Marie Colvin lauded for her bravery

The bodies of American journalist Marie Colvin along with French photographer Remi Oschlik were buried on Monday, according to amateur footage uploaded onto a social media site. Both were killed when their makeshift media center was bombed on February 22nd.

The footage which Al Arabiya could not independently verify shows a Syrian doctor by the name of Mohamed Ahmed speaking over the corpses of Colvin and Oschlik, which are wrapped in white cloth and labeled.

"We are in one of the parks in Baba Amro, we haven't been able to put her in a fridge for a longer period because the Syrian army has prevented the Red Cross from coming in and we have no electricity for a fridge. Marie Colvin was martyred because she was conveying a peaceful, humanitarian message and the truth of what was happening in Baba Amro,” said Ahmed.

British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke of Colvin’s death in a recent tribute to the journalist, saying how it is a fatal reminder of the risks journalists take when reporting such volatile events from unstable locations.

Colvin had 30 years of reporting conflicts all over the world as a war correspondent for the Sunday Times.

The American journalist focused on war victims and was quoted for her moral responsibility to victims of strife, whom she regarded as innocents in need of a voice.

Colvin covered the Balkan wars as well as East Timor and Sri Lanka, where she lost her left eye in a shrapnel accident during clashes between government forces and Tamil tiger rebels.

That incident only further emphasized Colvin’s reasons for reporting on wars, citing her preference on the safety and lives of those enduring national violence.

Colvin was particularly interested in the Arab world and bore first-hand witness to the Arab Spring that began in 2011.

The war correspondent was killed on assignment in Syria, where foreign media is barred from entering. Her death follows a week of intense shelling bombardment in the Syrian town of Homs in the district of Bab Amro, which killed more than 80 people the day before her death.

This is the audio statement of Marie Colvin where she reports the situation in Homs the day before her death.

The foreign correspondent is lauded for her bravery and compassion where she reported from wars around the world and helped victims.
The United Nations says Assad’s security forces have killed more than 7,500 civilians since the revolt began last March.

Speakers:

Mohammed Ahmed - Syrian doctor
David Cameron - British PM
John Witherow - Sunday Times editor
Marie Colvin - war correspondent