ships also made Al Jazeera more efficient, allowing it to send additional crews to accomplish unique coverage, as seen in the tsunami of 2006. Similarly, Acting Director General Souag recalls, “In 2004, I was Al Jazeera’s correspondent in London when the channel was covering the violations against civilians in Darfur. At the time, relief agencies and human rights organisations were unaware of the ongoing tragedy. When I drew the attention of Amnesty International to Al Jazeera’s cov- erage of the violations, they immediately moved and got in touch with the relevant parties in Sudan” (1) . This happened in many other human- itarian crises, such as the famine that hit Niger in 2005 and the world came to know about only after Al Jazeera reported it. The international community was shocked by the news reports and relief organisations began to move in and send aid to those in need. Regarding the earthquake that hit Pakistan in 2005, Souag says, “Al Jazeera was there shortly after the earthquake took place. During the coverage, our correspondent spoke to a woman who had to sell her baby to support her three other children. As soon as that story came out, a female viewer called the correspondent and offered the woman mon- ey to keep her baby. Likewise, an Arab First Lady made a considerable financial donation to the distressed people there. I’m sure other media institutions play this role, but I’m certain not the way Al Jazeera does. This role is fundamental and authentic to the network, which has estab- lished its bias towards the human being as a top priority; and without it, Al Jazeera would not be the Al Jazeera we know”, he said (2) . However, Al Jazeera’s uniqueness is not limited to its field coverage of the human aspects of disaster-stricken areas, which in many cases are overlooked by its competitors. Even when other media networks rush to these ar- eas, Negm says, “their reporters spend a few days before they leave to seek other stories in other regions, although the aftermath of disasters are often more tragic than the occurrence of disasters themselves. Al Jazeera, however, goes to humanitarian disaster areas to stay” (3) .
(1) Souag, personal interview, Ibid.
(2) Ibid.
(3) Negm, personal interview, Ibid.
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