War, toxic media culture underscore need for peace journalism in Yemen
Imagine a highly polarized media environment where media focus exclusively on the alleged misdeeds and even atrocities committed by the other side. Media stoke hatred by dehumanizing the other side. In this environment, there is no middle ground, only biased reporting and propaganda, leaving the public with a distorted picture of reality.

No, this is not the United States.

This is the media environment in Yemen, as described in an article by The Atlantic Council. Yemen is saddled not only with this toxic media culture, but with an especially brutal war that has, according to Human Rights Watch, sparked the “world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with 14 million people at risk of starvation and repeated outbreaks of deadly diseases like cholera.” (Human Rights Watch)

Against this backdrop, I conducted a peace journalism seminar last Thursday and Friday for 13 journalists from Mukalla in Southern Yemen, an area which has not been spared the ravages of war. According to one of the seminar’s organizers, in Mukalla,  “a half million people live in extreme poverty, and in the city streets beggars are searching for food in garbage, while sewage has floated in open drains, causing environmental pollution and spreading many diseases.”

In a normal year, due to the ongoing war, the seminar would have been conducted in person in a neighboring country like Oman or UAE. But we know 2020 is anything but normal, and thus, the seminar was held via Zoom.

I presented information about the fundamentals of peace journalism. The principles of giving voice to the voiceless and rejecting ‘us vs. them’ narratives were especially salient for the participants. We discussed if peace journalism is widely practiced in Yemen. According to the journalist participants, it is not. We also reviewed the Atlantic Council’s assessment of Yemeni media, and they agreed with the journalist who told the Atlantic Council that “polarization in Yemeni media has never been this high. The problem is that there is no room for a middle ground. On one hand, Houthis (one of the warring parties) allow press only if it is biased in favor of them, as does the Yemeni exiled-government. All that you have in Yemen now is propaganda and each side can support you, only if you abide by their propaganda.”

Asked to present tips on how Yemeni media could practice peace journalism, the participants shared ideas like listening to all parties; double checking sources; including discussions of peace; interviewing “everyone”; concentrating on truth and not rumors; and developing more training in peace journalism techniques. The participants also agreed that they have a vital role to play when it comes to curating social media for their audiences--to “check sources, look for the truth, and listen to all parties,” in the words of one participant.

The seminar closed with break-out session conversations about Peace Radio, a new community radio station dedicated to peace and peace programming that will begin broadcasting later this year in Southern Yemen. The journalists were excited about the potential of Peace Radio, believing it will help in changing perceptions about the conflict. The participants said Peace Radio will  be an especially useful platform for giving voice to all parties in the conflict, and for giving a voice to the voiceless, especially women.

I closed the seminar by pledging my support and advice as Peace Radio moves forward. I’m hopeful that when the fog of Covid-19 finally lifts, I’ll get a chance to meet my Yemeni colleagues in person.

 

Is peace journalism possible during a war?
Is peace journalism possible in the middle of a war?

This will be the first of many questions I’ll be asking reporters from Mukalla, Yemen tomorrow and Friday during our Introduction to Peace Journalism seminar, to be presented on Zoom. I’ve seen peace journalism succeed in many post conflict situations, but am curious to hear the journalists’ viewpoint on the role of PJ in building peace during an ongoing war.

For the uninitiated, there has been a brutal war raging in Yemen for the last five years. (See this BBC primer for details). The war has led to arguably the world’s worst humanitarian disaster. According to Human Rights Watch, “The UN considers Yemen to be the world's largest humanitarian crisis, with 14 million people at risk of starvation and repeated outbreaks of deadly diseases like cholera. This crisis is linked to the armed conflict. The Saudi-led coalition's restrictions on imports have worsened the dire humanitarian situation.” 

In Mukalla in Southern Yemen, one of the seminar’s organizers described his city as one where “a half million people live in extreme poverty, and in the city streets beggars are searching for food in garbage, while sewage has floated in open drains, causing environmental pollution and spreading many diseases.” At least there is currently no fighting in the Mukalla region.

Against this discouraging backdrop, can peace journalism make a difference? I’ll have a better answer in a few days.

UPDATE
As I was posting this, I got a message from my Yemeni seminar organizer that is a reminder of yet another problem in the country—poor Internet. My friend writes,  “We are fine but unfortunately ,due to  the depression (storm) off the eastern coast of Yemen, the (communications) cable (for the) AL Mahra Governorate was cut off, which led to the suspension of internet service…I hope that this sudden and urgent matter does not delay the training date .Now 14 of 16 participants  all of them do not have the internet, including me, so I called  my friend in India to send this  message.”

I will keep you all posted.

Virtual PJ seminars to serve Yemen, Sudan, and KC
As it became clear that Covid-19 was pretty much going to cancel or postpone everything, I was seized with the awful thought that, at least until the end of the pandemic, I would be unable to continue my peace journalism work.

I was disabused of this notion in about 15 minutes.

While it’s true that I’ve had a bucket full of postponements, it’s equally true that I continue to work on peace journalism projects remotely. For example:

Yemen peace journalism seminars—I will be giving a series of two peace journalism seminars to journalists from Mukalla, Yemen in late July. I’m working with the Peace Journalism Platform there as well as a group of journalists who are in the process of launching a community radio station simply called, Peace Radio. I expect about 20 participants on Zoom. As you know, Yemen has been devastated by war since 2015. I’m hoping that our PJ project may in some small way contribute to a more peaceful country.

Sudan peace journalism project—The project, done in conjunction with the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum, will begin with a three day virtual workshop in early August. I’ll be going over the basics of PJ, including coverage of refugees and terrorism, both important topics in Sudan. It’s hoped this Zoom seminar will be followed up by one or several face to face workshops in Khartoum. Of course, that depends on Covid.

Kansas City Media Literacy Project—I received a Citizen Diplomacy Action Fund Rapid Response award from the U.S. Department of State to fund a project titled, “Media Literacy for Students: Lessons from Covid-19.”

The project will take place in the greater Kansas City area. It will utilize virtual seminars and projects to educate and inform students about our society’s information challenges as illustrated by disinformation about Covid-19, civil rights protests, and other current issues. The first virtual seminars will be held in September 2020, followed by the creation of a student-produced magazine and podcast discussing and analyzing media. The project will culminate with a Zoom media literacy summit in January, 2021.

Stay tuned to this space for details about each event.