By Meghan Gattuso

Shadha al-Jubori, a 2006 recipient of the Knight International Journalism Award for her courageous reporting in her native Iraq, now lives in London. But Iraq’s troubles are always on her mind, and she sees herself working there again in the future.

In a recent interview with ICFJ, al-Jabori spoke about the recent changes in her life, why she thinks her work made an impact, and what lies ahead for her and Iraqi citizens.

Al-Jabori received the 2006 Knight International Journalism Award in recognition of her three years as a correspondent for the BBC. During those years, she lived in a state of constant wariness, reported using a pseudonym, and was forced to hide her work identity, even from neighbors. 

It was an isolating time for al-Jabori; there were few she could trust besides her co-workers and her family. “I used to live in a very dangerous area, controlled by al-Qaeda and other Sunni militia,” she explains. “I had two reasons to be killed or attacked: I am a Shia and a journalist, a journalist for a British organization.”

After three years spent reporting on the war and violence in Iraq, and facing an increasing threat to her own security, al-Jabori moved to London to pursue a master’s degree in journalism.

Al-Jubori says that receiving the ICFJ award has affected her career decisions because it has made her even more aware of the standards she wants to uphold as a journalist. The award “made me think twice before I accept any job,” she says, because “I think I should be very careful when I start a new job.” 

Since she completed her master’s at City University, al-Jubori has been working as a reporter for the London-based pan-Arab newspaper, Asharq Al-Awsat (The Middle East). Al-Jubori says she would like to cover all Middle East issues, not just the Iraqi situation. She adds that she believes her experience in Iraq gives her a unique perspective on the issues facing the entire region. 

During her time working as a radio correspondent for the BBC in Iraq, al-Jubori reported on topics that had not been widely covered. For example, she addressed common misconceptions in a story about tribal Sunnis who were supporting the U.S. in its fight against al-Qaeda in Iraq. “Before [the article], people couldn’t believe the Sunni would work with the U.S.,” al-Jubori says. “But al-Qaeda changed the [tribal Sunnis’] life into a nightmare.”

Another story she wrote focused on Iran. Again, Iraqi perceptions of Iran had been based on spotty information or misinformation from the former regime of late Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Few were aware of the level of development Iran had achieved. 

Al-Jubori believes that the current Iraqi government has recently made some strides toward rebuilding the country’s infrastructure and providing public services. However, she says, those improvements have been made at the expense of government transparency. "Currently, [in Iraq] to be Sunni is a crime."

Nonetheless, al-Jubori believes she will return to Iraq in the future. When she returns, she hopes to focus on human-interest stories that directly tie the impact of the war to individual Iraqis. Her goal is to put a human face to the suffering and the struggle to recover from decades of repression and five years of conflict.