By Brigid Bergin
Graduate School of Journalism, City University of New York
November 20, 2006, New York
From left to right: Bagila Bukharbayeva, Joyce Barnathan, Shadha al-Jubori |
As Muslim protesters filled the square in Andijan, Uzbekistan, AP correspondent Bagila Bukharbayeva recorded the growing tension. Uzbek soldiers drove up in trucks, took positions and opened fire. Bukharbayeva dove to the ground and scrambled for cover as panic broke out all around her. Bullets whizzed, blood flowed and Bukharbayeva kept reporting as casualties mounted into the hundreds. After the shooting stopped, the government bridled at her vivid reporting, forcing her to leave her family and flee to neighboring Kazakhstan. But Bukharbayeva still has not stopped reporting-- “because it’s a sad story,” she said at a New York event co-sponsored by the International Center for Journalists. “Human rights abuses, torture – it takes a lot of energy.”
For Shadha al-Jubori, reporting from Iraq is a life of constant tension. As a correspondent for the BBC’s Arabic-language service—working for the enemy, as many Iraqis see it—she must keep her job secret and often her identity as well. The search for fuel, drinking water and power is juxtaposed against the fear of attack from militant groups. Her only friends are her mother, sister and colleagues from the BBC office. “It’s like hell,” said al-Jubori.
These two women from Muslim countries are profiles in journalistic courage. Both shared their stories at the November 20 event—“Struggling for a Voice: Muslim Women Reporters on Culture and Conflict”—co-sponsored by the International Center for Journalists and the Paul Klebnikov Fund. They told vivid tales of covering two of the most hellish running stories in the world. “Upholding strong journalistic standards is not easy when faced with the danger of a conflict zone, as well as societal norms that expect women to be reserved and docile,” said ICFJ President Joyce Barnathan, who moderated the panel discussion. “These women are anything but.”
Personal safety is a concern for both women, but that does not stop them from reporting difficult stories. The Andijan crisis began in May 2005, when people gathered in Bobor Square to protest a government crackdown against people it had labeled as Muslim extremists. Bukharbayeva was one of only a handful of journalists to witness the slaughter. “As the bullets were flying over my head, and I was on the ground, I knew I had to keep reporting,” she said.
In the months after the incident, the government arrested thousands of survivors, including journalists, according to Human Rights Watch. Even though she cannot go home in the foreseeable future, Bukharbayeva continues to cover the region as AP’s Central Asia correspondent based in Kazakhstan.
In Iraq, the security concerns are linked to competition between Sunni and Shiite factions struggling for state control. This strife makes it hard to know whom to trust, al-Jubori said. Are the men dressed as police officers really cops? Are your friends from university days still friends? Are your neighbors sympathetic to one of the unofficial militias? Which one?
Her worst days are her days off from work, she said. “My problem is daily life, how to live. If you have no fuel, no clean water, no electricity, you can’t live.”
Shadha al-Jubori (left) and Bagila Bukharbayeva after the Nov. 20 event. |
While she would like to cover more social issues, Iraq’s violent breaking news drives al-Jubori’s work day. “I think about doing a feature on daily life. But if 100 people get abducted, that’s the biggest story,” she said. “I start my day with a blast. A blast here, a blast there.”
Both women came to the United States to receive awards for their courage and professionalism at the ICFJ’s annual Excellence in International Journalism Awards Dinner, held on November 15 in Washington.
Al-Jubori received the Knight International Journalism Award, honoring individuals who have done outstanding journalism and have raised the standards of media excellence in their countries.
Bukharbayeva received the Paul Klebnikov Courage in Journalism Award, named after the late editor of Forbes Russia, who was assassinated on a Moscow street in July 2004. The award recognizes an experienced journalist whose work best exemplifies Klebnikov’s vision of journalism as a force for civic betterment in Russia and the former Soviet Union.
The Paul Klebnikov Fund was created to honor his memory and further his commitment to transparency, freedom of speech and the development of a healthy civil society in Russia. For further information, visit www.paulklebnikovfund.org. |
