A Journalist ‘In Cahoots’
We remained in touch with Al Jazeera in Doha by phone. Our good command of French enabled us to quickly translate the official statements that were released and the press conferences that were held. Having failed to find a service provider nearby, our colleague Inas Omran came up with a brilliant idea: a video call over a mobile phone application. We decided that I would be the camera person, while my husband, Nasrul Deen, would be the field reporter. Long hours of live coverage followed in the cold streets of Brussels, amid tight security measures and fear of further attacks. As the phone battery was dying, I did an ‘as live’ report and sent it to Doha through a chat application. The Doha news desk acted swiftly, dispatching a broadcasting van from Geneva and another team of reporters from Paris to join us in Brussels. I could say that our vacation had been officially terminated as we embarked on this unique professional mission.
My husband and I set up a makeshift newsroom: filming, translating, reporting and editing before filing our stories. I did live reporting and also worked as a studio presenter from Brussels; in addition to my routine duty as a presenter of the ‘Press Mirror’ show. Al Jazeera had immediately channelled its resources to cover events as they developed. We, in turn, worked around the clock. I recall those days with pride. They were the closest to my heart as a journalist; as I was part of Al Jazeera’s long and live coverage of a developing story from a city in which there was no resident reporter. It was another battle in which my professional career has had a heavy toll on my family life. Without hubris, I proudly claim I am in cahoots.
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