Amidst the ongoing turmoil in Hungary over the migrant crisis, NBC journalist Richard Engel has shown how to draw the perfect line when it comes to using one’s discretion and acting on instinct, responsibly.
The Chief Foreign Correspondent of NBC News from United States rushed to the aid of a pregnant woman on Wednesday, September 16, who had collapsed in front of him when he was reporting about the refugee crisis at the Hungarian border where tear gas and water cannons were used against refugees crossing Hungary.
“This woman just collapsed in front of me, she is breathing, they are calling to get her some water,” he said while trying to keep her awake, as reported by the Independent . He then supported her head and joined aid workers who safely took her to the makeshift tent. He later met the the 19-year-old woman who was just two weeks away from her due date after she was reunited with her husband.
The news comes a week after Channel 4 News’ correspondent, Krishnan Guru-Murthy’s praiseworthy effort in which he helped migrants in getting off safely from an overloaded boat coming from the Turkish coast to the Greek island.
The new cross-border laws which came into effect on Tuesday, September 15, makes it a crime to cross from Serbia to Hungary anywhere other than at legal checkpoints. Since its inception, a total of 519 migrants which include people from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan have been arrested by the Hungarian authorities.
In the times when media is being criticised for being insensitive, sensational and TRP-driven especially in the reportage of human crisis, journalists like Engel and Guru-Murthy are key examples of people who stood up for humanity at the right time.