Editorial: The bravest journalists
Bisan Owda, the inspiration behind this weeks cover, wears her press vest proudly as she walks around the rubble of her home. She reports on the devasting war on Gaza.
Four years ago, Palestinian Bisan’s Instagram was filled with photos of her basketball team, selfies, travel photos, her dancing on the beach, her friends smiling, tips of the day, and the occasional activist post.
Today at 25-years-old, she is a journalist, filmmaker and activist documenting the occupational war between Israel and Hamas to her 4.4 million Instagram followers. She shows a war from the inside, where over 30,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023. Bravely sharing footage of the conflict when she is in danger of it herself.
In an Instagram reel two weeks ago, Bisan sat and spoke clearly to her camera. She holds her head high, sitting strong and straight. “It’s crucial to contemplate the fleeting nature of time because the threat of violence looms unpredictably. A bomb could drop at any moment, a mere meter away,” Bisan says.
“We carry our mobile phones, documenting these massacres and atrocities, even as we endure the relentless onslaught of genocide.”
As of March 13th, 90 Palestinian journalists were found dead, 16 injured, 4 missing, and 25 arrested.
Every video, every post Bisan makes is in protest of Israel. She candidly shows her life during war – her tears at the bombing of her own office where she made news videos. She risks her life every day to help her people.
Olivia Alexander, speaking on behalf of New Zealand’s Ppl4Palestine says, “Who better to tell the stories of Gazans than Gazans themselves. They have grown up under Israel’s indefinite blockade and know exactly what their people are feeling and experiencing.”
Alexander says so many journalists have been intentionally murdered over the past 5 months, “which shows the impact their truth-telling is having against the highly resourced Israeli propaganda machine”.
Alexander says living in a relatively safe nation where our right to protest is protected by law, we have the opportunity to keep pushing these journalists' messages until Palestine is free.
As students struggling with the cost of living, one of the strongest actions we can make is to choose where our money goes. Move your KiwiSaver to a provider like Simplicity or Pathfinder who has no ties with Zionist Israel. And boycott businesses in support of the genocide in Gaza, such as McDonalds, Obela Hommus, SodaStream, Starbucks, Dominos, Chemist Warehouse and Spotlight.
If you have any spare coin, donate eSims through Gaza eSims, so Gazans can keep telling us what is truly happening on the ground.
Here is the names of 95 journalists, photographers, videographers and filmmakers who have lost their lives
Rest in power
Muhammad Salama
Mohamed Yaghi
Zayd Abu Zayed
Alaa Al-Hams
Angam Ahmad Edwan
Yasser Mamdouh El-Fady
Nafez Abdel Jawad
Rizq Al-Gharabli
Mohammed Atallah
Iyad El-Ruwagh
Yazan al-Zuweidi
Mohamed Jamal Sobhi Al-Thalathini
Ahmed Bdeir
Heba Al-Abadla
Abdallah Iyad Breis
Hamza Al Dahdouh
Mustafa Thuraya
Akram ElShafie
Jabr Abu Hadrous
Ahmed Khaireddine
Mohamad Al-Iff
Mohamed Azzaytouniyah
Ahmad Jamal Al Madhoun
Mohamed Naser Abu Huwaidi
Mohamed Khalifeh
Adel Zorob
Abdallah Alwan
Assem Kamal Moussa
Haneen Kashtan
Samer Abu Daqqa
Duaa Jabbour
Ola Atallah
Hassan Farajallah
Shaima El-Gazzar
Abdullah Darwish
Montaser Al-Sawaf
Adham Hassouna
Mostafa Bakeer
Mohamed Mouin Ayyash
Assem Al-Barsh
Mohamed Nabil Al-Zaq
Jamal Mohamed Haniyeh
Farah Omar
Rabih Al Maamari
Ayat Khadoura
Bilal Jadallah
Abdelhalim Awad
Sari Mansour
Hassouneh Salim
Mostafa El Sawaf
Amro Salah Abu Hayah
Mossab Ashour
Ahmed Fatima
Yaacoub Al-Barsh
Ahmed Al-Qara
Yahya Abu Manih
Mohamed Abu Hassira
Mohamed Al Jaja
Mohamad Al-Bayyari
Mohammed Abu Hatab
Majd Fadl Arandas
Iyad Matar
Imad Al-Wahidi
Majed Kashko
Nazmi Al-Nadim
Yasser Abu Namous
Duaa Sharaf
Jamal Al-Faqaawi
Saed Al-Halabi
Ahmed Abu Mhadi
Salma Mkhaimer
Ibrahim Marzouq
Mohammed Imad Labad
Roshdi Sarraj
Roee Idan
Mohammed Ali
Khalil Abu Aathra
Sameeh Al-Nady
Mohammad Balousha
Issam Bhar
Abdulhadi Habib
Yousef Maher Dawas
Salam Mema
Husam Mubarak
Issam Abdallah
Ahmed Shehab
Mohamed Fayez Abu Matar
Saeed al-Taweel
Mohammed Sobh
Hisham Alnwajha
Assaad Shamlakh
Yaniv Zohar
Mohammad Al-Salhi
Mohammad Jarghoun
Ibrahim Mohammad Lafi
