NEWS, JOURNALISM & DEMOCRACY

News is information we consume passively, unless we decide to act. At the Inti Raymi Fund, we consider news an important source of inspiration. We read then take action, hoping for a positive impact in the world.

When a terrible event happens in the world, it generates energy, sometimes rage, despair, even a sense of disempowerment. What if we could capture that energy and channel it into a positive solution? What if readers could be effective participants in news? Can we engage in more meaningful ways than only sharing articles on our social media feeds or commenting in a discussion forums?

JOURNALISM IN PERIL: WHAT JAMAL KHASHOGGI'S DEATH MEANS FOR JOURNALISM AND HUMAN RIGHTS

Threats, attacks, government oppression, accusations of fake news and a growing mistrust of the media all threaten press freedom around the world. Journalists often feel the greatest brunt of these attacks. In fact, 1338 journalists have been killed for their work since 1992, 54 have been killed in 2018 alone and Jamal Khashoggi was one of them.

Many journalists have disappeared, but this time it’s different. Jamal Khashoggi, was killed in his country's consulate. Jamal's death is a turning point in our history, said the Saudi political activist Omar Abdulaziz at a panel discussion hosted by the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University.

Jamal Khashoggi’s murder and the subsequent political charade raised grave implications for human rights and journalism. Although Khashoggi was critical of Saudi Arabia, expressing concern on issues such as the country’s engagement in the war in Yemen and the lack of free press, he was much more of a loyalist liberal reformer than a dissident. Khashoggi wrote articles out of his sense of love for his country and deep faith in human dignity and freedom.

Living in self-exile in Washington D.C. since June 2017, Khashoggi left his home and family in Saudi Arabia to be able to raise his voice. Fired from his job as the editor in chief of a “progressive” paper, Al-Watan, Khashoggi then worked as media adviser to Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi ambassador to Britain and then the United States. Under pressure from the government, his column in the Arabic major daily Al-Hayat was canceled.

In September 2017, in his first column for the Washington Post, Khashoggi wrote “I can speak when so many cannot. […] My friends and I living abroad feel helpless. We want our country to thrive and to see vision realized. We are not opposed to our government and care deeply about Saudi Arabia. It is the only home we know or want. Yet we are the enemy.”

As of today, Khashoggi's body has yet to be found. The US government's CIA, Turkey and Saudi Arabia all tell different versions of this story, with some recent reports suggesting that Jamal Khashoggi's body was dismembered in the consulate and submersed in acid to hide the evidence. We may never know the truth of exactly what happened to Jamal Khashoggi.

WHAT THE INTI RAYMI FUND DID:

In honor of Jamal Khashoggi's courage in journalism, we created the Jamal Khashoggi Award (“JKA”) for Courageous Journalism, showing people that journalists deserve to be recognized for their strength in the face of adversity. This Award honors the brave journalists who expose abuse of power and corruption, share difficult truths, discuss taboo topics, and work in hostile environments. For true Democracy to work, there must be a Free Press.

FIVE COURAGEOUS JOURNALISTS WHO RECEIVED THE JAMAL KHASHOGGI AWARD (alphabetically listed)

The Inti Raymi Fund will continue to follow these courageous journalists and upon the completion of their stories, we will upload and attach their stories here on our site.

JKA 2019 IN THE MEDIA LINKS:

https://bit.ly/2WAb60s

https://bit.ly/2WA85NK

https://bit.ly/2FKZjGW

https://bit.ly/2FJrEMu

https://bit.ly/2TLHxae

https://bit.ly/2UiovwI

https://bit.ly/2U2rfyK

https://bit.ly/2C8G9Zo

https://bit.ly/2HOegdK

https://bit.ly/2FLaWO3