البنت الجريدة بأمريكا

Quote: ‎ EL FASHER, SUDAN — For Awatif Ahmed Isshag, covering Darfur is the story of her life Nearly a decade ago, at 14, Isshag started publishing a handwritten community newsletter about local events, arts and religion. Once a month she'd paste decorated pages to a large piece of wood and hang it from a tree outside her family's home for passersby to read But after western Sudan plunged into bloodshed and suffering in 2003, Isshag's publication took on a decidedly sharper edge, tackling issues such as the plight of refugees, water shortages, government inaction in the face of militia attacks, and sexual violence against women Her grass-roots periodical has become the closest thing that El Fasher, capital of North Darfur state, has to a hometown newspaper. More than 100 people a day stop to check out her latest installments, some walking several miles from nearby displacement camps, she said "I feel I have a message to deliver to the community," said Isshag, now all of 24 years old The petite reporter is an increasingly common sight around town, her notebook and pen in hand as she interviews local people for her articles. Last week she roamed El Fasher asking people how they felt about the International Criminal Court's recent accusations against two war-crimes suspects in Darfur Critics have attempted to intimidate her and force her to shut down. Instead, Isshag is expanding this month with a new printed edition, enabling her to circulate for the first time beyond the neighborhood tree "She represents the only indigenous piece of journalism in Darfur," said Simon Haselock, a media consultant with Africa Union in Khartoum. "She's got energy and drive. It's exactly what they need." Readers say her magazine, called Al Raheel (which roughly translates as "Moving" or "Departing"), is one of the only places they can read locally produced stories about issues touching their lives "It's the best because this magazine shows what is really happening in Darfur," said Mohammed Ameen Slik, 30, an airline supervisor who lives nearby Isshag complained that despite international attention, the suffering of Darfur remained vastly underreported inside Sudan. There are no television stations in the area, and most newspapers operate under government control or are based hundreds of miles away in Khartoum "The local media don't cover the issue of Darfur," she said. "We hear about it when one child dies in Iraq, but we hear nothing when 50 children die" in Darfur Through articles, essays and poems, Isshag frequently blames the government for failing to protect the citizens of Darfur A recent story titled "What's Going On in El Fasher?" compared the government's tightening security vise in the city to checkpoints in Lebanon. A thinly veiled poem told the story of a sultan who blithely tried to reassure his long-suffering subjects Isshag said government officials had so far largely dismissed her as "just a young girl." But during a recent trip to Khartoum, she received an anonymous phone call from someone who warned her to "stop writing" and "take care of your education" instead She shrugged off the threat "I'm not afraid," she said. "Journalism is a profession of risk. I'm not doing something wrong I'm doing something right." Her passion for giving voice to the region's victims stems in part from her own family's losses. A cousin walked for three days to escape attacks by Arab militias, known as janjaweed, after her village was burned down. Her grandfather died in a displacement camp near Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state. About a dozen other relatives still live in the camp, unable for security reasons to return home Darfur's crisis began in 2003 after rebels attacked government forces. Government officials are accused of responding by hiring the janjaweed to attack Darfur villages and terrorize civilians. The government denies supporting the militias. More than 200,000 have died in the conflict, and 2 million more have been displaced An advocate for women's education, Isshag credits her parents for allowing her to avoid being tied down by housework and pursue her interest in writing But she occasionally uses her columns to lecture other women on pet peeves. A recent "For Women Only" article lambasted those who took off their shoes on the bus. "It's wrong," she said with a laugh Isshag hopes to complete a master's degree in economics at the University of Khartoum and one day to lead a development company, building schools and houses in her long-marginalized homeland But for now she's focused on improving the magazine After a local Khartoum-based newspaper profiled her, Isshag received a new computer and printer as a gift from a well-wisher in Qatar. She's also looking into launching a website She said she would never charge readers for the paper or turn it into a business "I don't care about the money," she said. "I would fast to get the story."

Quote: ‎ In Darfur, a Journalist Branches Out By Stephanie McCrummen Washington Post Foreign Service Sunday, March 4, 2007; Page A14 EL FASHER, Sudan, March 3 -- In this dusty market town in northern Darfur, a lucky few with satellite dishes can get news of the war surrounding them from CNN or the BBC. Others rely on a tree For the past 10 years, Awatif Ahmed Isshag has handwritten monthly dispatches and commentary about life in El Fasher and hung them on a short, wiry tree that scatters shade along the yellow-sand lane by her house For the past four years, the dispatches have included items about the conflict in Darfur that appear to represent the only independent local reporting about the fighting in a region where most media hew to the official government line Along with advice on how to be a lady, Isshag, a slight 24-year-old with an undergraduate degree in economics, has satirized the local governor and described the suffering of displaced families and gun battles in the markets of El Fasher. She recently wished the town a happy New Year, and compared the security conditions here to the situation in Lebanon Working in her new office -- a cement-floored, cracked-walled space in a building with faulty wiring -- Isshag dismissed the notion that she was doing anything unusual "Journalism is a profession of risk," she said matter-of-factly, her voice echoing slightly in the nearly empty room. She also said, "I will fast to get the story." She estimated that 100 people a day stop to read the newspaper on the tree as they make their way through the neighborhood of dried-mud walls and painted steel doors. She refers to it casually as "the world paper." Officially, it is called "Al Raheel," which means something close to "moving," a phrase that gently describes the 2.5 million people displaced in Darfur since 2003, when rebels took up arms against a central government they accused of hoarding power and wealth In response, the government armed nomadic tribesmen and launched a campaign of systematic violence. Experts estimate that as many as 450,000 people have died as a result of the fighting, though the government disputes the figure Isshag has aunts, uncles and cousins in several refugee camps around Darfur, and her grandfather died in one called Kalma after fleeing his village Around El Fasher, a bustling town of one-story brick buildings and tiny, blue Korean taxis that skid alongside donkey carts in the sand, things are relatively calm, if difficult. The war has driven up rents and the price of nearly everything else. Basic resources such as water are under strain as the town continues to absorb a flow of people who have abandoned their villages or nearby camps Isshag, who is pursuing a master's degree in economics, said she would like to start her own company to help develop El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state For now, though, she is consumed with Al Raheel. Recently, she found financial supporters abroad who had heard about her work and sent a computer and printer. In the next week or so, she plans to launch a printed newspaper that she will distribute around town for free For now, her articles sometimes appear in a newspaper about Darfur published by the African Union, which has troops deployed in the region to enforce a failing peace agreement "People know me now," she said Isshag's sister originally started the newspaper on the tree, writing articles about El Fasher but with an emphasis on women's rights. When her sister died in 1998, Isshag took over. She was 15 She had some experience working on a student radio program for children, for which she would interview people around town. "From the beginning, I liked journalism," she said. "I wanted to discover those who are intelligent and have talent, and I wanted to talk to them." Isshag's father, a policeman, is supportive. Her mother relieves her daughter of chores so she has time to write the paper, the latest issue of which included stories about security in El Fasher, a famous Sudanese lawyer, general wishes for love and peace, and a poem criticizing government officials who pretend that everything is okay In another poem, she referred to the local governor derisively as "the sultan." Her younger brother told her to be careful about saying such things. During a trip in January to Khartoum, Sudan's capital, Isshag received a harassing phone call that she believes came from someone in the government "He said to stop writing and to take care of your studies," she said, adding that the call hardly had its intended effect. "I'm not doing something wrong that I should be afraid. I'm doing something right." Around Isshag's neighborhood Saturday afternoon, people passing by said they often read the news on the tree, or at least skimmed the headlines. Some said they preferred not to read about war; others said they considered it more truthful than what they hear on the government-run television and radio "This is a magazine that shows exactly what is happening in Darfur," said Mohamed Ali Hassan, 23. "The TV, sometimes they don't tell everything." Readers are welcome to write corrections and criticisms along the margins of stories, Isshag said, and they often do Recently, a friendly government official in town offered her the office, and on Friday, Isshag was working on the next issue She said it would probably include local reaction to a recent announcement by the International Criminal Court, which named a high-ranking government official and a militia commander as war crimes suspects. And perhaps also an editorial "A message to people who are attacking," she said. "Don't send fire, send words. Words connect people

Quote: وقد حذرها احد أشقائها في ذات مرة بضرورة توخي الحذر فيما تكتب . وأثناء زيارتها للخرطوم العاصمة في شهر يناير تلقت عواطف مكالمة هاتفية مزعجة تعتقد عواطف أن مصدرها احد اتباع النظام السوداني.

Quote: أمامنا يوم 8/ مارس يوم المرأة العالمى 0 عواطف تستحق أن يكون الأحتفال هذا العام بإسمها 0

Quote: شكرا الاخت عواطف فقد اعطيتينا املا في ظل مصادرة الامل من قبل الانقاذ ووسط هذه العتمة بهذه المناسبة اعلن تبرعي بمبلغ مائة دولار وحتى تساعدك في التواصل مع العالم واي مساعدة مستقبلية في مجال التكنولوجية والسيرفر لصحيفتنا الرحيل وادعو الجميع للتبرع ويمكن ان ترسل لي كيفية التحويل على ايميلي ولكل من يرغب في الدعم [email protected] مع شكري ابوهريرة

Quote: اين البت الجريدة فقد قالت بانها سوف تعود بعد عودة التيار الكهربائي فربنا يستر فاما لم يعد التيار الكهربائي او ربما تكون اعتقلت بعد اهتمام الصحافة العالمية بقصتها افيدونا يا اهل الداخل

Quote: لو قدر لي ارشح امراة في يوم المراة العالمي ...لكانت البنت الجريدة