Journalist of the month: Hadil Arja - International Journalists' Network

Born successful Syria, Hadil Arja has been intimately acquainted with the challenges journalists look successful the Middle East. Reporters and writers successful the portion contend with misinformation and censorship, successful summation to risks from conflict, coercion and authorities oppression. In this context, Arja has dedicated her reporting vocation to making section stories casual for viewers to find and digest. 

Currently based successful Turkey, Arja has co-founded 2 autarkic media organizations, Tiny Hand and Frontline successful Focus. Both organizations are committed to, respectively, utilizing ocular storytelling to study connected children successful situation zones and covering quality involvement stories successful conflict. Tiny Hand and Frontline successful Focus usage a wide scope of exertion to marque the stories interactive, with the volition of investing readers successful quality connected situation and conflict. 

Arja, a 2020-2021 mentee with the IJNet Arabic Mentoring Center, is pushing a caller communicative wrong her region: that quality is not lone important to know, but tin beryllium appealing and engaging to consume.

What sparked your archetypal involvement successful journalism? 

I studied journalism successful Damascus and graduated successful 2006. The concern astatine the clip was settled successful Syria and determination wasn't a war. 

When the [Syrian] gyration started, I traveled to Qatar and determination I was an editor-in-chief astatine a manner magazine. But astatine the clip I felt that, I'm a journalist, but successful the incorrect place. I needed to beryllium person to the events. So [my hubby and I] near Qatar, adjacent though it was a precocious salary, and we came to Turkey. I yet got a occupation that truly helped maine amended my online skills and integer media. This truly helped maine to recognize much astir integer journalism and however important it is. At the aforesaid time, I [had forgotten] however important [journalists] were, due to the fact that they are connected the frontlines and giving maine information. I wanted to beryllium definite to present this accusation to the audience, and it started arsenic an important happening to bash successful my work. 

Why did you commencement Tiny Hand?

It was conscionable being a portion of a newsroom. This is news, and it's important news, we volition screen it. But sometimes people, adjacent successful the newsroom, don't consciousness it's okay. It's regular quality to them and it's not important. 

But for me, it was that, we person this benignant of quality due to the fact that determination are children connected the frontlines. It's our ngo to present it successful a way, to unit radical to work it. So I discontinue [my job] and started Tiny Hand to supply stories astir children and to deliberation of a caller mode to present these stories. Because we are surviving successful a clip wherever determination are these integer tools, radical person started utilizing augmented reality, virtual world and interactive stories [in their reporting]. 
 

How has IJNet helped you?

Starting this caller task wasn’t easy. Early successful my journey, I joined the IJNet Mentoring Center. I was precise excited to articulation a programme that would enactment and energize me. I needed to person a consciousness that I was not unsocial connected this journey, particularly successful the opening erstwhile I was having tons of doubts astir whether I was connected the close way oregon not. Was I missing retired connected different opportunities portion moving connected this project? Was I going to beryllium successful?

But aft joining [the Mentoring Center] I had each the answers to these questions.

What has been the astir jarring oregon "aha" infinitesimal portion moving successful journalism? 

People don't similar to work articles, you know, and everyone feels that determination is conflict, and astatine the extremity of the day, they don't privation to work this dense news. [They] privation thing light. 

This is simply a situation for us. For example, my nephew, he's lone 13 years old. When helium saw this virtual world headset successful 1 of our stories, helium said, “Can you delight nonstop it to me?” [The communicative is about] astir a feline structure successful the Middle East and however it's impacted portion successful proximity of the frontlines. It's an astonishing communicative astir a antheral who collects cats and keeps them due to the fact that of the war. I was blessed that it caught his attraction due to the fact that by utilizing this technology, I was capable to get radical to interact with this story. And I cognize it's hard to proceed to person radical successful the Middle East to interact with these stories. 

I'm truthful blessed that people, for example, successful Europe and the U.S., cognize however important this exertion is. You tin usage this exertion successful this mode to screen communities. And I deliberation this volition beryllium a immense accidental for america to amusement radical what we are truly doing connected the frontlines.

Do you find it harder to study stories astir children?

It's very, precise hard erstwhile you screen stories astir children. If you cheque retired the [Tiny Hand] website, you'll ne'er find the communicative wherever each kid is crying, due to the fact that I don't similar to people these things. It mightiness springiness america much postulation but for me, it's unethical. Every communicative we conscionable and we sermon however to screen it, particularly successful delicate stories.

Recently, we worked connected a communicative astir a antheral kid who was sexually assaulted successful the northbound of Syria. It was our archetypal investigative study astir this. It was hard due to the fact that it really took america 1 twelvemonth to decorativeness this story. It was sensitive, but we tread lightly erstwhile we screen stories similar this, and support authoritative ethical guidelines successful our caput due to the fact that erstwhile you screen children's stories, it's not the aforesaid arsenic what you screen with adults. You shouldn't notation the names, you shouldn't notation locations. And you should halt erstwhile it becomes precise delicate for them and it would enactment this kid successful danger. 

When bash you find clip for you to unbend and unwind?

Actually, you know, I don't know. I emotion this job. It's similar a passion. The different happening is that my husband, he's besides a writer and his lensman and he's ever with me. This is not my hobby, this is my everything. This is my determination to bash thing antithetic present successful the Middle East. This is my priority.

All photos by Hadil Arja. 

This interviewed has been edited for magnitude and clarity.