Dave Zweifel's Madison: Colombian journalist wishes his countrymen could protest without fear

[Judi Lynn]

Dave Zweifel's Madison: Colombian journalist wishes his countrymen could protest without fear
DAVE ZWEIFEL | The Capital Times | [email protected]
Posted: Saturday, June 18, 2011 10:00 am

~snip~
Last week, thanks to former City Attorney Eunice Gibson, who has long been active with our local Colombia support group, I had lunch with Hollman Morris, the noted Colombian journalist, who is in America on a Nieman Fellowship to study at Harvard for a year.

~snip~
An independent television journalist, Morris has reported extensively on the undeclared civil war and human rights abuses and the collaboration between right-wing paramilitary groups and the Colombian Army to squelch any reform movements in the country. His investigative work is always focused on the victims of the violence.

I was astonished when he told me that he won't be able to return to Colombia when his Neimann Fellowship, a prestigious training program for seasoned journalists, ends at Harvard. The threats to his life and his family's have been numerous. He will try to continue his work remotely, giving directions to his small staff from either here or some other country.

When Morris initially tried to come to the U.S. to study, the State Department refused to issue a visa, contending that the terrorist activities section of the Patriot Act prevented it from doing so. Fortunately, after protests from many sources, including Harvard, the department reversed its decision and issued the visa. "That saved my life," Morris said.

More:
http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/dave_zweifel/article_848d8c28-9832-11e0-a5f4-001cc4c002e0.html