Spanish Journalist Strike
What happens to the message when the messenger is shelled?
Hi all,
Thank you for joining me for today’s 2005 song, “Spanish Journalist Strike”, by David Rovics. If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. Comments and questions are welcome. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEFL (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.
(746 words)
The invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and its allies began in March 2003. This was one of the first wars in which the military chose a few “embedded” journalists who were allowed to move with the soldiers in order to report on what was happening. The news was carefully controlled, of course, in order to protect the movements of the soldiers. There were many other journalists from around the world who were independent, unembedded reporters, and who reported on the effects of the conflict on the people. They published interviews with doctors and photographs of injured civilians.
David Rovics' song tells the story of the independent Spanish journalists who were there that day and their reaction to the events following the attack on the hotel.
The battle had been raging / For how long it’s hard to say
We were there to tell the story / Of the slaughter, come what may
We didn’t hide behind the lines / We reported on the crimes
For BBC, Telemundo / And the Sunday Times
They said we were in danger / Bearing witness to the war
A half dozen [journalists] had just been killed / In the days before
Then came the day they bombed Jazeera / And Abu Dhabi TV as well
The Palestine Hotel in Baghdad was shelled on April 8, 2003, during the Iraq War. There were many international journalists staying there to report on the war. It was an important place for reporters in Baghdad.
There was heavy fighting in Baghdad when the hotel was shelled. U.S. soldiers were moving into the city at the time. The U.S. soldiers said they thought they were being attacked from the hotel. They saw someone with a telescope or binoculars and thought it was an enemy watching for attacks.
Three journalists, Tariq Ayoub, Taras Protsyuk and José Couso, died, and others were hurt. (Note: the lyrics say four were killed.) People around the world were very upset and wanted to know why it happened. Some said there was no attack from the hotel and that the soldiers should have known journalists were there. The hotel was clearly marked and military officials later acknowledged that they were aware it was a hotel with journalists.
At the same time they took aim / And shelled the Palestine Hotel
Four journalists were murdered / In a single day
The three who were killed were colleagues of the Spanish reporters in Baghdad. Spain was an ally of the U.S. during the war.
And then our own (Spanish) Prime Minister / (José) Aznar was to say
There will be no investigation / Such a thing would not make sense
It was just a tragic accident
The Spanish journalists attended a press conference with the Prime Minister. They were so angry that they refused to even listen to what he had to say.
So at his next press conference / Aznar approached the podium
To give a national address / Gathered all around him
The men and women of the press / He opened his mouth
We put our cameras on the floor
Dropped our notebooks, turned our backs / And walked right out the door
We marched down the street / And left our cameras where they lay
‘Cause all the news that’s fit to mention
Is there is no news today
We were not imbedded / In your networked play by play
A “play by play” is usually associated with a football game in which the sportscaster describes the players’ movements on the field.
We were just reporters / Reporting day by day
We were trying to do our jobs / Bring the Baghdad street (report on what was happening on the street)
Whether it was victory / Massacre or defeat
And those three missiles told a story / That’s not hard to surmise (guess)
The Army has decided what’s good / For the global public’s eyes
These missiles weren’t coincidence / Of this there is no doubt
And on that April afternoon / “Assessinos” we did shout (assassins! In Spanish)
Rovics ends with a few philosophical questions about the silencing of the media:
What happens to the message / When the messenger is shelled
What happens to a nation / That says it’s just as well (it’s probably better this way)
What happens when the imbeds / Are the last ones left alive (in other words, when there are no independent reporters)
Is this your brave new world (refers to the 1932 novel, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley)
In which our liberty shall thrive
After a military investigation, the soldiers were cleared of any wrongdoing.
Question:
Do you think the journalists were targeted? Explain.
What can be done about military actions in places with many civilians?
Vocabulary
The battle had been raging 激しい攻撃が続いた
slaughter 虐殺
bear witness to 証言する
to shell 砲撃する
telescope 望遠鏡
binoculars 双眼鏡
acknowledge 認める
colleague 同僚
ally 同盟国
investigation 調査
approach 接近
podium 演壇
national address 国民演説
massacre 虐殺
surmise 推測
coincidence 偶然
philosophical 哲学的
thrive 繁栄
wrongdoing 不正行為
Sources
Arnove, A. (2006). Iraq: The logic of withdrawal. New Press.
Daly, E. (2003, April 9). In Spain, premier is focus of anger at journalist deaths in Iraq. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2003/04/09/international/worldspecial/in-spain-premier-is-focus-of-anger-at-journalist.html Accessed 8 July 2024.
Permission to fire?. Committee to Protect Journalists. (2008, December 23). https://cpj.org/reports/2003/05/palestine-hotel/ Accessed 8 July 2024.
From David Rovics.com:
https://www.davidrovics.com/songbook/spanish-journalist-strike/:
“Spanish Journalist Strike” appears on the CD, For the Moment (2005).
It was a remarkable event, barely reported in the English-language media at the time, and hard to find on the internet today if you’re looking, I’ve found. But in the course of the events following the US military shelling the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad, resulting in the deaths of a number of journalists including a Spanish one, the pro-war Spanish prime minister was beginning a typical press conference, when the entire collection of Spanish media representatives in the room, whether TV, radio, print, etc., just put down their pens and cameras and walked out of the room.
