And ideas, ideas are bulletproof

by Martin Niem"ller
German theologer during the Third Reich

First they came for the Jews
and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for the Communists
and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists
and I did not speak out because I was not a trade Unionist.

Then they came for me.
and there was no one left to speak out for me.

"No other profession calls on its practitioners to lay down their lives for their art save the armed forces and, in Sri Lanka, journalism. In the course of the past few years, the independent media have increasingly come under attack. Electronic and print-media institutions have been burnt, bombed, sealed and coerced. Countless journalists have been harassed, threatened and killed. It has been my honour to belong to all those categories and now especially the last."

...

"But there is a calling that is yet above high office, fame, lucre and secuity. It is the call of conscience."

...

"If you remember nothing else, remember this: The Leader is there for you, be you Sinhalese, Tamil, Muslim, low-caste, homosexual, dissident or disabled. Its staff will fight on, unbowed and unafraid, with the courage to which you have become accustomed. Do not take that commitment for granted. Let there be no doubt that whatever sacrifices we journalists make, they are not made for our own glory or enrichment: they are made for you."


-Lasantha Wickramatunga, editor of the Sunday Leader, an independent newspaper. The editorial was written with him knowing that he was not going to live long. January 8, 2009, Wickramamatunga fell victim to two gunmen on a motorcycle. Sri Lanka.


(Upon reading this, I felt a great sense of gratitude to all those who have devoted their lives and sacrificed themselves for a higher cause. These are the unsung heroes of the land, the ones who get close and dirty so that the rest of the world may see. Snagged from Mr. Brown's blog)