JESS ROBERTSON
Madonna King led a discussion at the Integrity Summit this morning, interviewing three journalists and activists on the topic of writers under arrest.
Ms King spoke with Angolan journalist and human rights activist, Rafael Marques de Morais, about his reports exposing government and industry corruption in Angola.
Rafael spoke about his arrest, as a prisoner of war, locked in a cell with no food and water.
“The prisoners themselves, felt they needed to help me because I was put in that cell as a hiding place and my family didn’t know where I was,”Rafael said.
“Once they discovered I was a journalist they said ‘once you get out of here you will tell our stories’ and that’s how,basically, I became known as a human rights defender.”
Peter Greste, Al Jazeera correspondent, set free after 400 days in prison and winner of the 2016 ANZAC Peace Prize spoke about the role Australia and the media played in his release.
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Ms White spoke with Ma Thida, surgeon, political commentator and human rights activist on her twenty year sentence to prison stating that she saw herself as a witness rather than a victim.
Ma Thida gave her opinion on today’s digital media stating that she sees electronic readership as superficial and rather then exploring what’s going on in the media, we have neglected to explore what people feel and think, proving the continual need for literature.