Irish journalist in Transdniestria
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Monday, 22 August 2005
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It's hard to believe what some journalists write
Having read advance details I for one will not be watching the documentary about Transdniestria on impartial BBC World.
I am an Irish journalist and newspaper editor that has worked for some of the biggest papers in the world and have been and stayed in Transdniestria many times .
The country described by Simon has no resemblence to the Transdniestria I saw .
It does not have a wild west feel, indeed I must say it is quite the opposite, it's very quiet, orderly, and the people are very gential.
The borders are heavily patrolled which hardly lends itself to smuggling.
I too have been stopped and questioned by the police in Transdniestria many times. They are polite and professional and if you are professional they are extremly helpful to foriegn journalists and unlike Moldova where foreign reg cars are stopped and forced to pay bribes on a daily basis, the Transdniestrian Police are not corrupt.
I have read Simons articles and found them to be very far fetched
People in Transdniestria have suffered as a result of ecomonic warfare, blockades from Moldova. and black propaganda that depicts TD as some sort of Soviet relic where bandits run wild.
The truth is that it is one of the most ordered and civil societies I have been in.
There is an opening for a serious TV journalist to cover Transdniestria reporting in a very serious way . Disneyland type reporting serves nobody .
There are some very serious journalists out there doing some sterling work, Simon should look at what they are writing and learn from those more experienced journalists
Dee.
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