Gareth Jones

I have already written about scientists, athletes, artists and communnity activists. Each of them has an  inspiring and remarkable story to be told. Today I would like to tell you about a jornalist and reporter. A brave and uncompromising person.

Gareth Jones was born in 1905 in Barry in Wales. He studied languages in Aberyswyth, Strasbourg and Cambridge. Jones spoke English, French, Russian and German. He was a Foreign Affaires Advisor for David Lloyd George - a member of parliament and former prime minister.

Then, he became a freelance reporter and was writing for different newspapers and journals. In 1933 Gareth Jones visited Kharkiv and described The Soviet Famine. He traveled alone through Ukrainian villages and spoke to suffering people in order to transmit their testimony to the Occident. Walter Duranty, another journalist, tried to challenge his articles saying that Gareth "exaggerated". 

Jones described also the political situation in Germany when Hitler took over the leadership. In 1935 he went to Japan to write about recent events where he was kidnapped and killed. We have another example of a person that lost his life being allegiant to his values. 

In 2019 Agnieszka Holland made a film Mr. Jones (with James Norton and Vanessa Kirby) about his life. I haven't seen it yet but after exam session I will certainly do it.