An injury to one, an injury to all

On Monday I received information that the journalists were engaged in “discussions” with the police over the story concerning the poaching of elephants.
The last week was very hectic and frenetic with the lowest point being the arrest of three The Sunday Mail journalists; the newspaper’s Editor Mabasa Sasa and his colleagues Brian Chitemba and Tinashe Farawo.

On Monday I received information that the journalists were engaged in “discussions” with the police over the story concerning the poaching of elephants.
Later that evening I received a call from journalists requesting my comment after the colleagues had been formally arrested and detained.
Immediately we activated our networks to ensure that journalists in Zimbabwe get to know when the safety and security of colleagues are breached.
The social media went wild. WhatsApp, Twitter, Facebook and news sites went into overdrive.
Tuesday, the journalists were set to spend a second night in detention. But the solidarity was continuing. The comrades were overwhelmed with support and sympathy, including food which I am told they ended up distributing to fellow “jailbirds”.
Outside, virtually all media organisations – both local and foreign, public and private – were carrying stories on the arrest of the three journalists.
Such solidarity was overwhelming. By Wednesday we were mobilising journalists to attend the court appearance in solidarity. Sure enough the journalists appeared in large numbers. The courtroom was fully packed. Comrades from different media organisations were in attendance.
While a few were there to cover the developments, others were there in solidarity. The senior editors from Zimpapers were there in large numbers.
In fact, the first shots of solidarity were fired earlier in the year after Econet obtained a court order to search and seize documents at a news organization, The Source.
At the time, some journalists went and witnessed the searching and seizure of documents at The Source.
The highlight was the disruption of a planned Steward Bank Press conference by journalists and the delivery of protest letters at Econet and Steward Bank offices in Harare.
While one or two journalists shockingly supported the raid on The Source, the majority of journalists condemned the act. Coming back to events of last week, the above events are an indication that journalists can and will protect their profession while at the same time committing themselves to professional, ethical and quality journalism.
As I observed journalists from different media organisations deliver palpable solidarity to the arrested colleagues, I was reminded of the workers anthem written by Ralph Chaplin between 1914 and 1915. “Solidarity Forever!”

Foster Dongozi is the secretary-general of the Zimbabwe Union of Journalists