A JOURNALIST in Sri Lanka asked me if I ever worried about my safety when I reported stories.

It was then that I realised how very different our lives were – as while it always pays to be careful and alert when you are entering someone’s house or perhaps even leaving court to write a story, there has not recently, to my knowledge, been any cases in England of a journalist going missing or even losing their life for their profession.

In my career, I have been sworn at, been sent nasty e-mails, had abusive phonecalls and our newspaper had a brick thrown through the window, but nothing has rocked me so much it has made me consider not doing my job anymore. In fact, it just makes you more determined.

In Sri Lanka it is very different. I have been told about something dubbed ‘The White Van’ syndrome.

A van turns up outside a journalist’s house and they then go missing.

Amnesty International has reported that since 2006, at least 10 journalists have lost their lives in the country. I was unable to personally find any definitive figure for the number that had gone missing, assaulted or left the country because of what they had reported. But there were strong undertones that it had happened and even suggestions that it still could be happening.

I had even been told that Sri Lanka was the third most dangerous country to be a journalist. A difficult figure to swallow when you visit the country that is classed as the jewel in the ocean, and has some of the best hospitality and scenery I have ever had the fortune to encounter.

There was a touch of sadness in this too as I wouldn’t want tourists to be put off by these figures and findings as it really is a country that is on the up, and I think in about five years’ time it will be a very different place, have a much firmer infrastructure and will have put the civil war a lot further behind it. And I would actively encourage anyone to go there.

But I can’t sugar my findings and I hope these next few years prove vital in the training of journalists and freedom of the press that we are fortunate to have in the UK.

During my trip I was fortunate to be able to visit a number of news, television and media outlets in Sri Lanka. Many were state-owned or run, and the difference between the private and state ones was clear to see. Many were very careful about what they told me and about how they were run and gathered their stories. The more open were those that were owned by families or were privately owned.

One of my vocational visits was to the MTV studios in Colombo, which broadcasts television and radio – not to be confused with the music television station.

Just under two years ago, the country’s largest private TV broadcaster was attacked by gunmen armed with grenades, who shot up equipment, causing thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Thankfully, no one was hurt in the raid, and within just two hours, the station was back on the air thanks to the dedication of its employees, who had all found out about the attack and rushed in to help.

While it is still recovering from the 2009 attack, there is still question marks over who exactly targeted it and no one has been caught for it.

It is believed, however, that it was due to some of its coverage of army movements and the Tamil Tiger rebels in the north of the country at that time.

We were taken into the room where it happened, which is still severely burnt-out but work is under way to restore it to its former state.

Warren Jansen, director of MTV, said: “We believe we are trying to improve the country by showing the balance in our reporting. We are extremely balanced in our reporting and there is always both sides to it, which is how it should be. Some in the country still are not, even since the war ended. It is a very dangerous place to be a journalist.”

MTV has three TV stations, operating in English, Sinhalese and Tamil, along with four radio stations.

Askoka Dias, director of the station, said the attack showed how resilient they were.

“We lost some valuable equipment. The masked men attacked at 1.35am and destroyed the master control room, which was one of the best in the country.

But our staff came out as soon as they heard and we were soon back on air. Broadcasting is a business that has a risk, but what we want is an environment where there is fair play and good practice.”

That seemed to be a strong theme.

In fact, in our first week we were there an online paper was attacked and had to shut down – showing that there is still a great problem with the freedom of press in the country.