Proud and Grateful

Last night my employer the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ) held its annual Awards Dinner. Several awards were granted to some outstanding journalists who covered wars, disasters, and government abuse all over the world.

The International Center for Journalists is a non-profit, professional organization that promotes quality journalism worldwide in the belief that independent, vigorous media are crucial in improving the human condition. Aiming to raise the standards of journalism, ICFJ offers hands-on training workshops, seminars, fellowships and international exchanges to journalists and media managers around the globe.

At the Awards Dinner, pioneering editor and free-press champion Aliaksei Karol of Belarus and human rights investigative reporter Frank Nyakairu of Uganda received Knight International Journalism Award. And the London Bureau Chief for The New York Times John F. Burns received the ICFJ Founders Award for Excellence in Journalism. Christiane Amanpour presented the keynote address and ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos was the master of ceremonies

In honor of Burns, the ICFJ decided to offer a financial award to an Iraqi journalist who covered the war and proved excellence in his/her career. When the ICFJ Vice President asked me my opinion during the preparation for the dinner, I couldn’t but think of Jehad Ali. As a cameraman for the Iraqi state television, Al-Iraqiya, Ali roamed the streets in search of stories along with the channel’s reporters. One day and as he was going to work a group of armed men cordoned off the street and started shooting at him. As he fell wounded, one of the insurgents wanted to finish him off. Bullets penetrated through most of his body leaving him very close to death.

I knew about Ali through the CPJ which posted his journey from Baghdad to the United States to have certain surgeries that cannot be done in Iraq due to the collapse of the health and medical system there. Although we are an organization that basically deals with training opportunities around the globe, I thought that by giving Ali the award we would be saving his life to bring him back to his job. That, I considered, was similar to training him to work again.


Jehad Ali from Dave Mayers on Vimeo.

When Jehad’s name was announced in the Awards Dinner, I felt very proud. It was not because I chose him, but because there are people who do appreciate the danger and the risk Iraqi journalists are going through every day in their lives. I felt proud because I’m from a country where people are brave, a country that has journalists like Ali, Salih, Othman, Khalid, and many others.

Now with Ali receiving his award in honor of John F. Burns, it has become an annual thing where every year an Iraqi journalist is going to have the opportunity to receive a fund to be trained in journalism. This left me extremely happy and grateful to all of the efforts that are being done to make journalism in Iraq move towards the right path of quality journalism.

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