Pablo Gabilondo: The courageous work of conflict journalists

By Pablo Gabilondo .
People hold a Spanish flag as thousands gather Plaza de Colon in Madrid on Jan. 24 during a demonstration called by the Victims of Terrorism Association in Madrid to protest the government's release of jailed members of the armed Basque separatist group ETA. It was the first major demonstration of its kind on the sensitive issue of treatment of imprisoned members in 2015, a year of regional and national elections with demonstrators accusing Mariano Rajoy government of breaking his electoral promise to crush ETA and defend its victims.
Photo by AFP

I was born in a Spanish region with a strong independence movement: the Basque Country. Until 2011 we suffered the attacks of a terrorist group known as ETA during which 829 people were killed, and many others were threatened with death.

During those years I admired the journalists who were brave enough to cover ETA’s movements, and I soon realized that informing society was a powerful way of fighting injustice. That’s the main reason why I decided to study journalism.

I’ve worked hard, and I’ve been fortunate to study in two of the world’s most prestigious schools of journalism: the University of Navarre in Spain, and the University of Missouri in the U.S.

My background also includes “real world” work experience in both countries. Given my interest in politics, I worked as a press officer for a political party in Spain during the hardest months of the global financial crisis in 2008. After moving to America, I became a producer and editor of Global Journalist, a multimedia news product that covers international issues for a global audience. During this period, I’ve also worked as an investigative intern for a TV station affiliated with the NBC in Texas, and as a producer intern for another TV station affiliated with the network in Missouri.

Back in October, during the banquet for the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service in Journalism, I listened to the award acceptance speech given by Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner and his colleague Katya Gorchinskaya. The conflict in Ukraine they were covering had nothing to do with the violence of the Basque Country, but I realized there was a common aspect between the Kyiv Post and the journalists I had admired during my childhood: they have a commitment to readers no matter what the consequences may be.

It was then when I decided to start reading the Kyiv Post regularly, and it became my main source of information about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. During those months I didn’t consider applying for an internship; I didn’t know Russian or Ukrainian, so I thought it would be impossible for me to join the Kyiv Post. Nevertheless, a few months later I decided that it did not hurt to try, and I sent an email applying for an internship.

Now I’m writing this article in front of journalists who I admire, and from whom I want to learn as much as I can. I hope to live up to the expectations with my colleagues, and especially with the Kyiv Post’s audience.

Kyiv Post staff writer Pablo Gabilondo can be reached at [email protected].

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