A few days ago, the chair of a regional media outlet called me with the following message:
‘Aytan, our employees in Azerbaijan refuse to work with us for fear of being arrested. For their own safety, they say they’d prefer to change their profession altogether, and we need new employees.’
In my country, almost every day begins with bad news, so this update did not shock me.
But then, I heard that the media outlet itself was at risk, due to the situation in Georgia and the new FARA law in parliament. The Azerbaijanisation of Georgia now threatens me, my colleagues, and my workplace too.
Surviving in the Caucasus as a journalist has become more challenging every day, but it appears that it is just a microcosm of what is happening around the world.
To be a journalist has become more complicated, not just because of the actions of authoritarian governments, but also because the very concepts of free media, and ultimately, truth, do not seem to matter to most people. It is as if many people are content to bury their heads in the sand, reading lies and imagining that everything is ok, but in reality are scared to face the truth.
In this contest of wills, where governments and the people in power fear the truth, the first targets are journalists and members of civil society.
As many more places in the world now are experiencing government-led attacks on free media — something we have long been used to in Azerbaijan — for the first time, I feel like Azerbaijan’s unfortunate example is being followed throughout the world.
Azerbaijani journalists have faced an impossible choice, to either stay in their profession and face imprisonment, or quit journalism altogether.
And now I fear this choice, if we can even call it such, may also come to pass in Georgia.
At this time, when the black clouds of oppression have gathered to block out the sky, journalists only have a slim chance for survival — a chance that relies on you, our readers.
Help us survive by donating and keeping transparent, free media alive, and stand up to evil — those who are trying to hide their own dirty business.
