PRoject

I received a call from former colleague Alister Miranda who works for the Gomantak Times daily newspaper in Goa, India. Alister along with colleagues Preetu Nair and Peter De Souza are some of the few old fashioned journalists left in this world. They still hunt down stories, they have an incredible network of sources and little gets by without them knowing. And no, they doesn’t depend on PR people for news breaks

So Alister was worried when he got to know that the Russian mafia (yes we have them in lil’ ol’ Goa too) was planning a hit on him and his family after he spoilt their Christmas-eve drug party. I have worked with Alis (as he is fondly known) and I know he is fearless. But no man will ever risk the safety of his family. Together we broke some of the biggest stories in Goa, along with our friend Ajay Thakur who was then with Murdoch’s Star News but is now working towards a Masters in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Sheffield.

The saddest part is that Alis has had to turn to other sources of support because Goa’s journalism community haven’t risen to back him up. The Goa Union of Journalists is silent as usual perhaps organising another seminar or ceremony to hand out awards to the same people they did last year. The Goa Police have refused him protection and he is currently relying on friends for his safety.

Its a pity that while the spirit of journalism seems to be dying in ‘developed’ countries, journalists in developing countries still work in an environment of fear and without much support. Another former colleague Mayabushan Nagvekar (checkout his blog here) recently kicked b*** when he managed to get a bunch of Indian Members of Parliament on tape asking for bribes.

I salute them.