The Reality of the Media in Kurdish Areas (Rojava)
April 22 last year marked the 121st anniversary of the founding of the first Kurdish newspaper. It was founded by Miqdad Midhat Badrakhan at1898, in the capital of Egypt (Cairo), in the Kurdish language (Northern Kurmanji dialect) using the Arabic alphabet. The newspaper was published twice a month with a total of four pages. The newspaper published 31 copies intermittently in four years until 1902.
Since that day and heretofore, the Kurdish press particularly, and the Kurdish media generally, has had a series of experiments and fluctuations as a result of the unstable political situation in Kurdistan, that was marred by several flaws, and despite that, it had 2 great opportunities to achieve the required goals. the primary was when the Kurds obtained autonomy within their region northern Iraq in the year 1991 and also the second was in Rojava when the establishment of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, and if we take the experience in Northeast Syria as a case study of the fact of the Kurdish media, we discover nowadays that the media establishments number has increased exponentially to 54 establishments additionally to dozens of male and female journalists, However, there are still several challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of the development of the media. Teven and also the Syrian Kurdish Journalists Network hosted a dialogue session on the fact of the media in Rojava on the occasion of the Kurdish Press Day on Apr 22, 2021, in which a group of male and female journalists and media establishments participated, and through this dialogue session, A deep analysis was given concerning the media, where opinions differed on many points.
Today, there are hundreds of journalists who have the experience and competency, who received training and/ or working with professional media institutions that have entered the Kurdish areas to report the facts of the war. There is an ability for many of them to develop and provide their expertise and enshrine it in the media business. It is matched by the absence of independent Kurdish media institutions with financial and high technology capabilities that can influence and shape public opinion on fundamental issues. Therefore, Rojava needs daily and weekly newspapers that provide job opportunities to dozens of journalists to reach comprehensive coverage of all aspects of life.
The second point I want to talk about is specialization and media content, as this content has not yet risen to the required level, and it has remained circulating in the field of news journalism, and unable to reflect reality with its complexities. The reality and conditions in our society today require work to develop media content so that it can present knowledge, information, and facts to the public. in addition to its ability to expose shortcomings and corruption. Here I stress the issue of corruption that is prevalent in all sectors. Media institutions should make combating corruption a priority, and better address it because combating corruption contributes to the process of accountability by providing information to the public on what is happening. In-depth journalism and investigative media content are tools of change that contribute to uncovering corruption and accountability and thus contribute to the democratization process in the region.
We know that there is a clampdown on media work in the region, and we hear from colleagues about many of the difficulties they face, due to the absence of a legal and legislative environment for the media. The recent law contains several articles that limit the freedom of information work, and there were several reservations about it, and this was a challenge for all journalists, which requires us to work together to create more space for freedom of information work with the presence of a clear and explicit law that can protect the rights of journalists.
Great efforts have been made in the Kurdish press, which can be built on, but still at the beginning of which, many more efforts are needed towards professional journalism, which will provide its followers with what they are waiting for.
There are many obstacles to journalistic work, such as the lack of equal access to information for journalists. We held many discussions on the draft media law and the provisions for free access to information in it. What we are seeking today is to implement the law so that it does not remain a prisoner of paper, so that journalists can have the space to practice their work, per professional standards and the people's need.
The Kurdish language also needs to be questioned in the Kurdish media. We still do not have a Kurdish-language newspaper. Attempts towards this issue are ongoing, but for many reasons, the absence of the Kurdish language from its press always leads the Kurdish follower to follow another language, the Kurdish journalist, often contributes to this referral when he is not fluent in his mother tongue or lacks the capacity to express himself. We need a simplified definition of the reality for the Kurdish press, which has begun, but it needs to be reviewed and examined to reach its goals.
Yes, in recent years, the Kurdish media has increased in number "significantly and remarkably, and yet our media has failed in performing its professional duty towards society. We all know that the media is the mirror of society, the voice of truth, in conveying and analyzing reality and events, and highlighting issues that affect the lives of people and society as a whole, to shape public opinion and pressure existing authorities to make a change or a modification in the service of the individual first" and then society. Not to mention his role in education and leisure. These aspects are also absent for reasons related to media policies and priorities, as well as the circumstances of the region and the 10-year war that would have marginalized these aspects. For all above, there are many reasons:
Most of the media are subordinate to political parties, which in turn have used them to serve only their agendas, ignoring the public interest and people's lives in the region. These media have become the mouthpieces of their financiers, and infusing poisons among members of a single society, with information wars, with no decency for the people, and no sentences.
The lack of support provided by international organizations to the media in our region, and their support and focus on the coverage rebound into Syria, which is affiliated with the Turkish-backed opposition coalition. as a part of international policies toward the Syrian situation, thus limiting the existence of an independent Kurdish media.
The lack of a modern media law that defends and protects a journalist from any violation by existing authorities, political party groups, or even individuals.
A journalist cannot work professionally and freely to serve the community if he does not have the right conditions and a law to protect him, which makes it impossible for a Kurdish journalist in the region to raise many concerns for the sake of his life, which he has the right to preserve.
Therefore, we demand, free and professional media since the freedom and development of any society are through its media. This is a summary of some of the challenges and obstacles facing the Kurdish media and the Mention of them all requires a comprehensive and detailed report.
At the outset, I would like to speak about the violations suffered by journalists in the Syrian Kurdistan region (Rojava) and the standards by which they are documented. I believe that all journalists are subjected to daily violations and are not free to speak their minds. There is a clear distinction between press and media institutions in terms of access to information and in terms of not considering this information as a public benefit for all journalists and all media institutions; Some institutions cannot reach all areas and cover all events. So, I think, until now, there has been no clear and explicit report covering all the violations that journalists are subjected to.
Minor violations and the low rate of it from one year to another do not indicate an openness to the media or support of the media institutions' freedom of speech. On the contrary, there is a restriction on media freedom. So far, no reports are dealing with corruption, crude oil matters, neither political nor security issues. most of the reports that come out of the region focus on service and living matters and the rising in prices, so it's normal for a journalist not to be violated since a cover-up event doesn't reveal any file that could undermine the credibility of the authorities., On the contrary, reports may provide support to the authorities. The freedom we are seeking is incomplete, especially in the right to access information and allowing coverage of certain events
interference by all the institutions of the Autonomous Administration in the Kurdistan region of Syria in the work of journalism, even traffic police can intervene and arrest us, no one can criticize the administration since it will lead to detention. Revolutionary youth cannot be criticized and could lead a journalist to be physically assaulted by them. etc.
The Autonomous Administration should understand that journalist is Neutral and does not need to Declare loyalty to its agendas, nor does he have the duty to cover the authorities' activities, nor to support their security forces. and it is not the journalist's duty to stand by any operation carried out and promoted by Autonomous Administration. I do disagree with my colleague Majid Mohammed's that the responsibility lies with the journalist. Rather, it falls on the Autonomous Administration units and the extent of the freedom they grant to the journalist. honestly speaking Those who work in the media corps are They are obliged to maintain their livelihood and their salaries. There is a big challenge in funding media institutions, as soon as funding stops, the work of this institution stops, and consequently the work of its employees. and it's noteworthy to see the big challenge for media and press work and what they are facing in the reality.
The work of the media in the Kurdish region is divided into several sections:
Political parties’ media: and the reason for how it is formed is the result of the ongoing political polarization. The content it provides is based on the political conflict between the two strongest political forces in the region or the alignment with one of them because of the alliances between entities that currently in control of the Kurdish regions.
Institutions that can fetch funding through organizations and foundations. But what's wrong here is that most of the directors and editors, or even some of the lower-level employees in these institutions, have no experience nor qualified in the field of media. and become the main reason that prompted its financiers to maintain an explicit partisan editorial line, but rather interfere in every word spoken or published through it. Perhaps the follow-up of HAWAR Agency and ARK TV channel as a model is enough to reach this conclusion, which they practically are polishing the image of their financiers, even if they are corrupt, or even involved in suspicious corrupted activities.
Organizations that do not have the ability to bring in enough funding, which led to weakness in the content presented, as a result of working within the capabilities of the available resources or rely on the media personnel who accept the lowest wage, which affects the type of the media message as a result of financial pressures. This particular section must be cared for by pushing Kurdish entrepreneurs to invest in the media as well., which will have a big role in separating the political party aspect; or the control of the authorities over the editorial line, and it becomes a true professional media at the service of society, not the other way around, Thus, we emerge from the monopoly of partisan cloak monopoly into a multi-platform media industry with liberating policies, orientations, and diverse approaches and vision.
"freelance", this type of media work is linked to foreign media institutions, which work and produce documentary reports and films according to specific agendas or According to its periodic plans of action to get involved in conflict areas. In practice, this category is temporary and will not have a continuing role in the development of Kurdish media.
Therefore, we find that challenges facing the Kurdish media are many, which automatically leads to a weakness in the Kurdish Press, and we must be able to find out about these issues in order to close the gaps in these challenges and get rid of the negative points. Foremost among them is that the priority should be given to professionalism in the media and its ethics at the expense of the partisan and the authorities in the Autonomous Administration region in the northeast of Syria. This will not be achieved without the biggest challenge, which is the lack of financial support which is considered the main obstacle to professional independence, media standards, and ethics in addition to the security challenges that must be taken into account at all times.
Many issues that journalists are prohibited to cover by the Autonomous Administration and or their military sections, most of it is subjected under the conditions of the war, chaos, the uncertainty surrounding the fate of the Autonomous Administration as a local government system, and its exclusion from the political track towards resolution of the Syrian crisis so far.
Despite this prohibition, however, the journalist must do his role with greater courage and determination and insistence on opening some case files without prior assumptions to the reaction of the Authorities, Whether for reporting purposes or in-depth investigations of societal issues.
and since journalists are responsible for conveying people's voices and expressing their problems, the biggest burden falls on his shoulders, in conflict environments, each authority tends to limit the flow and access of information, while the function of a journalist remains constant: access to and disclosure of that information while emphasizing as professional standards as possible, Therefore, crossing red lines is an essential part of the journalistic work, which includes, in one part, uncovering violations and facts without paying attention to any political or other considerations that may affect his efforts to access those facts and information.
In order to counter the monopoly and flow of information by some institutions of the Autonomous Administration, the journalist must develop his or her tools and benefit from similar experiences and expertise to be able to counter the monopoly and flow of information by some self-autonomous institutions, journalists must develop their tools and draw on similar expertise to produce valuable press materials, having the right tools can help journalists to uncover large cases such as corruption or other mysterious cases due to the fragile administrative structure of the system of the Autonomous Administration and the absence of an independent judiciary, as well as weak law enforcement mechanisms.
There are some issues, such as the recruitment of minors and Crude oil, that we cannot work on since it is not permitted by the autonomous administration. my main job is (Fixer) and I was suspended from work, arrested, and charged with three unrealistic violations in February 2020 by QSD, the first violation was accusing QSD member of mutilating the bodies of an ISIS member which I wasn't a part of that report making process, The second is related to a story I made about a Canadian woman who came to look for her brother and we had a meeting together with, Redur Khalil and Abdul Karim Omar to get the permit for a visit to see her brother in the ISIS prison, that was a part of Story for NPR Radio USA, unfortunately, I was accused of smuggling the same woman out of Al-Hol and taking her to Erbil, even though I accidentally met the woman in Rojava and outside Al-Hol camp, and the last one that I was interfering in matters other than translation, after a discussion, they told me to leave Rojava to Erbil and don't come back until we permit you. I returned to work after more than three months of waiting.
I was also subjected to another violation when I was stopped at a checkpoint and was arrested for two days on charges of being a Peshmerga lieutenant! Then I was released after the intervention of some friends as well as colleagues in the free media.
The challenges, I think, are that the personnel who work in the institutions of autonomous administration do not have enough experience and are not qualified so they obstruct our work permits since they do not know the principles of journalists, journalism in the region is limited only to news and press reports, hopefully, after the media law is legislated things will be easier for journalists and the Media.
I do believe that the network has reached a high level of authenticity and professionalism, and what the network is publishing is highly credible such as tracking violations against journalists as part of our monitoring and reporting process, and even those we cannot reach the level of tracking all the violations against journalists, therefore violations against journalists and media outlets operating in the region have been committed and have not been reported. hopefully, we could track and include all types of violations in the network reports against freedom of information in the region
journalists and media outlets have no equal access to information in the region. discrimination in this regard in favor of the international media and foreign journalists at the expense of the local media and journalists, on the one hand, and the other hand towards the media close to autonomous administration at the expense of the local independent media outlets.
In addition to the partisan orientation of most Kurdish media institutions that influence its editorial policy, there is also the lack of funding for the non-partisan and ideological orientations institutes. There is a challenge on a personal level too; lack of services, electrical outbreaks, and slow or unavailable internet services, for example, I had to run a generator to complete this dialog session after my laptop battery ran out. There is also the personal safety of some journalists who are residing in the areas of contact with the Turkish occupied territories.
International media focus on ISIS only and detached from The Reality of the People's Situation and Suffering. Here we are lost between the agendas of the international media and the suffering of the people, also some who work in the media and press corps are not qualified and are under 18 years of age. And that's a challenge on an institutional level. We do not have investigative and documentary journalism, Journalists are often victims of political party problems, in many cases, funding challenges influence the reality of the media, the lack of trust and temperament on the part of the autonomous administration and local authorities (Asayish) towards journalists, And finally, the migration of many experienced and qualified people for several reasons.
1. to adhere to journalistic, professional, and objective standards in media work and journalism, as well as to increase the culture of volunteering.
2. Increased coordination between journalists and media professionals and their institutions.
3. Building trust and improving the working mechanism of journalists.
4. To assess the work of the media and the press in a transparent manner and not to use the method of favoritism among themselves.
5. Journalists and media professionals must come together to reach a common formula for submitting their requests and proposals to the autonomous administration to employ them in the new Media Act
6. Joint projects to support media institutions in the region.
7. Persons who work in media and those with significant relationships with funders must join forces to fund local institutions that need it or the one who’s out of work.
8. The governing authority shall finance local media institutions from the region's allocations budget without interfering or dictating.
9. The journalist should be courageous and bold and should not blame all this restriction of his freedom on the ruling authority.
10. Businessmen should support the media, as well as the public, to support media institutions to ensure their sustainability.
11. journalists and media organizations should join hands with Solidarity if any of them is harmed or punished by Autonomous Administration.
