Telesur employees pay tribute to the journalists assassinated by the Israeli occupation in Gaza. Photo: Telesur.
The Latin American news outlet Telesur paid homage to the journalists who were murdered by Israeli aggression in Gaza as well as the Al Mayadeen journalists killed in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.
Journalists could not escape the barbarity that the Gaza Strip suffered in recent weeks, lamented the president of Telesur, Patricia Villegas during the tribute held in front of the outlet’s headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, on Friday, November 24.
Trabajadores de la multiplataforma informativa teleSUR realizaron un homenaje a los periodistas que han sido asesinados en Palestina en medio de la agresión de #Israel 🇮🇱https://t.co/Riali1cSbX
— teleSUR TV (@teleSURtv) November 25, 2023
At least 53 press correspondents, including reporters, photographers, and camerapeople have been massacred by the Israeli occupation’s genocidal bombardment of Gaza since October 7. Some journalists were killed in their homes with their families, while others lost spouses and children while on duty.
At the vigil held in the cradle of the Liberator Simón Bolívar, Villegas stated that journalists from the Global South understand like no one else what it means not to abandon their duty even in difficult circumstances, and to follow “that inner flame called commitment and loyalty to the people who we see suffer and fight, cry, and resist.”
A vigil was held in front of #Telesur network's building in #Caracas in solidarity with #AlMayadeen's martyrs Farah Omar, Rabih Me'mari, and Hussein Akil, in addition to all the journalists who were killed by "Israel" during its recent aggression. pic.twitter.com/u6iMdNILGO
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) November 25, 2023
The vigil was attended by the ambassador of Palestine in Venezuela, Fadi Alzaben; the leader of the Palestine solidarity platform in Venezuela, Hindú Anderi; journalist and teacher Helena Salcedo; and Venezuelan National Assembly deputy, communicator, and director of the International University of Telecommunications, Tania Díaz.
Villegas highlighted the intense coverage by Telesur focused in recent weeks on Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon, and thanked her Telesur colleagues and journalists of allied channels on the ground in Palestine and Lebanon for providing access to their reports and coverage. Throughout the duration of the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, Telesur was the public media channel that worked most intensely on the South American continent to report on the genocide that occurred before the eyes of the world, stated the Telesur chief.
“It is perhaps the first time in the history of mankind that we have witnessed the execution of this extermination policy, transmitted live or in almost real time, both on TV screens and on social media networks,” Villegas said.
She also highlighted the importance of reporting, both by media professionals and by citizens in their social networks, to break the communications hegemony imposed by the US and its global finance capital that controls all mainstream outlets.
“Even if it was only one person who lost their life, we should be outraged, but we are talking about an unprecedented slaughter,” she added. “Protected places, such as churches, hospitals, and schools have been violated.”
She also referred to the thousands of children crying in search of their parents, and parents suffering for their murdered children.
“There is no one in Gaza today who does not have a story of death and pain,” Villegas stressed.
However, nothing will succeed in silencing the press committed to the truth, she emphasized. “The martyrs of Gaza have become another reason to continue working, to connect with the good souls of this world, who deserve our effort, our dedication,” she said.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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