Reporters Against Power

A daughter of Turkish immigrants in The Netherlands, Fidan Ekiz studied journalism. She was a news correspondent in Turkey for some years. Upon her return to the The Netherlands Fidan started making documentaries and became a television celebrity.

In the opening scene, Fidan says:

“I’ve always wanted to become a journalist. Ever since I was a child I’ve wanted to control the powers that be and uncover their lies To become the watchdog of democracy But to be honest, my profession is not that courageous. Not in my country, where we have a well-functioning democracy and the rule of law.
At home, press freedom is so natural that we hardly wonder why it is so important. That’s why I travel to the countries where journalists make the difference.
Where the powers don’t want to be controlled, journalists become weapons against dictatorship and injustice. In their plight for truth, their pens become swords. In these countries they work facing great personal danger. Because they usually stand alone.”

COLOMBIA
In this episode Fidan visits Henry Ramirez, a local journalist in the port city of Buenaventura. Its harbor attracts powerful criminals and drug smugglers , making it one of the most violent cities in Colombia. Henry has disclosed the existence of “casas de pique” slaughterhouses where paramilitary gang members chopped people up alive.
His story was picked up internationally and caused the army to enter Buenaventura to enforce public order. But Buenaventura is still being controlled by criminal gangs, and Henry is one of the few journalists courageous enough to cover the sensitive issue of crime.

Colombia is a weak state. In some regions, criminals are almost in complete control of the government. Journalists are virtually the only people to uncover the corruption and crime. In doing so they become the target of criminal gangs. The central government is not able to tot put up an effective fight against these criminals. They merely provide journalists under threat with bodyguards and bulletproof vests.

Fidan also visits Gonzalo Guillen, an highly acclaimed investigative journalist who lives alone at a secret adress, together with 9 bodyguards, and Ginna Morelo who fled to Colombia’s capital city of Bogota after the entire family of one of her sources was murdered.

TURKEY
Fidan revisits Istanbul, where she used to work as a news correspondent. Turkey has changed a lot under president Erdogan. For journalists who are critical towards the government, the social climate has become much harsher. Independent news media are being shut down, or threatened with huge fiscal penalties. Journalists risk being fired without any reason. The social climate is one of self-censorship and fear, resulting in a staggering lack of solidarity among journalists.

Fidan meets eminent journalist Mustafa Hos, chief editor of several news outlets, who was fired and suddenly found himself without any friends. She meets the underground cartoonists of Leman magazine, with Ozgur Mumcu who faces a 6 year prison sentence for insulting the president, and with the courageous Kurdish reporter Ihsan Kacar.

UGANDA
On paper Uganda is a democracy, but in reality nepotism and corruption are the rule. Journalism is one of the lowest paying jobs, and journalists, newspapers and TV stations are easily intimidated.
Freelance videojournalist Ntege Williams is a rare gem. His camera was broken by the police three times. He was arrested several times and received death threats. And still he continues. Fidan travels to Kampala to bring him another camera, for Ntege to document the scandal with that goes on in a Ugandan kingdom where poor people are being kicked off their land to make room for powerful tea plantations.
In helping Ntege, Fidan herself becomes involved in this journalistic detective story.

RUSSIA
In Moscow, Fidan visits Novaja Gazeta, one of the few critical newspapers in Russia. Ever since six journalists of NG were murdered in the line of duty, chief editor Muratov worries about the danger his colleagues get themselves into.
Pavel Kanygin is one of NG’s star reporters. While covering the Ukraine, he has been kidnapped and beaten up twice by pro-Russia rebels. And of course he has been reporting on the crash of flight MH-17.

For that reason, Pavel is sent to the Netherlands to cover the investigation report about what caused the plane to crash.
Fidan stays in Moscow to witness how the event is covered by the dominant pro-Putin media like Russia Today and Lifenews. Their propaganda strategy is simple: Everybody is lying anyway, so people can choose the truth that suits them best. That is the tragedy of Pavel and of Novaja Gazeta. They fight for the truth in a country where the majority of the people does not even believe truth exists.

MYANMAR/BURMA
Fidan arrives in Yangon on the eve before the latest elections.
The military regime has promised fair elections but who can tell what will really happen? There is one television station that has committed itself to monitoring the election process and uncovering all irregularities that may occur: The Democratic Voice of Burma. Than Win Htut and the staff of DVB have trained hundreds of citizens all over the country to film with their smartphones during the elections. On election day the system functions flawlessly. The Democratic Voice of Burma has helped in enforcing fair elections by literally controlling the powers that be.

But there is a dark side to the success stories in Myanmar. The new democratic forces have not been very attentive to the Muslim minorities that have been discriminated and killed by Buddhist nationalists. It is not a popular subject, and journalists who draw attention to it can get into a lot of trouble. But in Sittwe, in a closed refugee camp for Muslim Rohinya, a lone blogger manages to send his reports into the world with his smartphone.


HONG KONG
Fidan travels to Hong Kong where the free press is slowly being silenced by communist China. Acoording to Shirley Yam of the Hong Kong Journalist Association it is like boiling a frog: “if you boil the water slowly the frogs doesn’t notice, until it’s fully cooked and ready to be eaten”.
Hong Kong is formally part of the Peoples Republic of China, but when the British handed over the islands to China in 1997 it was negotiated that the former Crown Colony would keep its democracy and legislation for 50 years to come.

When in 2014 China interfered in the election process, the Hong Kong inhabitants revolted in the Umbrella Revolution which lasted for three months. But they achieved nothing.
Press freedom in Hong Kong is diminishing ever since. Cyber attacks are organized against online news outlets. Newspapers are bought by investment tycoons from mainland China. Critical reporters are fired. Some are beaten up in the streets. Some vanish mysteriously.
The result is a climate of fear amongst Hongkongers and journalists. Fortunately Fidan also meets reporters that won’t be scared off or intimidated, like the female radio host Li Wei Ling