SUBSCRIBE:
Decolonizing international journalism
with Zaina Erhaim
"Everything I was writing was on the social norms of the war, on the sidelines, living stories of the war. And for me, I do feel that this is our own reminder. About lives and putting faces and social norms onto those who are being used as fuel for these wars...This is what I call peace journalism. When you remember that this country is not only war, it's much more, and those people are not just victims of the war, they are much more."
—Zaina Erhaim on Making Peace Visible
EPISODE NOTES
Our guest this episode has some advice for international journalists working abroad: "If you work with local journalists, give them a byline - they're not your free fixers. The security of locals is more important than any story. And YOU, international journalist, you are not the story."
And she would know. Award-winning journalist and communications consultant Zaina Erhaim comes from Idlib in northern Syria. And she got started in journalism covering the Syrian revolution and the civil war that followed. Her reporting made her a target, and she left Syria in 2016. She now lives in the UK, where she continues to mentor Syrian journalists and report on the Middle East. In this interview she shares razor sharp insights into reporting on conflict, while upholding the dignity of sources and collaborators. This episode was originally published in August, 2022.
Find more advice from Zaina including her ten tips for international journalists here.
Follow Zaina on Twitter @zainaerhaim. Read her reporting at zaina-erhaim.com.