From Somalia to Afghanistan: The Dangers Local Journalists Face

On Sunday, June 5, three reporters were killed: Somali broadcast journalist Sagal Salad Osman, Aghan journalist Zabihullah Tamanna, and American photojournalist David Gilkey.

Gilkey and Tamanna, who was Gilkey’s interpreter and fixer were killed together in Afghanistan.

Fixer is a term for a local journalist who helps international journalists find sources and stories when they are visiting a foreign country, however in media reports on international journalist deaths, they are often not recognised as also being journalists.

“Drivers, fixers, translators, are by definition probably also local journalists. There were cases in Afghanistan and Iraq, where translators were targeted for working with Americans, both journalists and military. That shows how local fixers and local journalists are often at greater risks,” Courtney Radsch, Advocacy Director for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said.

“Local journalists are the one who mostly get harassed, killed, or arrested, because they report on local issues around corruptions and politics, which in certain cases is even more dangerous than war. It is much more common for them to become a target. It is less common for a foreign journalist to be arrested.”