Aleppo woman bags Mackler courageous journalism award The True Path

Syrian-based journalist who has trained
citizen reporters in the war-ravaged country has been
named the recipient of the 2015 Peter Mackler Award for
Courageous and Ethical Journalism, organizers said
Saturday.
The prize from Reporters Without Borders and Agence
France-Presse was awarded to Zaina Erhaim, who lives and
works in Aleppo, Syria.

Over the last two years, Erhaim has trained about 100
citizen reporters from inside Syria, approximately a third of
them women, in print and TV journalism, and helped
establish new, independent newspapers and magazines in
the country.
The 30-year-old Erhaim is also the Syria project coordinator
for the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), an
international organization that supports journalists in
countries undergoing conflict, crisis or transition.
The work of some of her students has been published in
major international news outlets.
“Zaina Erhaim is a force multiplier of journalistic values in a
country torn by violence and irrationality,” said Camille
Mackler, the Peter Mackler Award’s project director. “We
salute her courage, upholding professional ethics and
bringing them to the service of those left to write history.”
David Millikin, AFP’s director for North America, said Erhaim
“embodies the ideals which the Peter Mackler Award was
created to honor.”
He added that Erhaim “has done extraordinary work both in
training local residents and journalists who have become
nearly the only first-hand source of news on the Syrian
conflict and in supporting Syrian women living under siege.”
With the award, “we pay tribute to the courage of those in
Syria who fight for the freedom of information,” added
Delphine Halgand, director of Reporters Without Borders
USA.
Syria has been the deadliest country for journalists since
2011.
“Facing harsh oppression, Erhaim is an outstanding
journalist and journalism teacher,” Halgand said.
The award, named for the late Agence France-Presse
journalist Peter Mackler, will be presented at a ceremony at
the National Press Club in Washington on Oct. 22.

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