Telling the incredible tale of Anna Politkovskaya has taught me one thing: I could never be that brave | Maxine Peake

WA hat pushes someone to become a journalist? A good The journalist, the person who is the keyboard is a tool to expose injustice, and is a student in fact risking life and parties to report their experiences to the world? I know I can’t do that. I met people for my research project and was hopeless. I found myself get rid of asking difficult questions. There is no way in which I can confront a corrupt official, or a race to present a fracture story before the Eskati anti -Eskati system tries, perhaps forever. I would like to think about myself as a kind of people who talk about the truth to power, but will I really do, if my life is in balance?

One of the many privileges of being an actor is that it gives you the opportunity to dip your toes in other worlds and experiences from the most possible distance. In the upcoming Words of War, she was honored to film the Russian journalist and human rights activist Anna Politicovskaya – a woman of courage and huge integrity, despite her many threats of her life, she continued in the beacon of truth full of truth in the time and place where the truth was very dangerous. Film, Which was partially inspired By Policovskaya We are aware of this newspaperShe allowed me to delve into her wonderful life and work. The experience gave me a deeper appreciation to journalists who risk everything to tell the stories that teach and form our world.

Those who tell these stories face more threats than ever. The press has become a dangerous profession. According to the Committee for the Protection of Journalists, more than 1,800 journalists and media workers have been killed while following a story since 1992. They were killed in 2024 aloneLast year made three decades more bloody. Nearly 70 % of these deaths were at the hands of the Israeli army in Gaza and Lebanon. There was also a 56 % sharp increase in the number of press violations Against journalists Since 2023, according to the Women’s coalition in the press, including belief, harassment, physical assault, threats and intimidation. Threats are not intended for war areas or authoritarian regimes. Journalists are also attacked in Western democracies; On the course of the American campaign, Donald Trump Talk about canceling broadcast licenses Journalists are imprisoned, while the wealthy individuals in Britain have The targeted journalists With malicious Slapps (strategic claims against public participation).

In preparation for the Kossirkovskaya League, I immersed myself as much as I can in the lives of people who provide reports from the front lines of conflict, corruption and disasters, reading and speaking face to face with some of these unusual women and men. Before I left for filming in Latvia, I was honored to call for a memorial in the St. Brids Church, on Fleet Street in London, for the American American journalist Sherine Abu Aklely. Abu Aklele was shot on May 11, 2022 while it was Covering raids in the Jenin refugee camp In the West Bank. She was wearing a helmet and journalist clearly noticeable. More than 1000 days have passed since her death, but no one has been held accountable.

What surprised me on that day is the flow of love and respect from friends and colleagues in Abu Aklele in the broader journalist brotherhood. Like politkovskaya, Abu Aklele was a person who dared to expose the truth. I read about each of these non -ordinary women while preparing for this role, I was shocked not only through their courage, but the clarity of the goal. These journalists were not good in excitement or fame. They were driven by something racist: the absolute belief that saying the truth is important.

We rely on journalists to expose injustice, take power in mind, and highlight the darkest corners of the world. Without them, ill -treatment and corruption are still unknown and unknown. John Adams, one of America’s founding fathers, said: “Freedom of the press is necessary for state security.” However, everywhere journalists are subjected to threat or silence, this principle is eroded. This is not just a problem for journalists, but a threat to all of us, and our democratic freedoms.

For this reason it is extremely important to protect those who make difficult questions, deepening more than talking and propaganda points, even when their work is dangerous. I urge everyone to watch the words of war and support freedom of the press, not only as a political principle, but as a personal responsibility. Defending the truth. Share their work. Pay again against the efforts made to raise them. The United Nations World Freedom Day will be held on May 3, and anyone can show their support for this principle by donating institutions such as National Freedom Center in the press club and A committee to protect journalists. Remember: The next time you see a title in the news that offers corruption, injustice or extremism, someone may have risked his life to bring this information to you.

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