They say that good news is not news at all. In the information trade, you have to reach specific selling targets. That also applies to the practice and commerce of journalism. Bombs bring more audience than culture, a detail that actually transforms the bombs into a culture. Muthanna Al-Qadi, ex-Reuters stringer, speaks about the unreported reflections from war-zone news making.
Breaking the Palestinian news stereotypes
I took the decision to start working as a photojournalist and tell the story of Palestine in a different way, because I felt the image of Palestine has always been pictured in a misleading manner. The press agencies do follow a political agenda. In the news business, they look for stereotype images that sell well. Palestine was portrayed mainly through illustrations featuring blood. For me, it wasn’t the only way to capture the life and tell the story of my people. They were always shown as violent, but the humanitarian side was rarely a favourite press subject, since the agencies didn’t find it interesting enough. For a while, my photography focused on the social side of the stories. It pictured the Palestinian culture, traditions, folkloric dances, and the struggle of life under occupation. I looked forward to breaking the stereotype with a wedding instead of a funeral, a smile instead of mourning, embroidery instead of machine gun, an olive tree instead of a checkpoint.
Bullets are blind
As a trigger for a news agency, I had to follow the indications of the picture editor and bring mainstream pictures: incursions, demonstrations, political rallies, checkpoints… more precisely, what you see on TV. The main difficulty that photographers in Palestine face is the risk they take. They jeopardise their life because you have to be in the front line to be able to take the picture and tell the story the moment things are happening. Every time there is an incursion, you expose yourself. The bullets are blind. Censorshipwise, digital photography came to aid the photographers. You are no longer strained to send the films and leave the picture selection in the hands of editors. You edit the story yourself before dispatching it. During the first Intifada, the events were covered by Israeli photographers. Our story was told by our enemy. This was also a reason for me to become a photojournalist. It is very complicated and challenging at the same time to stay neutral when you report in such conditions. It comes with experience and with educating yourself not to be part of events. As a journalist, it is important to avoid being labelled as affiliated to one side or the other. One time, there was an incursion in Balata refugee camp. Israeli army were searching for a militant. Suddenly, somebody opened fire against them and the Israeli soldiers responded in the same manner, shooting heavily in all directions because one soldier was wounded. One of the paramedics was shot in the leg and there was also a journalist touched by a bullet. Although it was clear that our group was made up of medical and press staff, the fire was also opened in our direction. In such a situation, we had to save our colleagues first. The circumstances impose on you another role than your own and another set of expectations. We had to put our cameras down and become paramedics, with continuous threat on our lives.
Offering support - a way of survival
Due to the constant closures and the siege on West Bank, the Palestinians are forced to deal with Israeli authorities for travel permissions, known as check point permits. The Israeli army treats you as Palestinian in the first place. If you convince a soldier that you are a journalist and they find you in another area than the one declared, they arrest you immediately. As an individual, you are more vulnerable to arrests. The Palestinian photographers work as a group. It is a way of survival. When covering war, you have to find ways to do your job and you have to build boundaries with people you work with and offer support back. But although the profession is harsh enough, there is still space for competition. Seeing our colleagues missing, wounded, arrested made me think about the reasons behind Palestinians’ daily histories. We grow up with the aggression marks, wondering when they will come to an end.
Breaking the Palestinian news stereotypes
I took the decision to start working as a photojournalist and tell the story of Palestine in a different way, because I felt the image of Palestine has always been pictured in a misleading manner. The press agencies do follow a political agenda. In the news business, they look for stereotype images that sell well. Palestine was portrayed mainly through illustrations featuring blood. For me, it wasn’t the only way to capture the life and tell the story of my people. They were always shown as violent, but the humanitarian side was rarely a favourite press subject, since the agencies didn’t find it interesting enough. For a while, my photography focused on the social side of the stories. It pictured the Palestinian culture, traditions, folkloric dances, and the struggle of life under occupation. I looked forward to breaking the stereotype with a wedding instead of a funeral, a smile instead of mourning, embroidery instead of machine gun, an olive tree instead of a checkpoint.
Bullets are blind
As a trigger for a news agency, I had to follow the indications of the picture editor and bring mainstream pictures: incursions, demonstrations, political rallies, checkpoints… more precisely, what you see on TV. The main difficulty that photographers in Palestine face is the risk they take. They jeopardise their life because you have to be in the front line to be able to take the picture and tell the story the moment things are happening. Every time there is an incursion, you expose yourself. The bullets are blind. Censorshipwise, digital photography came to aid the photographers. You are no longer strained to send the films and leave the picture selection in the hands of editors. You edit the story yourself before dispatching it. During the first Intifada, the events were covered by Israeli photographers. Our story was told by our enemy. This was also a reason for me to become a photojournalist. It is very complicated and challenging at the same time to stay neutral when you report in such conditions. It comes with experience and with educating yourself not to be part of events. As a journalist, it is important to avoid being labelled as affiliated to one side or the other. One time, there was an incursion in Balata refugee camp. Israeli army were searching for a militant. Suddenly, somebody opened fire against them and the Israeli soldiers responded in the same manner, shooting heavily in all directions because one soldier was wounded. One of the paramedics was shot in the leg and there was also a journalist touched by a bullet. Although it was clear that our group was made up of medical and press staff, the fire was also opened in our direction. In such a situation, we had to save our colleagues first. The circumstances impose on you another role than your own and another set of expectations. We had to put our cameras down and become paramedics, with continuous threat on our lives.
Offering support - a way of survival
Due to the constant closures and the siege on West Bank, the Palestinians are forced to deal with Israeli authorities for travel permissions, known as check point permits. The Israeli army treats you as Palestinian in the first place. If you convince a soldier that you are a journalist and they find you in another area than the one declared, they arrest you immediately. As an individual, you are more vulnerable to arrests. The Palestinian photographers work as a group. It is a way of survival. When covering war, you have to find ways to do your job and you have to build boundaries with people you work with and offer support back. But although the profession is harsh enough, there is still space for competition. Seeing our colleagues missing, wounded, arrested made me think about the reasons behind Palestinians’ daily histories. We grow up with the aggression marks, wondering when they will come to an end.
