Phil Cox
Walking 2800km with Romeo for RPT
Fundraising for Rory Peck Trust
Story
I have worked as a freelancer in conflict areas for over 20 years. In 2017 I was kidnapped and then imprisoned and mistreated along with my Sudanese producer Daoud Hari for months in Khartoum. It was a terrifying experience that left scars on both myself, my friend Daoud and our families. The numbers of attacks on journalists and freelancers are rising globally and there is often little support or recourse for those of us threatened or imprisoned or who suffer post trauma and PTSD.
My 10 year old son Romeo and I are now walking from Palermo to London some 2800km. It's a LONG WAY!!! and we are doing it step by step respecting all COVID rules. It was originally an idea by Romeo - as in lockdown Palermo there were no planes and so he made a secret plan to walk to see his granny in London and presented it to his mum and dad. So with the lifting of restrictions, he and I started in June - across the mountains of Sicily and up to Naples and now at the top of Italy. We have to cross Switzerland and France still! We have hired a donkey called Pedro, cycled a bit but really walked and walked and walked! We were attacked by wild dogs outside Naples and overrun in our tent by wild boars also - but we are still together and determined! We shall reach Calais in September and look to sail to the UK in a boat manned by children and all be ready to quarantine if needed. Romeo is walking to raise funds for vulnerable refugee children and I am walking to raise funds for The Rory Peck Trust which helped me and my family in what I could say was a very dark hour.
Little Romeo and I were both traumatized by my period of kidnap and detention in Sudan and this three month walk is both a bonding experience and a chance to confront a challenge together and overcome the hurdles such a long distance will throw at us. We often forget as freelancers and news gatherers the toil our work has on our families and this walk is a chance for me to address that with Romeo and also fundraise for other vulnerable colleagues around the world.
I was given great support after my ordeal, both from The Rory Peck Trust and also institutions like Channel 4 News, but other freelancers around the world are not so lucky. They are being threatened, maimed and even killed for their work of impartial news gathering. Freelancers are often the invisible men and women who for very little money work arduously and often fearlessly to bring fellow citizens a factual experience of events across the world as they happen. We need to please look after them in their time of need - as well as their families who often bare the brunt of threats and attacks.
The Rory Peck Trust provides practical and financial support to freelance journalists and their families worldwide, assisting in times of crisis and helping them to work more safely and professionally. The Trust is totally independent and relies on contributions from corporations, trusts, foundations and individuals to carry out its work.
