The Crucial Role of Free and Independent Media
On 7 July 2014, a humanitarian emergency began in the Gaza Strip, following a severe escalation in hostilities involving intense Israeli aerial and navy bombardment and Palestinian rocket firing. The Israeli army launched a large military operation in the Gaza Strip, codenamed ‘Protective Edge’, with the stated objective of stopping Palestinian rocket firing at southern Israel and destroying the military infrastructure of Hamas and other armed groups.
The people in Gaza are victims of the political polarisation between Fatah and Hamas, the two Palestinian political factions on one side, and the Israeli occupation on the other. The media affiliated with Fatah, Hamas and Israel covered the recent war focusing only on the political aspects and the military successes of the respective sides. The Gazan people were covered mainly in the form of numbers. Their stories, dreams and problems as human beings were largely ignored.
The TV programme Voices from Gaza focuses instead on telling the uncovered human stories of the people from Gaza. Voices from Gaza focuses on the effects of the crisis on the lives of Gazans, while most other programmes emphasise regular TV reports which focus on electricity and food shortages.
A Peek into the Stories
Farah Baker: A Leading Global Thinker
Parkour Gaza: Universal Ambition among Ruins and Demolition
Yara and Saja: Playing Music to Overcome War
Khaled Malakeh, ‘I was left all alone’
Mohammed Abu Baid: Professional Football Player Lost his Leg
Rita Eid: The Youngest Director for Human Rights Organisation
Oum Adnan: Facing Winter Floods Barefoot
Sarra Farid: Running from Death into Father’s Lap
Al Silk Family: Burying 14 Members of Family
Gaza Cameras: Between Love and War
Syam Family’s Life Depends on Waste Containers
Ahmad Abu Rida: Human Shield Used By Israeli Occupation
People with Disabilities Work as Carpenters
Mohammad Al Shaikh – “Arabs Got Talent” Star
Kidney Failure Patients’ Struggle
Your Middle East about the programme