On March 15 the fourth anniversary of the start of the Syrian uprising will be marked. No one knew in the early days of unrest how events would escalate, let alone how the entire region and the journalists covering it would be so deeply impacted.
Four years later at least 81 journalists have been killed covering the unrest, making it the second deadliest conflict for journalists since the Committee to Protect Journalists began keeping comprehensive records in 1992. Only the Iraq war has claimed more lives, but Syria is quickly and tragically catching up. To remember the fallen, CPJ will be joining the #HowManyMore campaign, in which the names of those killed in Syria since 2011 will be read out and tweeted.
Starting at 10:30 a.m. EST on Sunday, the names of every journalist who CPJ determined has died covering the conflict will be tweeted from CPJ’s Middle East Twitter account @cpjmena. The list is so long it will take more than four hours to tweet it in its entirety–an hour for every year of the conflict.
The journalists represent a cross section of all who report on Syria. Local and foreign. Novice and veteran. Staff and freelancer. Male and female. They have reported from every corner of Syria, conveying perspectives from all sides while braving the arbitrary violence of war. And, as a result, they have been targeted by all factions, including armed forces from the regime and opposition, who fear the free flow of information.
To those who hold power in Syria–those who wield weapons and those who wield influence–we urge you to do your utmost to protect all journalists. Because CPJ has only one answer to the question #HowManyMore journalists should lose their lives covering this terrible war: zero.
How to get involved
Follow @cpjmena and #HowManyMore to mark journalists killed in Syria.
Join the Thunderclap campaign, organized by human rights coalition Free Syrian Voices, calling for the release of dozens of journalists, human rights defenders, and humanitarian workers imprisoned or kidnapped in Syria.
Join the #WhatDoesItTake campaign, launched by the U.N., to call for an end to violence against journalists and the conflict. To take part, post a picture of yourself holding a sign with the hashtag.