TRANSCRIPT:
The truth saves lives. A few years ago, I met a man from Sierra Leone at a doctor’s office here in Washington, D.C. When he found out I worked for Voice of America, he leapt to his feet and shook my hand vigorously. “Thank you, thank you,” he said.
He said he had fled Sierra Leone in the early 1990s when a violent rebel group had taken over the country and shut down the media. If it hadn’t been for VOA’s shortwave broadcasts, he wouldn’t have known what was happening and that he had to get his family out of the country. VOA, he said, had saved his life.
Now VOA needs saving. I’m Jeff Custer, a journalist with VOA. And for the past 83 years, we’ve been a trusted source for news and information in places where tyrants control the media. Since March 15, we’ve been silenced.
In a media landscape flooded with misinformation, the world needs VOA now more than ever. Please tell your members of Congress. The news may be good or bad, but VOA will tell the truth.
Published
Custer has worked as a newswriter, newscaster and video producer in VOA's Central News Division for nearly 25 years. During his tenure, his work has included coverage on every regional news desk and focused on developments in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic.