About the Memorial
About this project
This project began with a simple frustration: the people who run toward danger — to document it, to treat the wounded, to deliver aid — are too often reduced to statistics. A number in a headline. A tally in a report.
The Toll exists to push back against that. It is a small, open-source memorial that tries to record each person individually — their name, their role, where they were, and who confirmed their death. It is maintained voluntarily and accepts no funding.
What this is
This is a memorial, not a database. It exists to name journalists, photographers, medics, aid workers, fixers, and others who paid a toll for their service in conflict zones — whether they were killed, wounded, or carry scars that never heal.
The purpose is remembrance. Every name here represents a person with a life, a family, and a story that extends far beyond what happened to them.
Who is included
This memorial includes individuals who:
- Were killed, wounded, or irrevocably changed while working in a conflict zone
- Worked as a journalist, photojournalist, cameraman, fixer, medic, or aid worker
- Can be verified through at least two independent credible sources
This memorial does not include combatants or those whose connection to a conflict is incidental. These are people who chose to run toward danger — to document it, to treat the wounded, to deliver aid — and paid a price for that choice.
How names are verified
Every name on this memorial meets a minimum two-source standard. Both sources must independently confirm the person's name, role, conflict, and circumstances of death. Sources must be credible journalism organisations, human rights bodies, or UN agencies.
We do not include names based on social media reports alone, unconfirmed lists, or single-source accounts. When information is uncertain — a birth year, an organisation, a precise location — it is omitted rather than approximated.
Data sources
Verified data for entries on this memorial comes from:
- Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)
- Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
- UNRWA (UN Relief and Works Agency)
- Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
- Associated Press, Reuters, BBC
Limitations
This memorial is incomplete by necessity. Many deaths in conflict zones are never formally documented. Many names are never recorded. Many victims have no organisation to advocate for them, no international press to notice their absence.
The names here are those we could verify. The unnamed many are not forgotten — they are simply beyond what honest documentation currently allows.
We acknowledge that our sources reflect geopolitical attention and access. Conflicts with less international press coverage are underrepresented. We are working to address this.
How to submit a name
If you know of someone who should be included — and can provide at least two credible sources — please email contact@thetoll.memorial. Include the person's name, role, conflict, year of death, and source URLs.
All submissions are reviewed before being added. We may not be able to respond to every submission individually, but we read every one.
Donate
This site accepts no donations and runs no fundraising. If you want to support the people this memorial honours, please donate directly to organisations working on their behalf: