Should we be afraid to tell the truth?!

June 27 - Press and Media Workers' Day.

Azon Global, which has been working and creating in this field, has been the voice of the Islamic and Muslim world since 2017. And despite being under various forms of pressure and censorship for this activity, it does not shy away from speaking out.

On a global scale, religious publications, leaders, and creative people who write for the truth have become "dangerous" for a certain segment of society.

The Azon Global team presents this video, looking at journalism today.

"Dangerous" journalist

I am a journalist.

I don't feel safe as a journalist these days...

I chose the truth. I knew it wouldn't be an easy path, but I never thought my life would be spent on the line.

Today, for a journalist, words are considered a weapon, a look is a threat, and a question is a crime.

I show life as it is: People struggling to survive, children crying, women's pain, the burden of a man's burden, the broken heart of an immigrant, the cries of Muslims - all kinds of human stories. But showing these stories sometimes becomes a punishment.

Every time I turn on the microphone, I don't know which door my words will close.

I work with facts. But sometimes the truth itself is a risk.

Sometimes I choose silence. I ask myself:

"What if I say that?"

"What if I don't tell you?"

The answer is no. Or both are painful.

Behind every journalist who covers a problem are worried children, heartbroken mothers, and loved ones who sense danger. They always:

"Be careful..." he says.

But "not telling the truth" is not security for me, it's weakness.

I want to feel safe as I always seek this truth.

Freedom is a responsibility. I want to fulfill this responsibility with protection, not fear.

I also want to walk in the light, to be protected, to live among people and maintain faith in the word, so that the truth does not remain in darkness.

Not just me, but every person always wants to feel safe. They want the state to help and protect them where the average citizen cannot.

In all my years of working with immigrants, I have never witnessed a stranger feel completely protected.

Both our ordinary citizens and the intelligentsia feel like they are alone and abandoned in the global world.

Unlike citizens of other countries, none of us have the confidence that our state will protect us and guide us if something happens. But several centuries ago, the institution of citizenship, the state machine, was actually conceived and organized for this very purpose.

At least two hundred deputies are elected by millions of people, giving up their day jobs, to come up with laws.

Billions of dollars are spent on maintaining the law-making apparatus. Then, the executive apparatus is spent on enforcing those laws, and this expenditure becomes the largest expense column in the state budget.

But even then, out of respect for the value of laws, their cost to the budget and people's pockets, they are not followed.

When someone is arrested, they are not given a lawyer, their guilt is not clearly stated, their relatives are not informed, they are not allowed to see them, they are not allowed to make phone calls, and they are not given even the most accurate information.

A person's fate becomes completely unknown and abstract - where he is, in what condition, why he is there, what will happen next, what to do next - it is incomprehensible. Why is it impossible to know the exact laws and regulations in an era when you can even predict the weather in advance and prepare your clothes accordingly?

What should a person do to feel safe and live and work in peace?

There are many, many questions. But no one is brave enough to answer them...

We live in a time of imprisonment, torture, deprivation, and even murder for our words.

This is an era when we fear talkers, not real criminals; when the real danger is not violence, but truth; when words, not force, are punished.

During this period:

A journalist who covers a crime is turned into a criminal.

The reporter who asked the question is made the accuser.

The person expressing an opinion is labeled as an enemy.

Someone who talks about freedom of speech is called a "propagandist."

This is a new form of injustice.

This is the price paid for "language."

The community is silent.

Many people think, "It doesn't concern me." But one day, this silence, this silence, will become a dangerous consequence for everyone.

Should we really be afraid to tell the truth?

Nowadays, yes. Because the truth is dangerous for some. What they need is silence.

And the voice cannot be silenced. The sound that comes from the heart like a flame should not be silenced, but heard.

Listen, change your views, change the world.

Do you want justice?!

Allow the journalist to tell the truth and live without worry.

Freedom is not about speaking harshly, but about speaking the truth without fear.

A journalist should not be dangerous. Making a journalist dangerous is a weakness of society.

That's why today I ask you, the community, to understand each other.

A journalist is not an enemy. His microphone is not a weapon. Look at the pen in his hand as a mirror.

Revealing the truth shouldn't be dangerous. It's my right. It's the right of every person who speaks.

Author: Sahiba Hayot