According to the International Press Institute, a greater than average number of journalists were killed or arrested last year as a consequence of their reporting. One of them, James Foley of NH remains missing. According to the International Press Institute, a greater than average number of journalists were killed or arrested last year as a consequence of their reporting. The International Press Institute started keeping track of journalists' deaths in 1997.

CBS News began 2013 remembering their sacrifice and with the sober recognition that every day journalists risk their lives to bring home news from conflicts across the globe from Afghanistan to Mexico and from Syria to Somalia. The entire world should have a vested interest in paying attention to the need for journalists to be able to do their work safely and securely, so that all of us, no matter what our personal views or opinions are, may have the most up to date information available from the most credible, professional sources.

In the last 2 years in Boston and New York, as well as in some countries in Europe and the Middle East, many reporters and photographers and even tourists whose only crime was taking photographs were arrested and prosecuted for various charges. I’m not saying most were wrongfully accused, although some were. What I’m talking about is the higher than normal number of arrests within this group alone.

Some were murdered, some are still missing, and some are homeless or move and travel in search of jobs or a better place to live. Some of them were arrested and prosecuted for any pretext which could constitute a criminal charge, such as speeding tickets or anything else, and had to deal with many hate crimes on a daily basis.  The reason could be and was as simple as a foreign nationality, race, age, gender or taking an anti-depressant medications or going to AA meetings.

If this continues to happen in this country, then in my opinion none of us will be making any progress in any field or profession. Without freedom of speech as well as freedom in artistic and commercial expression, such as in advertising, the world economy will slowly continue to decline. We are already seeing the first signs of this, namely problems with banks in a few countries around the world, increased crime; such as murder, theft, kidnappings, rape and looting. These problems are usually more pronounced in areas that always were on average lower income than others.

Some people, who were arrested within the past 2 years, especially in USA and Europe, may never be able to work again, at least not within their professions, because a criminal record puts their credibility and past work history into question at a time of still recovering economy and climate change. There are more than enough people out there for any job who do not have any criminal record, and at least in America, there still is a problem with unemployment.

Following any emergency, such as a hurricane or any international conflict, whether that conflict involves the military or just the business world, it usually takes some time for everyone to start thinking clearly and stop reacting based on their own emotions, so hate crimes continue to happen even long after any emergency has ended.  I am writing this based on my personal experiences and I know for a fact that my story is similar if not the same as many others out there.