Not By Right, But By Might
That was the first night of Al Jazeera’s weeks- long uninterrupted live coverage. We spoke to the threatened residents on a daily basis. I came to know each one of them by name. Al Jazeera told the stories of those families in great detail - from those who fear night raids by Israeli forces to those who cannot even leave their homes for medical treatment. Even children were not allowed to play in the yard. With time, I started to feel at home, as if surrounded by my own family. The fatigue of long hours of
coverage was washed away by the warmth I felt from all the neighbourhood’s residents. I remember when one of the women approached me and said: “You look tired and pale on screen. Come to our home and have some rest. If you are fasting, I will prepare some food for you too.” The same offer was repeated by other women in the neighbourhood. The young men kept checking whether we needed any help, even technical.
When I was hit by a stun grenade, a kind old man called Abu Saeed told me: “Get well Najwan. Come back healthy and strong. We need you; we need Al Jazeera, the road to our freedom is long and thorny.” I pray we will be able to keep the promise: to tell the truth, to tell the human story and to be the voice of the voiceless.
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