Reporting in hazardous environments,

the Sri Lanka experience

Amantha Perera DART Asia Fellowship, Bangkok, May 2013

Can I take off the body armor? Its so heavy

We were all handed flak jackets before boarding army vehicles - it was the hot season, humid and the bullet proof plates in the front and back of the jackets made them cumbersome and very uncomfortable. One reporter called out to ask if she could take out the plates since they were 'so heavy'!! - A foreign TV correspondent with over 15yrs working in Sri Lanka war zone

Why such callous disregard

Lack of training Lack of resources Attitude that we make do we with what we have We learn on the job Lack of respect for professionalism Institutional inefficiency

I feel that we avoided deaths and injuries among journalists in the actual combat field during Sri Lankas long conflict because of restrictions that prevented reporting from there.

Impact on personal safety

Ignorant of dangers, even deadly ones, like mine risk Tendency to identify with/imitate armed personnel providing security Disregard for those who insist on safety first Lack of cooperation Disregard for preparation No idea what to do when disaster strikes

Impact on reporting

Dehumanizing war, its victims Gun-barrel focus on the military aspect of combat Even here, lack of training leads to confusion, bias Post-war, poor reportage on the human cost When bullets stopped flying, the media ran out of steam, now we have completely convoluted the reporting

Conflict coverage requires training and dealing with certain attendant issues. Journalists here went into it, with little knowledge of repercussions, dangers and personally, what they may require to be best prepared, including being mentally prepared - A senior editor

We had to play by ear when it came to covering the war. The Muttur assignment was scary. We were not equipped to face the dangers. But we had to do the story and we played by ear A graduate of the Sri Lanka College of Journalism

Not only combat

Deadly reporting environment with no combat anywhere near Natural hazards and aftermath Emergencies Even traveling/reporting in totally new terrain/country

Think most of us learnt on the run, and I guess conditioned ourselves to be fairly immune to the bloodshed around us. I used to feel guilty writing about other peoples miseries. It still bugs me, nearly four years after the war ended A former wire reporter with over a decade of experience