Kelly McEvers has been bearing witness as a reporter
in Syria and other ravaged parts of the Middle East for some time. She took
over the spot in my mind formerly held by the heroic Anne Garrels who reported mesmerizing
accounts of the Iraq war. I marveled over the bravery and perhaps insane
devotion to the telling of truth of first Anne Garrels and now Kelly.
I worried about Anne Garrels’ children and I worry about Kelly McEvers’ children and I worry about what the world would know about the truth without women like Anne and Kelly. I focus on women because I believe that these women are able to find a truth not accessible to male correspondents. In a larger sense I worry about the loss the world would face without the courage of both men and women who journey into places like Syria, Iraq, Bosnia and Viet Nam at the height of conflicts.
I worried about Anne Garrels’ children and I worry about Kelly McEvers’ children and I worry about what the world would know about the truth without women like Anne and Kelly. I focus on women because I believe that these women are able to find a truth not accessible to male correspondents. In a larger sense I worry about the loss the world would face without the courage of both men and women who journey into places like Syria, Iraq, Bosnia and Viet Nam at the height of conflicts.
Kelly McEvers was on the radio this morning, July 5,
2013, and talked about the need for eye witness reporting. She is out there
every day, watching, taking in what she sees and on the street interviewing as
many people as she can because there is no replacement for the eye witness to
truth and to history. Even with all the Tweets, Facebook posts and billions of
daily email posts, sent out by billions of humans, we all still depend on the
careful reporting of the eye witness of people like Kelly McEvers and Anne
Garrels. They tell the truth one story at a time so as to tell the larger of
story of what is happening in a complex and turbulent world.
And as I was listening to Kelly McEvers this
morning, I was heartened and encouraged by our own armchair contribution to eye
witness reporting. Here at Story Chip, our efforts may not be in war zones but
we are dedicated to bearing witness to the truth and to our history – one story
at a time, so as to tell the larger story of our world and our history. Adding
a story to Story Chip you bear witness and you participate in that truth
telling that is one of our basic rights and reasons for celebrating July 4. So,
now that the fireworks are done, the hot dogs have been consumed, tell a story at storychip.com.
Add your voice, your story, to history.
Jean McGavin
July 5, 2013
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