tribute to jpk - lucien maillard

lucien maillard, a former colleague to JPK, pays tribute, saying he never imagined their work could lead to his death.

TRIBUTE

After grief, after anger and outrage, in time comes meditation.

The time for prayer.

A prayer of communion with the parents of Jean-Pascal, his children, his brothers, his sister, his friends, present or missing.

I am thinking particularly of the late Patrick Brai, a valiant companion of a beautiful collective adventure - what must be called journalism at its most noble - including Jean-Pascal who was both its soul and radiant symbol.

Some, to achieve their ideals of loyalty, travel to the Orient or take the pilgrimage to Compostela.

We need to move closer to Jean-Pascal - because it is with him, I know! - to keep us with him, to listen, to remain faithful to our ethical commitments, not to betray the word of honour that he has bequeathed to us.

We have had the privilege of meeting an exceptional person. Absolute in his quest for truth and honesty, in his tireless fight against lies, against corruption, and yet so delicate, so attentive to others in his daily work.

A head above others, Jean-Pascal almost danced through his daily work. He walked lightly upon the earth but did not lose his footing, did not raise his voice and calmed conflicts with an even temperament, one that I attributed, stupidly, to his past-time of surfing, his being a master of the waves.
I quickly understood that this natural elegance was an expression of a strong soul. I never saw a young man assemble as many gifts for the profession he had chosen: the eye of the photographer, a solid talent for writing, beautiful, consistent - in form and in substance - which banishes redundancy, affected style or emphasis, but that cultivated accuracy and brevity in the interests of truth.

Only in our professional relations were we so intense! We divided the roles tacitly, without having to explain anything to each other. I was aware that we shared, outside the awareness of the reporters and owners of the newspaper, a unique experience; perilous, but which constituted the major act of a lifetime.

I did not think that it could lead to the death of Jean-Pascal. A layoff, a forced exile is in the nature of things. But his killing … was to imagine the intolerable!

In everyday life, in my work as a teacher and journalist, I live every day for ten years in the shadow of someone I knew during those years in Tahiti. I became more accomplished, more demanding of myself. This week, I spoke at length about the quiet bravery of Jean-Pascal to my students in political science, whom I quote as a model, as an example.

I do not doubt that, one day, we will see a school of journalism given in his name for its promotion. I try, through all my business and personal initiatives to be worthy of the confidence Jean-Pascal showed in me for nearly twenty-five years.

That confidence was a grace and, with it, a resource. The powerful friendship that we wore accompanies us all.

He still shines.

Lucien Maillard