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.
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.
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.
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