A Journalist Working in a Conflict or Risk-Related Area in National or International Context - Case Study Example

Profile of a Journalist: Peter Greste The forty-eight year old journalist Greste was born in 1965 in Brisbane, Australia where from childhood developed an adventurous mind as a small boy coupled with immense sense of equity all through (ABC, 2014). Most of his life he spent in Sidney before relocating to Queensland at an age of twelve together with his folks (ABC, 2014). His career in journalism inception was after joining Queensland University of technology in quest to pursue bachelor’s degree in Journalism. According to his parents, Greste’s interest in travelling and adventure developed when they visited S. Africa together with his high school classmates (ABC, 2014). Greste later joined a local media house right after completing his studies and later transferred to other various media houses (ABC, 2014). His international career however kicked off in Bosnia, S. Africa and afterwards moved to Mexico where he spent some time before heading to Afghanistan under BBC flagship (ABC, 2014). His career in conflict regions started back then in Afghanistan where his assignment was to cover the invasion of the U.S troops. Since the Year 2004, Greste’s base was in Kenya, first in Mombasa as a freelance journalist (BBC, 2015). His cover story in Somalia, a region highly known for the Islamic militia dubbed “Alshabab” (BBC, 2015). These terrorists are part of the large al-Qaida group liable for numerous attacks especially in Kenya and Somalia. The account posted in the Al-Jazeera blogs conveying political transition in Somalia depicts the brave journalist fearing nothing even in the midst of war. Similarly, he produced articles like “The land of anarchy” in the same land of Somalia amidst the abduction threats eminent from working in highly terrorists concentrated areas (BBC, 2015). Despite being present when his fellow journalist died in Mogadishu (Somali’s capital) from a gunshot wound, this did not deter him to work as a foreign correspondent (ABC, 2014). After this, he returned to the same war torn state to document events of hostilities engrossed nation under the BBC (ABC, 2014). Additionally, during his service for Aljazeera based in Nairobi Kenya, he also covered the Sudanese conflicts due to ethnicity that saw ten thousands of residents flee their homes (Greste, 2012). The place was so dangerous but still Peter had to cover the story so that at least people out there could know what was going on in Sudan. His resilience in war zone is evident through other various articles, for instance, the account about the M23 rebel group in Congo where he followed the negotiations between the rebel group and the government (Greste, 2012). He notes that the rebel group seems so powerful even amidst the Kinshasa solders (Greste, 2012). The story of clash between two clans in Ethiopia similarly covered by Peter is yet another conflict related story he covered (Greste, 2012). His profile as a journalist clearly depicts a brave person who does not fear to encounter any hostilities in the line of his work. The worst experience for him though was the arrest while in Egypt which has seen him spend one year and one month in an Egyptian jail together with his two other colleagues (Pollard, 2015). Greste travelled to Cairo, in December 2013 from his residence in Nairobi in quest to follow the rampant Egyptian protests (Pollard, 2015). While in the destination state, based on his communication to his relatives reveals that he felt quite uncomfortable and that something bad was going to happen (Pollard, 2015). Later in that same week, the police made him and a colleague being captives on offences that he was reporting false events. Subsequently, the authorities also claimed that they were jeopardizing the Egyptian goodwill as well as conniving with the Muslim militia, thus creating havoc in the state (Withnall, 2015). He describes the maltreatment by the Egyptian authorities to an extent of them denying him medical attention when his shoulder got an injury at the time of his arrest (Withnall, 2015). Greste was initially convicted to seven years in prison alongside his colleagues who were given ten year each (Georgy & Bushra, 2015). Their apprehending came while they were working, which triggered even more reactions from a section of human groups that made the authority even angrier. The regime saw Greste together with his colleagues like their enemies such that they even called them the “Marriot Cell” amidst the great unrests (Pollard, 2015). Aljazeera the organization for whom Greste was working was not so friendly to the Egyptian regime and this rivalry further fueled the arrests. Therefore, the authority considered him as a potential danger to their operations (Pollard, 2015). No evidence presented in court was linking him to the case in which they convicted him. To his amazement, the evidence presented in court included his previous stories that he covered in Somalia, Kenya and Sudan, which were not in any way attached to the case (Pollard, 2015). Despite of the lack of evidence against him and his colleagues, the seven-bench panel of judges found him guilty and convicted him. Greste and his fellow men later appealed the decision and succeeded to avert the original ruling-awaiting retrial (Pollard, 2015). Pressure mounted among human rights groups and foreign nation, that political and media arrest were becoming too much. This rendered the number of detainees to rise up to almost forty thousand creating a humanitarian crisis (Pollard, 2015). Succumbing to pressure, the Egyptian president late last year announced that there would be a deportation of all foreign prisoners to their respective countries and after that Greste’s release came from the Egyptian prison. The authorities claim that they are in the process of releasing the other detainee who was with Greste giving a sense of hope to other journalists, who are also in detention. Greste Geste is one happy man who even though was in detention continuously advocated for media right and the rights for humanity in general (Pollard, 2015). His passion for peace and tolerance between people has continuously driven him to right articles about the conflict areas in a bid to seek help for those people. He appreciates everyone who supported him during his time of trials and says that he will continue serving as an international correspondence (Ellis & Hanna, 2015). References ABC, 2014. Peter Greste profile: Career of a foreign correspondent. ABC.[Online], Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015] BBC, 2015. Who are the al-Jazeera journalists tried in Egypt? BBC News. [Online]. Available at [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Ellis, R & Hanna, J 2015. Al Jazeera journalist thanks supporters after release from Egyptian prison. CNN News. [Online], (last updated 1321 GMT on 5th February 2015). Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Georgy, & Bushra, 2015. Egypt frees Al Jazeera journalist Greste, two others still held. Reuters [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Gretse, p, 2012. Political brinkmanship in Somalias transition. Aljazeera News Blog. [Blog] 22nd June. Available at: < http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/africa/political-brinkmanship-somalias-transition> [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Gretse, p, 2012. Tribe, land and politics - Africas toxic mix. Aljazeera News Blog. [Blog].31st July. Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Gretse, p, 2012. Why M23 rebels hold all the aces. Aljazeera News Blog. [Blog] 25 November. Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015] Pollard, R, 2015. Peter Greste case: how a temporary assignment became a 13-month ordeal. The Sydney Morning Herald. [Online]. Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015]. Withall. A, 2015. Who is Peter Greste? Al-Jazeera journalist released after 400 days in Egyptian jail to return to Australia. The Independent. [Online], Available at: [Accessed 3rd March 2015]. Read More