It's Easy To Judge and Blame, Yet Difficult to Walk Into Their Shoes!

Regarding cyclone Amphan, there have been immense coverages and backlashes on social media. Unfortunately and sadly, people have been expressing their wrath as to how the national media has been completely devoid of news coverages on Bengal and Odisha. Also, how far of that holds true actually?

My cousin who is deployed at India Today, spoke to me about a week back to check up on me, and now I get to hear that she is stuck in the southern district of Bengal, from where she is continuously giving live coverage of the cyclone; thereby risking her life, leaving her family behind, and literally pondering whether she would be alive for the next live coverage, as the situation is that worse. More so during the time when COVID has already been crippling people. 

In one of her PTCs, she mentioned, clad in a transparent raincoat, stating how it was futile wearing a mask then, as the weather was so damp that any kind of face cover would dampen the mask. Similar was the case with my previous boss at CNN, where he too was working at a stretch of 14-15 hours, to give us live updates about the cyclone, whilst his family was back home.

And, I can give countless such examples that would substantiate the facts that journalists are toiling hard, putting themselves in grave danger, and faithfully discharging their duties. During my early days at CNN, I recall a fire break out in one of the prominent factories in Delhi, and I saw my fellow colleagues moving inside, to gain a clear understanding of how the place caught fire, without fearing for their lives. Same happened during the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, that claimed around 9,000 lives and injured 22,000. 

Before the teams were given responsibilities, everyone on the floor volunteered themselves to cover the earthquake in Nepal, without thinking of the repercussions. Such was the passion, such is the dedication. And, they were all representatives of the national media…

Those people are diligently performing their duties, even though the universe seems to be unfavourable. They remain committed and loyal to their job, their profession. There isn't an iota of doubt out here. The least we can do now is salute their endeavours and devotion to their job roles. 

Many people held the opinion that there weren't enough hashtags trending that said #PrayForBengal and #StaySafeBengal, yet stats talk differently. So, before you point fingers, kindly have your facts checked, rechecked and in place!

Image courtesy: Skymet Weather