The Media’s responsibility in securing it’s own freedom

Despite my horror for cynicism, I find myself defeated into just that. While I would like to confine my ranting to discourses with my imaginary friend, reading Ruki’s post From the Tiger’s Den to an Open Prison and the comments made to it just tipped the scale on sanity. So I decided to put it out there in the hope that it will comfort the ailing and ail the comfortable.

Given the masterpieces one is fed via some media, one wonders if our media is mature enough to be free.

Take for example the following articles which appeared in the Sunday Observer over the past month.

1. Two articles Distorted images - Australian media coverage …
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I used to think that every little trip away was a wonderful respite from the madness most of us living in Sri Lanka are subject to. A respite whence one can return with an energized and renewed spirit.

I’m rethinking this now. It is a respite. But rather than returning with renewed energy to chip away at the rock that is Sri Lanka’s ailment, I came back to a near nervous breakdown.

Having had my baggage lost, I spent three days anxiously calling up Baggage Services till I was calmly told my baggage had finally arrived on 23rd March 2008. “Thank you!” I responded. “When were you planning on informing me?”

“An agent will inform you Ma’am” the voice at the other end …

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Responding to a friend’s inquiry on my silence I realised how much I valued being away from home. I actually responded saying I was out and glad to keep away from the madness when he asked me how I was keeping and why he hadn’t heard from me.

Of course I was looking forward to seeing my family and friends. But I hurriedly forwarded the various mails to a few interested contacts and deleted them without reading them myself. I wanted a respite from the situation reports from this or that place, the press releases by this or that body condemning this or that attack.

I felt the reverse of what someone returning home after a stay abroad would probably feel. I …

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This year, I missed Ash Wednesday. I unconsciously avoided watching television or reading the newspapers. I didn’t call my family or friends. I felt it helped me stay slightly removed from the madness of military victories and resultant casualties or indiscriminate violence and the bitterness it left in its wake.

I was only reminded that the season of Lent had begun when I received an email from a friend on how to make self-denial more meaningful than mere fasts and prayers.

This time of the year usually brings back memories of crowded churches I attended as a child, and the people lining up to kiss the feet of the statue of the crucified Christ.

However, for the last year or so, my memories …

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[Editors note: Because of the length of this submission, readers may wish to use the Print Posts feature to create a fully formatted PDF of this article to read offline or in print. To do so, simply click on the Print Posts button on the right.]
(Facts have been presented as related to me by the people I met in Jaffna without alteration or embellishment. The conversations I had with most of the people I met were in Tamil and have been translated here. Names of people and certain events have been omitted due to safety concerns)
I write these events not as a criticism of any party or person but as an appeal to those concerned, to end the suffering of …

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I set out to Jaffna last week hoping to report on the situation there. I got back yesterday but am still unable to put down anything on paper as I don’t know where to start. Do I start with the little boy I met who saved his baby brother’s life by scooping his intestines back into his torn belly and holding him till he was given medical attention? Or do I start with the little girl who saw a man on his knees begging for his life before having his brains blown out on the road in the middle of the morning? Or again should I start with the cousin of the Priest who was abducted, tortured and killed for …

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Many Sri Lankans spent a peaceful Sunday at home. A typical lazy Sri Lankan Sunday spent lounging after a sumptuous lunch and browsing through the newspapers in a vain attempt to delay the oncoming week. I was one such Sri Lankan.

Going out was too much of a hassle with all the security concerns. The detailed recounting of the recent twin bomb blasts checked all enthusiasm of having a rocking Sunday.

You can imagine my surprise on calling a friend and having her quietly ask me how come there was no action taken to stop the mass arrests. What arrests? I had browsed through all the usual Sunday newspapers and even stayed home the previous night and caught the news bulletin, but …

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