By Liliana Garavito
On 17 December 1986, journalist Guillermo Cano Isaza was assassinated in front of the offices of his newspaper, El Espectador, in my home country of Colombia. He was targeted because of the news stories he was pursuing as a journalist.
On World Press Freedom Day every year, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) honours his legacy by awarding the Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize to a person or entity anywhere in the world that has stood up for press freedom — especially in the face of physical danger.
Today, as we observe the 30th anniversary of the proclamation by the UN General Assembly of World Press Freedom Day, I reflect on the story of Guillermo Cano Isaza, which made me aware for the first time in my youth of the risk members of my own family faced doing their jobs as journalists. It was a risk I too would face if I decided to follow in their footsteps.