THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The screening of this film in New York as part of World Press Freedom Day ended with long applause in honor of brave journalists Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka, the authors of the 20 Days In Mariupol film. The screening, organized by PEN America, took place in the house of the 32nd U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family and brought together free speech advocates and leading journalists. In particular, UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay and Associated Press Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Julie Pace attended the event.
President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Sergiy Tomilenko, who was also invited to participate in the post-screening discussion, praised the courage of colleagues Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka, who, representing the Associated Press, recorded unique historical events in Mariupol. At the same time, he emphasized that today, every Ukrainian media person has turned into a front-line reporter, many of whom work on the front lines as journalists and fixers of foreign journalists.
“Everyone fulfills their duty at their workplace. And even in a major economic crisis, Ukrainian media workers continue to inform Ukrainians and the whole world about the realities of war,” emphasized Sergiy Tomilenko.
During the discussion, Sergiy Tomilenko presented to an authoritative American and international audience the revived local newspapers that continue to be published in the front-line and de-occupied territories with the support of the NUJU.
Representatives of the international journalists’ community were most impressed that the Vpered newspaper is being published for the war-torn Bakhmut. It covers important information for the city residents. According to Mstyslav Chernov, such information is sometimes more important than food, and the first thing he did when he got access to a mobile phone in occupied Mariupol was to get to know about the situation in Ukraine and its cities: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa… In the same way, people on the streets of Mariupol, seeing the camera crew in clothes with the inscription Press, used their chance to ask about the news and the situation in the country.
“In the conditions when the occupiers are destroying the infrastructure, when people cannot consume television and radio news, traditional print media is more important than ever,” noted Sergiy Tomilenko.
Media experts from various organizations expressed similar opinions during the discussion: a systematic search for funds, grants, and international aid for the Ukrainian press and front-line media is extremely important.
The NUJU President presented the PEN America organization with a symbolic gift, a Ukrainian flag signed by Mariupol journalists. It contains wishes for the victory of Ukraine and gratitude to the Americans and all the people of the democratic world for their support.
The signatures were put in by young people who participate in the School of Young Journalists launched at the NUJU site for schoolchildren from Mariupol who now live in Kyiv. PEN America gratefully accepted this symbolic and highly valued gift.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay thanked Sergiy Tomilenko for the vital work the NUJU and its network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers are doing to support Ukrainian journalists and expressed her support for the initiative to help local newspapers in the front-line territories of Ukraine. With the support of UNESCO, a training program for such media has already begun. This organization is interested in finding opportunities to assist front-line newspapers in the future.
In a conversation with Sergiy Tomilenko, the Senior President of the Associated Press, Julie Pace, emphasized that media are obliged to worry about the safety of their journalists and staff. When the Associated Press seconded Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka to Mariupol, it constantly worked out a number of measures to ensure journalists’ utmost safety and evacuation.
“Foreign media should respect the work of Ukrainian producers and fixers as much as possible,” said Julie Pace.
Therefore, she is very concerned over the news about the death of Ukrainian fixer Bohdan Bitik last week. In her opinion, the foreign editorial office should bear full responsibility before the family of the deceased.
The 20 Days In Mariupol documentary screening is one of the week’s events dedicated to World Press Freedom Day. Key events this year are taking place in New York. On May 2, the city will host events dedicated to the safety of journalists and the protection of freedom of speech worldwide on the grounds of the UN General Assembly.
The official program of events at the UN site envisions the speech by NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko, who, in particular, will talk about the role of journalists in covering enemy war crimes and massive human rights violations during the full-scale war unleashed by Russia.
NUJU Information Service
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