MEDIA | 51
Journalists to Watch In lands where few dare to speak out, these are some of the relentless women journalists who refuse to be silenced.
performance of Kenya’s parliamentarians. Mzalendo enables Kenyans to talk directly to their officials, and helps ordinary people understand what the government is doing, so they can hold them accountable. Through Mzalendo, and now Ushahidi, Okolloh deeply believes that the people of Africa, once connected through digital projects like Mzalendo and Ushahidi, can break the cycle of exploitation by corrupt leaders. And, in doing so, she hopes that Africans will start exercising their right to hold officials accountable en masse. “Accountability stems from demand,” she insists. “It is important for us to keep an eye on the political class and to ensure that the promises they have made are delivered,” she continues.
US’s Emily Wax A Searing and Human Gaze “There is such a small group of us covering this. When we don’t go in, it means Americans don’t see what’s happening here… it’s a heavy responsibility.” Washington Post foreign correspondent Emily Wax fearlessly and tenderly covers complex humanitarian issues that often go unnoticed by other media outlets. Known specifically for her honest and unflinching on-the-ground coverage of the genocide in Sudan, Emily is one of few who have reported in-depth on what the UN calls the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. PHOTO: Courtesy of Emily Wax
© Ushahidi.com
“As Africans we need to start challenging our leaders. We need to start taking responsibility for our continent.”
The map on Ushahidi’s website allows anyone to submit crisis information via web or cell phone. Born out of the post-election violence in Kenya in early 2008, today, it’s being released as an open source crisis monitoring tool that can be used in any region of the world. Currently, it is being deployed in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). “Otherwise we will find ourselves in the same scenario in a few years.” In a few years, there’s hope that the political landscape will be far more democratic and responsive to ordinary people in Kenya and elsewhere, thanks to visionaries like Okolloh. Although Okolloh once had an opportunity to have a six-figure salary because of her talent and law degree, she’s long since forsaken that. She’s in for the long haul: “Because my passion is here, because I want to do things that are fulfilling. Because I’m so needed here.” ● Visit ushahidi.com and drc.ushahidi.com to learn more.
Burma’s Aye Aye Win Not Backing Down “I’m letting the people inside the country, as well as outside, know what is happening. It is a great job—to at least tell the truth, so the world can see inside Burma.” For the better part of the last 20 years, Aye Aye Win has been one of the only Burmese women journalists covering what is perhaps the bloodiest chapter of Burma’s history. Reporting under the watchful eye of a military junta that abhors free press, Win risks her safety to bring news to her people and is credited with opening the door for other foreign media to report in her country. PHOTO: © International Women’s Media Foundation