Photo Credit: Rebeka Lesac
Friend or story?
Student reporters on the Balkan Bridges project discuss their relationships to the refugees they covered.
"She walked up just like that, we snapped the picture, chatted briefly. Out of everyone I met on that first visit to the Center, out of all the stories and faces of the refugees living there, their never-ending problems and hopes for the future, I couldn’t forget Rohsare. She looked just like any other teenage girl - a bit confused, yet cheerful. Maybe it is because she reminded me of my younger sister, only her childhood had been interrupted.
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"I had lost a story but gained a friend,"
Patricija Topić, Balkan Bridges (Croatia)
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My thoughts (and heart) remained in Kutina with her. A month later, I went back with only one mission. To find her. I found out that she had been granted asylum and moved away, to Zagreb - but luckily a social worker found her cell phone number, and we started texting each other.
I learned about her family’s voyage - on foot, by boat, train and plane - and how, heartbreakingly, her old home had been ‘so much prettier than this one, so much bigger.'
I learned about her family’s voyage - on foot, by boat, train and plane - and how, heartbreakingly, her old home had been ‘so much prettier than this one, so much bigger.'
Patricija with her new friends.
(Photo credit: Patricija Topić)
"Our conversations were filled with questions like ‘Hey, what’s up?’ or ‘What are you doing?’ rather than the ‘who, what, when, where and why’ they had drilled into us at journalism school. It seemed that whenever I tried to shoot video, something was always wrong with my gear. Eventually I did capture some footage I could work with, and slowly began to lay out the story in my head.
Then it happened. Her father stepped in and asked me not to publish any video of Rohsare.
I was caught - I didn’t have the courage to try to change his mind, because I didn’t want the family to think I was there just to get their story. That was how it had started, but now things were different. I fell for Rohsare’s raw optimism, her enthusiasm for the future, no matter how hard her journey had been."
Then it happened. Her father stepped in and asked me not to publish any video of Rohsare.
I was caught - I didn’t have the courage to try to change his mind, because I didn’t want the family to think I was there just to get their story. That was how it had started, but now things were different. I fell for Rohsare’s raw optimism, her enthusiasm for the future, no matter how hard her journey had been."
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“We catch up from time to time, but only to keep track on how the other side is doing."
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Zoran Strika, Balkan Bridges (Serbia)
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“It’s hard to keep your distance when you hear what they’ve been through. It’s even worse when you realize that they are not exaggerating at all. From the perspective of a professional journalist, we need to keep our distance, but at the same time, show a dose of empathy that leads to trust. And when those feelings are honest, I’m sure it is clear. But the whole thing can slip in the wrong direction when you get too close and lose contact with the story.”
“I keep in touch. I like when they text me to inform me that they’ve crossed the border or that they’ve reunited with their families. This is something that has meaning to me not only as human but as a journalist too – it provides me the possibility of a new story.”
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"I have quite a soft heart, and I couldn't let my emotions get in the way, cause I would probably burst into tears,"
Nika Obučina, Balkan Bridges (Croatia) |
“During my interviews, I try hard to keep my distance, because I don't want my emotions to get in the way. The number one rule that I learned in journalism school is to always be professional. The biggest challenge was the language barrier. I tried very hard to communicate with the children in several languages, but the problem was that we just couldn't find a common language.”
Journalistic Ethics: An Interview with Dr. Nikolas S. Panagiotou
Assistant Professor at the Department of Journalism & Mass Media
Aristotele University, Thessaloniki, Greece
By Kristina Vrdoljak
There is a triangle between apathetic readers, shallow journalism, and disenfranchised subjects. How can we break down this harmful structure?
"Whenever we have a thorough and very good news item we tend to read it. Unless we change the way we report the events, unless we change the journalistic style, we will continue to see the decline of journalism. The main aim of our initiative is to change journalism by providing other types of journalistic reporting.”
What do you think about the unchanging portrayal of refugees over time?
“There was victimization in the beginning that actually contributed in pushing the agenda, but now that we are in the stage where numbers of refugees have to stay in the country they are currently at, it will stand as a burden in their effort to be integrated into society. People will not see them as someone special or as someone that contributes to society, but they will still see them as a distant other.”
Why do you think violations of journalistic ethics are a constant?
"The ethical code was always there, but no one really wants to follow it, they just consider it as an obstacle or something boring. We actually wanted to remind journalists again about this depository they should use, especially in situations like this."
There is a triangle between apathetic readers, shallow journalism, and disenfranchised subjects. How can we break down this harmful structure?
"Whenever we have a thorough and very good news item we tend to read it. Unless we change the way we report the events, unless we change the journalistic style, we will continue to see the decline of journalism. The main aim of our initiative is to change journalism by providing other types of journalistic reporting.”
What do you think about the unchanging portrayal of refugees over time?
“There was victimization in the beginning that actually contributed in pushing the agenda, but now that we are in the stage where numbers of refugees have to stay in the country they are currently at, it will stand as a burden in their effort to be integrated into society. People will not see them as someone special or as someone that contributes to society, but they will still see them as a distant other.”
Why do you think violations of journalistic ethics are a constant?
"The ethical code was always there, but no one really wants to follow it, they just consider it as an obstacle or something boring. We actually wanted to remind journalists again about this depository they should use, especially in situations like this."
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Barbara Ravbar and Petra Srđenović worked on a story about Yolla Ofan, a journalism student from Syria who is currently living in the Kutina Asylum Seekers Center.
Ravbar: “I managed to keep my distance, but I think the crucial thing that helped me with that was that I was behind the camera. I was the cameraman so I did not have so many opportunities to chat with the girls,” Ravbar said. |
(Photo Credit: Katarina Šapina)
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Srđenović:
“I would say that I did get close to the girls but not in a way that could jeopardize my journalistic work. I’m still in contact with Yolla, the journalism student I spoke to, but things didn’t get too personal."
“I would say that I did get close to the girls but not in a way that could jeopardize my journalistic work. I’m still in contact with Yolla, the journalism student I spoke to, but things didn’t get too personal."
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"She said to me: 'I will not give you an interview. If you want, come and sit as a friend not as a journalist',"
Andi Bora, Balkan Bridges (Albania) |
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"The mayor of the city, a Syrian-greek named Dr.Nampil-iosif Morant, had transformed a tourist village into a refugee camp for people from Syria. Inside the camp there were a lot of children, playing in every single street between 38 houses, with their loud voices, full of hope and happiness.
At the first door I entered, I found an improvised school for the children, lead by volunteers from 'Schoolbox Project.' I was afraid of just one thing…a sudden break of my camera, because the children weren’t the focus of my camera, but my camera was their focus.
In the beginning, it was a bit difficult to talk to the refugees people there. In order to establish communication with them, I had to act like a 'real' Muslim. The first word I said to their kids was 'Mashallah' and their parents' reaction was like 'Wow, you are a Muslim?!' and my answer was 'Yes, and I am Andi Bora, a journalist from Albania.'
At the first door I entered, I found an improvised school for the children, lead by volunteers from 'Schoolbox Project.' I was afraid of just one thing…a sudden break of my camera, because the children weren’t the focus of my camera, but my camera was their focus.
In the beginning, it was a bit difficult to talk to the refugees people there. In order to establish communication with them, I had to act like a 'real' Muslim. The first word I said to their kids was 'Mashallah' and their parents' reaction was like 'Wow, you are a Muslim?!' and my answer was 'Yes, and I am Andi Bora, a journalist from Albania.'
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The refugees were tired of journalists, who were going there everyday and just reporting to make more TV packages. A woman from Syria said to me for the third time on the third day in the camp: 'I will not give you an interview. If you want, come and sit as a friend not as a journalist.'
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(Photo Credit: Andi Bora)
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I had a great conversation with her, as a friend, without the status of reporter. She used to be very rich in her country, Aleppo. She had been working for a long time in the Central Bank in Syria. She is staying with her children in this camp, while her husband is in Syria and working at one of the government ministries. She said she used to send her children to special schools. She had owned a very beautiful house and cars, which are destroyed now.
I will keep in mind just one part of the conversation with her: 'We don’t want people to feel mercy for us and try to give us money. Most of us are rich and we can give money to people. All we want is to go to where we want and build a new life. We don’t want to go back.'”
I will keep in mind just one part of the conversation with her: 'We don’t want people to feel mercy for us and try to give us money. Most of us are rich and we can give money to people. All we want is to go to where we want and build a new life. We don’t want to go back.'”
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In the end we are all humans, but also professionals at what we do!”
Antonio Çakshiri Balkan Bridges (Albania) |
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“I was really excited to go to the refugee center in Kutina, Croatia. There I met Reza, a 16-year-old boy from Iran. You know, he is a runner and he won first and second place in races in Austria. He suffered a lot back in Iran, so it was very difficult for him to speak of the past. During the interview I was trying to be his friend and to encourage him for the future, but it was my job, which didn’t allow me to 'get emotional' with the story or the subject. On the other hand, I was also trying to keep a balance between my job and my human emotions."
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(Photo Credit: Antonio Çakshiri)
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