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A matter of life or death: Syrian journalists have nowhere to turn

In Syria, journalists report the news while facing threats from all sides of the war. Now we must do our part to protect them.

By Ignacio Miguel Delgado Culebras
A matter of life or death: Syrian journalists have nowhere to turn
Refugees and migrants stuck at Pazarkule border crossing between Turkey and Greece | Picture by Diego Cupolo/NurPhoto/PA Images. All rights reserved
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I was holding my breath.

The 11 Syrian journalists I had escorted to the airport were lined up at the Passport Control office in the Istanbul airport. This was the last step, the last hurdle, before they could board a plane to Madrid, to safety, to freedom. But I knew not to get too excited. The sleepless nights, the endless misunderstandings and miscommunications, and the never-ending discussions with Turkish migration officials had taught me better. And the plane was leaving in 15 minutes.

One at a time, I watched as each journalist left the office. And then I got a text message: Everyone was on the plane!

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Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0