Video Discription |
**The True Story Behind "438 Days"**
"438 Days" is a harrowing true account of two Swedish journalists, Martin Schibbye and Johan Persson, who were imprisoned in Ethiopia, not Somalia, after being accused of terrorism. Their story, which they later recounted in a book and which was adapted into a 2019 film, highlights the dangers faced by journalists who work in war-torn regions to expose untold stories.
In 2011, Schibbye and Persson, an investigative journalist and a photographer respectively, illegally crossed the border from Somalia into the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. They were investigating human rights abuses and exploitation by multinational oil companies, particularly in the region's untapped oil fields. The Ogaden, an area populated by ethnic Somalis, has been the site of conflict for decades. The Ethiopian government has been accused of committing atrocities against the Ogaden people as part of its effort to suppress separatist movements. Foreign oil companies were accused of operating in this politically charged region, turning a blind eye to, or even enabling, these human rights abuses.
Schibbye and Persson’s mission was to uncover the human cost of this oil exploration. Working with the separatist Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF), which was designated a terrorist organization by Ethiopia, they hoped to document the effects of the oil boom on local communities, especially how it intersected with the Ethiopian military’s crackdown on separatist movements.
However, just days into their journey, they were ambushed by Ethiopian forces. In July 2011, they were captured and, after a brief skirmish, were detained by the Ethiopian military. What followed was a months-long ordeal during which the journalists were accused of being terrorists, tried in an Ethiopian court, and ultimately sentenced to 11 years in prison.
During their imprisonment in Ethiopia’s notorious Kality Prison, Schibbye and Persson endured harsh conditions and witnessed the brutal treatment of fellow prisoners. Despite their situation, they remained defiant, maintaining that they were innocent journalists doing their job. After spending more than a year behind bars, Schibbye and Persson were finally released in September 2012 after being pardoned by the Ethiopian government, following widespread international pressure.
**The Book and the Movie "438 Days"**
Schibbye and Persson’s ordeal is the subject of the book *438 Days: An Extraordinary True Story of Survival and Betrayal in the Horn of Africa*, co-written by the two journalists. The book offers a detailed account of their journey into the Ogaden, their arrest, the trial, and the grim realities of life inside Kality Prison. It also serves as a reflection on the broader issue of press freedom and the lengths to which governments will go to suppress stories they find inconvenient.
In 2019, the story was adapted into a film directed by Jesper Ganslandt. The movie, also titled *438 Days*, closely follows the events detailed in the book. Gustaf Skarsgård stars as Schibbye, and Matias Varela plays Persson. The film dramatizes the journalists’ mission to investigate human rights violations and their subsequent capture, trial, and imprisonment. One of the film's key strengths is its emphasis on the courage of investigative journalists who risk their lives to tell important stories.
Both the book and the film highlight not just the physical and emotional ordeal endured by Schibbye and Persson, but also the larger moral question about the responsibility of multinational corporations and the role of the media in exposing human rights abuses. Schibbye and Persson’s story stands as a powerful testament to the dangers journalists face and the importance of protecting press freedom.
The core of Schibbye and Persson's investigation was the role of Lundin Petroleum, a Swedish oil company, in exploiting the Ogaden region’s oil resources. The company was accused of operating in the conflict-ridden area with the full knowledge of the Ethiopian government’s human rights abuses against the local population. The journalists aimed to uncover the human and environmental toll of these oil operations, as well as the complicity of foreign corporations in supporting repressive regimes for financial gain. Their reporting sought to give voice to the suffering of the Ogaden people, who were largely silenced in the international media.
Despite the hardships they faced, their work drew attention to the atrocities in the Ogaden region and sparked conversations about ethical journalism, corporate responsibility, and press freedom in authoritarian states. Their story is a powerful reminder of the critical role journalists play in holding power to account, even in the most dangerous and hostile environments.
https://438dagar.se/
https://onatruestory.com
https://www.facebook.com/OnatrueStorycom
https://www.youtube.com/@onatruestory/featured
https://www.instagram.com/onatruestory.com6764/ |