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Making Easter lunch. As news broke I got ready to head out on coverage. Child said, "Mama why must u go? Why can't u send someone else?" I said, "How can I send someone else if I don't go first?" Went to Nat Hosp 1st, bodies of injured & dead coming in. Shock & despair everywhere https://twitter.com/4shade17/status/1252410854357626889
Entire FT team was exceptional. Later that day @j_uditha & I realised apart from both of us & 1 or 2 others, none had experience in terror/crisis situation coverage. But all of them - from youngest sub to sports journalist - stepped up & delivered and made us so proud.
I distinctly remember quickly wearing black tshirt & jeans, covered sports shoes, slipping media card into pocket, taking power bank, telling help to pack up Easter lunch into boxes asap cos we would be working late & need food. Work mode kicked in, everything hit me hard later.
Why covered shoes? When you head out to cover something like this, you don't know where your feet will take you. Sometimes you find them covered in blood, walking among body parts, broken glass, God knows what else. That's why.
For a media operation at a time like this, nothing is more important than a team that does the job right - by turning up, following instructions, reporting the truth & delivering on time; a team that you can trust - & that's what we had with @j_uditha leading the news desk.
One year later what shocks me the most is how the Goverment got away with ALLOWING this terror. How no one has been held accountable, given all the prior warnings and knowledge. This is Sri Lanka's SHAME.
The thing with this job is, we can't stop to think of the impact on others sometimes or do anything about it. Our families, colleagues, etc. I remember @j_uditha flew into SL that morn & worked nonstop for the next week. She was dead on her feet towards the end but delivered 100%
I remember 1 sub ed asking me, do we have to come to office? I was incredulous; I said yes of course this is our job. Later I realised they were scared. 3 out of 6 subs were Muslim, they turned up despite fears. 1 had PTSD & could not edit attack related copies or look at the pix
So many things like this come to mind thinking back. What support do journalists get? What mechanisms are in place to help them cope with on the job trauma? NONE.
Those late nights driving home past midnight with curfew in place were so eerie - who thought about our safety? Who checked if we were okay? Often no one. We got to work, we worked relentlessly, we delivered. We did our job and did it right and honourably. We didn't promote hate.
This thread wasn't thought-out, I just typed as things came to mind. A note to close: Next time you hate on/bully/cast aspersions on the credibility of a journalist, remember all of us are not the same. Some of us break ourselves to do the right thing over & over & over again.
