By Rana Sabbagh

Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism  (ARIJ)

SUMMER 2010

In the largely autocratic Arab world, where jailing reportersfor exposing petty corruption or criticizing official policy is common under draconian media laws, investigative journalism remains a rare commodity

But a new breed of dedicated and courageous reporters, working under the umbrella of Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism – the only media support center in the Arab world that is seeking to spread a culture of investigative journalism –are drawing a highly significant line in the sand.

ARIJ has provided professional training, small grants and pre-publication legal screening for scores of journalists who are passionate about telling a story but are frustrated by financialand other limitations. The so-called ARIJEANS now are standingup to higher powers, exposing serious issues of concern totheir societies, and becoming an important force in promoting the rule of law and democratization. During the past four years, the nonprofit group – set up with funding from the Danish parliament – has been making a difference. With the help of UNESCO, it has published a comprehensive manual in Arabic, English and French, the most common languages in the region. The manual integrates best international practices and standards of investigative reporting with practices in the Arab world through a network of editors and journalists. More than 80 in-depth investigations tackling human rights violations, miscarriage of justice, sexual abuse within families, pollution and other previously taboo topics have been published. Another 30 are in the pipeline. The ARIJEANS publish investigations in their respective media and on the ARIJ website (www.arij.net). In addition, relevant data, documentation and detailed methodology are posted to help inspire their Arab peers. ARIJ has trained 26 coaches and 12 regional Arabicspeaking trainers to boost the network’s capacity in the eight areas of operation: Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria and Yemen. A dozen ARIJ fellows have earned six pan-Arab and European prizes for top investigations that have caused a stir. In addition, ARIJ has organized two annual pan-Arab conferences modeled along the Global Investigative Journalism Conference, providing a rare platform for frank interaction between regional and international media practitioners and academics. The third will be organized in November 2010. The Washington-based International Center for Journalistshas agreed to provide a Knight fellow to help the network set up five investigative reporting units in existing media outlets in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine. If the experiment succeeds, it will be emulated elsewhere in the region. A joint ICFJ-ARIJ prize in honor of award-winning American journalist Seymour Hersh also will be given to the best ARIJ investigation in 2010. Journalists and editors from Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have approached the network for help in setting up a similar system. Paris-based Mark Hunter, a veteran award-wining investigative journalist since 1980 and professor of media and communications at INSEAD and the University of Paris, is the principal author and editor of the ARIJ manual, available on the network’s website. Several Arab and European media practitioners involved in the ARIJ network helped Hunter produce “A Story-Based Inquiry: A Manual for Investigative Reporters.” “It fills a major gap in the literature of investigative journalism not only in the Arab world but worldwide,” Hunter said. “And it equips journalists of the 21st century with a simple and clear working methodology to produce bulletproof investigations.” So far, ARIJ investigations have not toppled presidents or forced the resignations of senior technocrats and corrupt politicians, but they have led to quick improvements in several areas. In Egypt, where martial law remains in effect since the 1981 assassination of President Anwar Sadat by Muslim militants, a lawyer asked the prosecutor general to sue the government for negligence after ARIJ fellow Mona Iraqi exposed. mismanagement of hazardous hospital waste in a 40-minute TV documentary. Her colleagues Hisham Allam and Dareen Farghali, reporters for al Masry Al Yawm, caused a public outcry after documenting how untreated wastewater leaving a state-run sugar factory is polluting parts of the Nile River and threatening the lives of more than 220,000 residents. Because of the news report, parliament summoned the minister of health for questioning, and the president’s office promised follow-up. In Syria, government bulldozers cleared the site hosting the largest garbage dump near the capital to curb the spread of infectious diseases and ease air pollution. Khaled Mousa and Baraa Boushi worked for three months to collect data showing how the contractor was abusing the deal. In the process, they were threatened by local garbage collectors who were operating with tacit support from junior municipal officials. In another case, the government formed a committee to lookinto six hospitals where incinerators burning medical waste were operating below the minimum temperature needed to ensure safe disposal and were transmitting the toxic chemical Dioxin. In Jordan, the government closed hundreds of shops selling Shawarmah (a type of sandwich) because the ARIJ investigator proved that workers were not adhering to hygiene rules and overseers were ignoring the violations. Several radios hosted Suhair Jaradat after she exposed families forcing their newlywed daughters to undergo medical virginity exams because they did not bleed the first time they had sex with their husbands. Not all investigations had happy endings. In three cases, journalists were threatened by officials or business interest groups and forced to stop looking into the smuggling of endangered eagles, the selling of alcohol mixed with methanol, and themanufacturing of local cosmetic products causing skin allergies and facial scarring. The Arab world, which mostly lacks parliamentary democratic systems, has a long way to go before in-depth reporting designed to reach the truth – or even simply the facts, as best as they can be determined – becomes an integral facet of daily journalism. The region lacks other important factors, such as a reformed legal environment, a tradition of lively and competitive presswith a diversity of owners, and adequate public support for bold journalists willing to question authority. Arab states, with the exception of Jordan, have not enacted laws guaranteeing the right to access public information. Even in Jordan, journalists complain that the 2006 law has many loopholes that bureaucrats use to block information. Uncooperative and suspicious officials and a lack of public information and reliable statistics will continue to hamper the emergence of social and political truths in the Arab media. But, at least, a new generation of Arab journalists is dedicated to assuming the role of the Fourth Estate. And ARIJ is providing a reliable conduit. Rana Sabbagh, ARIJ executive director, is a career journalist andmedia trainer with 26 years of professional experience with international and local media. She became the first Arab female chief editor of a daily political newspaper, The Jordan Times (1999-2001). Published in IRE International Magazine – Summer 2010