, and almost no social protections—while facing rentiers and pushing through fear to expose what society is being deprived of, and who wants to deny people even the bare minimum for survival? These days, that even means the right to breathe, to eat bread, to have water, electricity, and gas.
A difficult profession
Since the day journalism was ranked as second most harmful job in the world (after mining), what comfort has it gained? In times when domestic media has lost its authority, what respect does journalism hold in society? When great, unmatched figures in Iranian journalism choose silence and isolation over confronting those who trample this profession’s dignity, how can we hope to bring back the golden days of the press?
An apology
Today, when people pay more attention to foreign media, we must ask ourselves—how much shame are governors willing to bear, and when will they apologize to the people? They must allow newspapers to regain their identity and authority, and address our own people as our audience once more.
Exhausted independent media
We live in strange times. Independent media are completely worn out. A few publications survive thanks to occasional government subsidies—deserving our respect to publishers—while well-funded dependent outlets publish easily. Yet neither group has managed to restore the country’s trust in its media, because we have forgotten that both “insiders” and “outsiders” are Iranians, equally deserving of the benefits of being Iranian.
We have forgotten that we are heirs to the unmatched wisdom of mystics like Sheikh Abol-Hasan Kharaghani, who said: “Whoever enters this house, give them bread and do not ask about their faith. For anyone who is worthy of life in the presence of God is worthy of a piece of bread at Abol-Hasan’s table.”
