One Wild Ride: Journalism in the Middle East (Part 4 of 4)
By Heather Murphy, 09.29.05
Reporters are eager to cover the Middle East during these historic times despite the danger.
Iran, Egypt and Lebanon are among the countries that have a history of putting journalists in prison. According the London-based Centre for Media Freedom, Iran leads the tally with 17 known journalists in jail. The Centre also notes that many more journalists have unexplainably disappeared in Iran and Syria since the 1970s.
Despite the danger, more reporters are flocking to the area to cover the variety of historic events taking place, such as the Israel withdrawal from Gaza, which John Waage believes will attract up to 4,000 journalists to the region this summer.
From his experience, these new reporters may end up staying there longer than they originally intended. Waage has discovered an addicting effect to covering news in the Middle East that keeps him coming back for more.
“It’s exciting and historic. The world pays attention to what happens here,” Waage said. “To go now and cover the EU [European Union] in Brussels just would not be the same.”
And witnessing history in progress involves experiencing priceless moments as Thomas discovered while traveling with a local driver in Baghdad.
As their car sped along the road, the driver suddenly instructed George Thomas, “Look left. Now look right. Did you enjoy that?”
“Sure,” said Thomas as he shrugged his shoulders, understanding little of the place’s significance.
“Those are the former palaces of Uday and Qusay [sons of former president Saddam Hussein]. If you looked at them under Saddam, they would stop you and behead you,” the driver said.
As Thomas listened in disbelief, the driver began to look quickly from left to right.
“I love this,” the Iraqi exclaimed, a smile beaming across his face.
Tell A Friend
