Extract from the letter by Lasantha Wikramatunga, assassinated editor of a newspaper in Sri Lanka.
People often ask me why I take such risks and tell me it is a matter of time before I am bumped off. Of course I know that: it is inevitable. But if we do not speak out now, there will be no one left to speak for those who cannot, whether they be ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged or the persecuted. An example that has inspired me throughout my career in journalism has been that of the German theologian, Martin Niemoller. In his youth he was an anti-Semite and an admirer of Hitler. As Nazism took hold in Germany, however, he saw Nazism for what it was: it was not just the Jews Hitler sought to extirpate, it was just about anyone with an alternate point of view. Niemoller spoke out, and for his trouble was incarcerated in the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945, and very nearly executed. While incarcerated, Niemoller wrote a poem that, from the first time I read it in my teenage years, stuck hauntingly in my mind:
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.
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. Whether you deserve their sacrifice is another matter. As for me, God knows I tried.
First, I knew that the products were not good for the consumers
ReplyDeleteand I did not speak out because I was not a consumer.
Then the salesmen conned the customers into buying them
and I did not speak out because I was not a consumer.
Then the salesmen lied about the products and I did not speak out because I was also a salesman.
Then when hell broke out about miss-selling and cheating I blamed it on the consumers
Then when MAS came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.
What a touching letter. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteAt the hour of our death, when the final reckoning is made, all the money we made... all the titles we may have been awarded.... all come to naught. It is the little moments of kindness and the uncommon courage shown by "common men" like Lasantha Wikramatunga which count.
Shame on all people who bully those who dare to speak the truth !! These bullies are scoundrels of society who have no conscious and are no different from animals. We also have many such scoundrels in Singapore !
ReplyDelete