World Press Freedom Day 2019

With Zaina I began to learn objectivity. I learned that journalists should not introduce their own opinions into the news, and realized that the news was not a battlefield.

I then began writing for IWPR's Syrian Stories website, and applying these theoretical ideas with the help of IWPR editor Daoud Ibrahim. I introduced accuracy and objectivity, integrity and impartiality into my work, and completely rid my work of violent rhetoric and phrases inciting hatred of certain people or groups because of race or religion. I began to feel like a mature journalist.

My contemporaries read my reports but most of them were uncomfortable with them. Some said I was equating victim and oppressor, and believed that the site was against the revolution. I spent hours and hours convincing them of the importance of objectivity, press freedom and the professionalism of the site; and often succeeded.

“Conflict-sensitive journalism is not a theoretical concept that can’t be achieved. It is the reality of our work at IWPR.”

After about a year writing for Damascus Bureau and working for the local radio station, its director, my friend Raed Al-Fares [killed in November 2018] asked me to train reporters and editors on the skills I had gained from working with IWPR.

There, too, correspondents and editors were full of expressions of hatred, violence and sectarian incitement, believing that this would serve the revolutionary movement in Syria. As soon as I started talking about media ethics, some shouted at me, "So we aren’t revolutionaries, but facilitators of Bashar Assad's crime?"

The discussions lasted for hours until again, most were convinced, and then they asked me for reference material. I gave them five IWPR training manuals about ethical and professional standards in journalism, news writing, news stories and so forth. Many of them ended up writing for IWPR, too.

I went on to train other local media outlets such as Mazaya magazine, which is concerned with women's issues, Ma'an magazine, and the Brushes website. The same skills were passed on to each of the trainees.

I now believe in the ethics of journalism and the role of the press in transmitting truth, defending human rights, spreading justice, democratic values and a culture of tolerance and acceptance. Conflict-sensitive journalism is not a theoretical concept that can’t be achieved. It is the reality of our work at IWPR.

It’s my view that such intolerance for truth and dissent cannot be part of any democracy that aspires towards social and economic excellence. Journalists are not enemies of the state and journalism is not a crime.

So it’s been an exciting journey to be part of IWPR’s Human Rights Accountability and Justice Project, in conjunction with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), where I work as a reporter and fact-checker. I’ve had multiple learning opportunities; the topics the project addresses, and more importantly the collaborative approach, are extremely crucial.

I’m keenly interested in how educational reforms and political accountability can be achieved through in-depth journalism and other forms of writing, including satire and non-fiction.

“Journalists are not enemies of the state and journalism is not a crime.”

As someone with a background in law, I fully grasp how important justice and the respect of fundamental human rights are for the sustenance and growth of the society. Working on this project, I was exposed to under-reported issues that can be unravelled using investigative journalism, and learned how to ensure personal safety while reporting these problems.

In terms of strengthening partnership and collaborating with CSOs, which was also a key objective of the project, I had the chance to work the Devatop Centre for Africa Development, another grantee under the project. The media-CSO collaboration encouraged by IWPR has seen us put hands on deck to investigate issues listeners have reported such as trafficking and child rape.

With my grant, I will be sniffing through the dark world of trafficking and shedding light on a West African route via which children are sent to Nigeria, where they are ultimately overworked and abused.

It’s an issue that has received little government attention. So I’ve been working with a number of civil society organisations, building on the lessons from the workshops, to push the authorities to do more to keep children safe.

Press freedom isn’t merely the right of journalists to write freely and without fear, it’s the right of all people to have access to information and to be shown truths that others prefer hidden.

I now believe in the ethics of journalism and the role of the press in transmitting truth, defending human rights, spreading justice, democratic values and a culture of tolerance and acceptance. Conflict-sensitive journalism is not a theoretical concept that can’t be achieved. It is the reality of our work at IWPR.