An Iraqi journalist in America: California pilgrimage
I couldn’t say anything. I didn’t want to blink and waste a single moment of looking at the beach and the Pacific. I had never seen an ocean. If I could set up a tent on the sand, I thought, I could stay there forever. I have loved the seas, rivers, and oceans since I studied…
An Iraqi journalist in America: Fastening my seatbelt
It’s been almost a month since I arrived in the United States. Oddly, I haven’t felt homesick or strange here even though this is my first time ever outside Iraq. I was born in Baghdad in 1986. I never lived anywhere else. Baghdad is where my father and mother were born, fell in love, and…
Free expression in the Middle East & North Africa
On Thursday, I participated in a panel discussion about media in the Middle East at the United Nations to commemorate World Press Freedom Day. Other panellists included Alya Al-Thani, counsellor, Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations; Abderrahim Foukara, chief of the Washington Bureau of Al-Jazeera; Ebtihal Mubarak, journalist for Saudi Arabia’s English-language daily…
An Iraqi journalist in America: Applications, airports, arrival
I’m finally in America. I lived all of my 23 years in Baghdad, never even traveling outside Iraq, but now I am in Tucson, Arizona, to begin a new life. I’m still trying to understand my feelings–missing the streets of Baghdad and the comfort of my family, but enjoying the sense that I can go about…
Iraqi refugees still face hurdles in coming to U.S.
On Tuesday, Human Rights First (HRF) released its assessment of the implementation of the Refugee Crisis in Iraq Act of 2008. CPJ supported the legislation, which created a category known as P2 (priority 2) for direct resettlement of Iraqi refugees with U.S. affiliations, including employees of U.S.-based media. The act promised a lifeline to Iraqi…
An Iraqi cameraman’s pursuit of surgery continues
When Iraqi cameraman Jehad Ali came to the United States last September to have corrective surgery for severe injuries he sustained in a December 2005 attack by gunmen in Baghdad, the plan was to spend two months in Valencia, California. Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Donald Wiss had offered to waive his fee and the Henry Mayo Newhall…
Reporter reflects as Iraq named deadliest for journalists
It has been 14 months since my colleague at The Washington Post Salih Saif Aldin was shot and killed. Time flew by fast and the path for journalists in Iraq is yet to be safe. Shootings, kidnappings, and murder in cold blood have not stopped in my war-torn country.
Iraqi journalist who threw shoes is detained
During a press conference in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zaidi called President George Bush a dog as he hurled his shoes at him. Though he missed his target, al-Zaidi was immediately tackled to the ground and restrained by plainclothes security personnel.
Press freedom in the news 12/11/08
The Lebanon-based Web site Menassat has an article today about the continued detainment of Reuters cameraman Ibrahim Jassam, currently the only known journalist being held by the US military. A local Iraqi court has urged the military to release Jassam, who was arrested on September 2, as there is no evidence against him.