I was fortunate enough to sit in on a lecture at the Missouri School of Journalism by Missouri Honor Medal Recipient Umar Cheema. Cheema is a an investigative journalist for a newspaper in Pakistan, reporting on corruption, the government, and foreign affairs. He has won serve internationally-based awards for his work — including a 2011 International Press Freedom Award. Cheema has been kidnapped, threatened, and even almost killed, but refuses to leave his home country of Pakistan to practice journalism elsewhere. Even to this day he is unaware of his potential safety in Pakistan.
Cheema says the media plays a very important role in the Pakistani society. It is up to the media to voice or address the problems of the people — particularly those who have been wronged by injustices. Journalists in Pakistan are looked at in similar fashion to lawmakers in the United States, part of legislation being passed is for journalists to present the problem to the Pakistani judiciary system.
On September 4, 2004, Cheema was kidnapped by the Pakistani Intelligence agency after publishing a story about the corruption in their system. The Intelligence Agency arrested Cheema, stripped him naked, and then beat him repeatedly before dropping him off on the side of the road outside Islamabad. They told him to no longer write stories about the agency, and that if he told someone about what they did to him then they would kill him next time.
Despite the horrifying experience, Cheema continues to practice journalism and writing stories about the intelligence agency's corruption. After visiting the U.S., Cheema says he is a huge advocate for our First Amendment — and wishes the same would be implemented not only in Pakistan, but be drafted into international law, becoming a basic human right recognized by the United Nations.
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