I was startled when I saw the news come up on my Twitter feed. A young American journalist in Myanmar had been detained and was likely being held in the country’s Insein Prison, notorious for incarcerating political dissidents, infamous for reports of its horrendous human rights violations. I read the story and instantly recognized the journalist. Danny Fenster. Danny is a former student of mine whom I met at Columbia College Chicago in 2009.
He was a lanky young guy, bespectacled, with a tousle of choppy brown hair often covered by a hat. He made an impression immediately. Danny was eager, curious, energetic, empathetic, funny, humble, and willing to approach the craft of nonfiction writing in new ways. Good writers are lifelong learners. That was Danny Fenster. No instructor forgets a student with these attributes.
Since Danny’s arrest, Bryan has completely recalibrated his life as a father of two and an owner of a video production business to focus full-time on securing his brother’s safe release. “I believe that international law states that within 72 hours, an embassy needs access to their national,” said Bryan. “But there has been no contact.”
There is no doubt, the current war on journalism is real and marching forward. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an international nonprofit that defends the rights of journalists to safely report the news without fear of reprisal, there were 274 journalists imprisoned worldwide in 2020. CPJ also reports that at least 40 journalists have been detained in Myanmar since the coup took place.
Ray Bradbury used to tell me often, “Without the truth, without education, our citizens will be uninformed and can no longer participate in democracy.”
