Sevinj Vagifqizi: “Writing in this country requires courage. There are currently journalists who show that courage, even if they are arrested or face pressure…”

Sevinj Vagifqizi

Sevinj Vagifqizi, the imprisoned editor-in-chief of Abzas Media, received the Courage Award from Reporters Without Borders on November 15. Here are her thoughts on courage. Here is the article from the journalist.

Courage is seeing that strength within, overcoming all obstacles. It is a person's inner will; the will that determines what to submit to and what to resist. Intolerance towards every violation of the law, refusing to submit to illegal actions, is courage itself. In Azerbaijan, the word “özbaşına” (self-willed/arbitrary) often carries a negative connotation, whereas being self-willed—that is, making a decision based on one's own judgment, not someone else's—is actually a very valuable quality. The insubordination here is significant: there is a resistance within the person, and they do not submit to illegality. This resistance ultimately manifests as a protest. Being courageous today also means showing that protest. Because typically the party violating the law is stronger—they have weapons, authority, and means. People think it's impossible to stand up against such power. However, those who stand up against it are considered courageous. If people believe in their own power, everything can change within certain limits. We saw this even during our imprisonment. Our cellmates would say, "What can we do? What can be changed?" But during the more than a year and a half we spent in the detention center, we showed that, on the contrary, it is possible to demand everything that should be provided. Following our writings, everything from underwear to outerwear, from socks to food, which should be provided to the prisoners, was ensured. All of this stems from the fact that we still believe in the power of journalism in Azerbaijan. No matter how much it is suppressed, the power of the word still remains. What the government fears is precisely the power of the word, the courage of the word. It takes courage to utter that word. Writing requires courage in this country. And there are still journalists who show that courage—even if they are arrested or face pressure... These journalists are people who have seen the murders of Elmar Huseynov, Rafig Tagi, and Rasim Aliyev, and they have seen how these murders were not investigated. Despite this, if they continue journalism, it means they have accepted all the risks. They are even ready to be victims. The phrase "being courageous" sounds a bit strange to me, because it has already become commonplace for us. It is not a special energy, an unusual force—it is a mode of behavior that has become the norm for us. In Western countries, however, this is valued as great courage. Because they do not face such persecution and pressure. But in countries like ours, this is considered normal. Because we feel from the very first days we start our profession that this will happen. That's why we are not surprised when we face these situations, and we think that this is the logical conclusion. If there are those who fear the power of the word in a country, there will inevitably be those who stand against that word.