Nils Horner facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Nils Horner
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| Born | 5 December 1962 Borås, Sweden
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| Died | 11 March 2014 (aged 51) Kabul, Afghanistan
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| Cause of death | Shot while on assignment |
| Nationality | Swedish & British |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Years active | 1980s |
| Employer | Sveriges Radio |
| Awards | Marcus Ölander Prize |
Nils Horner (born December 5, 1962 – died March 11, 2014) was a Swedish Radio journalist. He was a top reporter for Sveriges Radio, which is Sweden's national public radio company. Nils Horner mainly covered news from Asia. He reported on many important events, including the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and big natural disasters.
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About Nils Horner's Life
Nils Horner was born in Borås, a city in Sweden. His parents were Ragnar Georg Vilhelm Horner and Jean Horner. He had an older sister named Ingrid. When Nils was 10, his family moved to Brämhult. However, they often moved around until he started working in Hong Kong. After he passed away, Nils was buried in his hometown of Borås.
Nils Horner's Journalism Career
Before joining Sveriges Radio, Nils Horner worked for local newspapers in Sweden during the 1980s. These included Borås Tidning and Svenska Dagbladet. In the 1990s, he moved to the United States and the United Kingdom. There, he worked as a freelance writer, meaning he wrote for different companies.
He joined Sveriges Radio in 2001. During his career, he reported on many major events. He covered the fall of the Taliban group and the huge 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami. He also reported on the Fukushima disaster in Japan. At the time of his death, he was Sveriges Radio's main reporter for South Asia.
Nils knew that his job could be dangerous. In 2011, he talked to a co-worker about staying to report on the Fukushima nuclear disaster. He said that radio journalists don't always have to be super close to dangerous situations. But he also wanted to be as close as possible to the people affected by the disaster. He would ask himself every day if the risk was worth it for the story.
Tragic Death of Nils Horner
Nils Horner died on March 11, 2014, in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was shot in the head while outside a restaurant. He was there to report on a terrorist attack that had happened at the restaurant two months earlier. As he was going to investigate, two men shot him on a street in the Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul area.
A group called Fidai Mahaz, which is part of the Taliban, said they killed him. They claimed he was a British spy, but it's not clear if this was true. Videos showed two suspects running away, but no one was arrested for the murder.
The Context of the Attack
Two months before Nils Horner died, the same Lebanese restaurant, Taverna du Liban, was attacked. This restaurant was popular with people from Western countries. Gunmen entered the restaurant and started shooting. Twenty-one people were killed, and the restaurant was destroyed. Nils Horner had returned in March 2014 to interview the restaurant's cook about the event when he was killed.
Impact on Journalism
Nils Horner is one of many journalists who have been killed while doing their job in Afghanistan. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists, almost three dozen journalists have died there. Most of these deaths happened while they were covering stories about the war. This shows how dangerous it can be for reporters in conflict zones.
Reactions to His Death
Many people spoke out after Nils Horner's death. Irina Bokova, who was the head of UNESCO (a UN organization for education, science, and culture), asked authorities to find those responsible. She said that journalists must be able to work safely and keep the public informed. This is important for countries like Afghanistan that are trying to rebuild.
Cilla Benkö, the director of Swedish Radio, also spoke about the lack of safety for journalists. She said it's a shame that so little is done to protect them. She pointed out that many cases of killed journalists remain unsolved, especially in certain parts of the world. She believes politicians should work harder to improve these numbers. Journalists need to be able to work without fear to have strong democracies.
Awards and Legacy
- Marcus Ölander Prize
Since Nils Horner's death in 2014, an award and a sculpture have been created in his honor. Borås Tidning (a newspaper) and the Tore G Wärenstam Foundation, along with the journalism program at the University of Gothenburg, now give an award each year. It's called the Nils Horner Prize. It goes to a journalist who shows the same spirit and dedication that Nils Horner had.
See also
- List of journalists killed during the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
