The Outlook Podcast Archive - Running an underground newspaper during the Syrian uprising

Download Running an underground newspaper during the Syrian uprising

After pro-democracy protests broke out in 2011, Kholoud Helmi was determined to cover the human rights violations carried out by the Syrian government, as a reporter on the ground. So with the help of her friends and brother, she founded Enab Baladi, one of the only surviving independent media outlets founded in Syria. Kholoud paid a high price for this, risking her life, and the lives of her family, to report on atrocities happening in locations inaccessible to foreign reporters. The paper had to be printed in secret - and its copies would be distributed covertly in rubbish bins. The team did their best to avoid the military checkpoints scattered throughout the city, but they couldn't stay out of trouble forever. Kholoud's brother was arrested, and subsequently disappeared. 10 years later, Kholoud and her family still don't know whether he's dead or alive. After losing her home, brother, and friends to the civil war that has torn the country apart for over a decade, she continues to carry a dream of a free Syria with her. Jo Fidgen talks to her from Turkey, where she is currently living in exile.

Get in touch: outlook@bbc.com

Presenter: Jo Fidgen
Producer: Gaia Caramazza

(Photo: Kholoud Helmi speaking on the war in Syria. Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO)

Published on Wednesday, 16th March 2022.

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