CLASS NOTES
An Interview with Adam Ellick ’95 What insights did you gain from your time in Afghanistan and Pakistan? What role do you see education playing in those countries?
To Adam Ellick, journalism is “in the blood.” Adam is a print and video journalist at The New York Times. His type of journalist is often called “a one-man band,” not only for working in both print and video, but also for doing all aspects of the video—shooting, editing, writing, and producing, with no crew. Adam recently completed a threemonth assignment in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A “lifer” at Friends, Adam attended Ithaca College — Roy H. Park School of Communications and received his B.A., cum laude, in broadcast journalism. From 2000-2004, he lived in Eastern Europe where he founded EllickNewsLink, an international freelance news service. He also took a full-time reporting job at The Prague Post, a weekly in the Czech Republic. In 2004, Adam received a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct field research on professionalism in Indonesian journalism, notably how journalists covered domestic terrorism and the influences of government, media owners, and journalism “trainers.” He also conducted lectures for Indonesian journalists and university students.
Last year, I made a film about an 11-year-old Pakistani girl as the Taliban closed down her school, and as the war forced her and her family into exile. She dreamed of books and classes and homework. Even into my 20’s, I had no understanding of the word ‘security.’ To walk around freely and not worry about an attack is a great gift.
Mark Twain once said never let schooling get in the way of education, and the world has served as both my playground and my classroom. I chose a profession that has me learning constantly.
Adam has been with the Times since 2005. When did you become interested in journalism? In high school, I dreamed of becoming a sports journalist. But that dream derailed as soon as I stepped off an airplane to study abroad as a junior in university. I realized my world was a small one, and I was missing a lot. Since then, my curiosity has sent me to 51 countries. Journalism doesn’t seem like a job. It’s the only thing I can do. And the only thing I want to do. It’s in the blood. Of the countries where you’ve worked, is there one experience that stands out as the most memorable or educational?
In Afghanistan, the situation differs from Pakistan. The good: Thousands of girls who never went to school under the Taliban are now going freely. The bad: The facilities are decrepit, and many teachers unqualified. Like many reforms there, good things are happening, but if you look below the surface, it’s quite hollow. Despite the changes since the American-led invasion of 2001, nearly all school-aged children work for the family, earning almost nothing. They don’t know anything different. It’s just normal there. The best example of reforms that don’t always work smoothly: I did a story about a foreigner who started a skateboarding school for Afghan kids. On paper, it was a perfect project. All the kids had never played a sport, and it stood as a vehicle to get kids into English and computer classes. But soon enough, girls were not allowed to skate past the age of 12, when they are often relegated into the home and covered. And some middleclass kids were beaten by their family for skating with poor kids. The point: Even the best intended Western projects don’t always work in places with their own customs and traditions. What role has education played in your own life? Mark Twain once said never let schooling get in the way of education, and the world has served as both my playground and my classroom. I chose a profession that has me learning constantly.
Adam Ellick ‘95, when not on assignment (top) and dressed to report on the Taliban’s crackdown on education for girls from Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2009 (above). In the Peshawar photo, Adam is outside the press club that was bombed shortly afterward, in December 2009. A lot of things that I learned
I was at ground zero when the tsunami hit Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and there, I witnessed the simultaneous physical pain and piercing grief of some victims. The stench of death… I can’t forget that smell. But frankly, the hardship in Afghanistan has been far more devastating to me. The tsunami was a singular tragedy, but three decades of war have birthed generations of Afghan victims.
in school don’t apply in farflung places. For example, guns were banned at WFS. But in Afghanistan, a man with a gun is on every street corner. And there, a gun is often a sign of safety. There was a guy pointing a gun at me when I got a haircut in Kabul. It meant that the place was well guarded. A gunman followed me at a refugee camp in the eastern desert. Again, it was for my protection. At WFS, I acquired my writing skills from teachers like Kerry Brown and Nona Smolko, who literally edited my work line by line, and that gave me great confidence.
Spring 2009 • Friends magazine 27