While I was student reporting at The Star Tribune, a fellow co-worker and former war-correspondent asked me why I wanted to write about African conflicts. At that time, I didn't have a spot-on answer. Maybe that's because I'd always felt a need to inform the public on issues outside their personal world, or maybe because I wanted to feel as though I was making a difference, changing the world for the better. Or maybe I just wanted the glory of traveling to a country that most people regard as exotic and uncharted. As I tried to articulate these things to a man who I regarded as the torchbearer of the career I was seeking, he conjured up the perfectly simple statement.
"You want to bear witness."
In retrospect, I'd been doing that for a long time, but never had captured my work in such a few, but powerful string of words. Now, when I go about writing my press releases and articles for non-profits, I remember that I'm bearing witness. God, that sounds trite, but to me, it connects and gives purpose to an otherwise individualistic trade.
Anyway, I've been working on some projects for Stop Genocide Now, a grassroots organization that brings attention to the ongoing genocide in Darfur, and have felt extremely fulfilled by partnering with such dedicated people. And if my fellowship goes through, I hope to take a trip to Darfur with the team, using my journalism background to help document the plight of those in the refugee camps.
New clips for Stop Genocide Now are posted, so feel free to browse.
Photo by Stop Genocide Now