Door: Bisan Owda.
“During the Israel–Hamas war, which began in October 2023, Owda garnered attention for her semi-regular video and livestream updates on social media documenting Palestinian civilians’ experiences. She became known for opening her videos with some variation of the phrase, “I’m still alive”.”
“Along with other Palestinian journalists, Owda has been credited with humanizing Gaza for an international audience. She has been said to be “providing a human lens”, “putting a face to the conflict”, and putting “a human face on the realities of daily life in Gaza”. Tafi Mhaka wrote that her work challenges mainstream narratives about Palestinians and the source of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An essay in the Los Angeles Review of Books stated that Owda and other Palestinian journalists reporting from Gaza “charge their viewers with complicity and regularly demand that we act”.
Owda’s social media followers have expressed concern for her safety.
By early 2024, Owda had been depicted in two murals, one in Edinburgh and one in London.
In May 2024, Owda won a Peabody Award in the News category for her Al Jazeera Media Network show, It’s Bisan from Gaza and I’m Still Alive. In a statement, the Peabody board of jurors wrote: “Reporting from her makeshift tent outside the medical center, she shows what survival looks like for her and the masses around her”. The award was presented by Mo Amer, and Owda attended the ceremony via video. In her acceptance speech, Owda dedicated her award to people protesting in support of Palestine and called for: “an end to the genocide, a ceasefire, and a free Palestine”.
In December 2024, Owda shared Amnesty International Australia’s inaugural Human Rights Defender Award with Palestinian journalists Anas Al-Sharif, Plestia Alaqad, and Ahmed Shihab-Eldin for “the significant impact of their fearless reporting on the genocide in Gaza, their innovative use of social media and citizen journalism to challenge traditional narratives and their ability to inspire action for justice.””
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisan_Owda
