Rawya Rageh

Rawya Rageh (Arabic: راوية راجح‎) is an Egyptian journalist and Senior Crisis Adviser for Amnesty International based in New York City. She was previously a broadcast journalist known for her in-depth coverage of notable stories across the Middle East and Africa, including the Iraq War, the Darfur crisis in Sudan, the Saddam Hussein trial, the Arab Spring, and the Boko Haram conflict in Northern Nigeria. Working as a correspondent for the Al Jazeera English network her contribution to the Peabody Award-winning coverage the network provided of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and the Arab Spring was documented in the books 18 Days: Al Jazeera English and the Egyptian Revolution[1] and Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation.[2] The news story she broadcast on 25 January, the first day of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, was selected by Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism as one of the "50 Great Stories" produced by its alumni in the past 100 years.[3] In addition to her broadcast reporting, Rageh is an active social media journalist, recognized by the Washington Post as one of "The 23 Accounts You Must Follow to Understand Egypt"[4] and by Forbes Middle East Magazine as one of the "100 Arab personalities with the most presence on Twitter."[5]

Rawya Rageh
Born
Rawya Rageh

(1981-09-15) 15 September 1981
Cairo, Egypt
EducationAmerican University in Cairo
Columbia University
OccupationBroadcast journalist
Years active2006–present
Notable credit(s)
Al Jazeera English Correspondent (2006–2015)
Associated Press Reporter (2001–2006)
Spouse(s)Scott Nelson

Early career

2001–2006

Rageh began her journalism career as an intern for the Associated Press News Agency while still a student at the American University in Cairo.[6][7] Following the September 11 attacks she began working for the agency in earnest. She provided reporting from Egypt, the United States, Iraq, Sudan, Kenya, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates for several large-scale stories including Egypt's role in the US lead "War on Terror", the Iraq War, the trial of Saddam Hussein, and the war in Darfur.[7] In January 2004 she became the first AP newswoman to cover the annual Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia[8]

Rageh completed her Masters of Journalism in 2006[1][9] at the Ivy League Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York, with an emphasis on broadcast journalism.

Television

Rageh was recruited by the newly formed 24-hour news network Al Jazeera English, and began work as a producer for the channel for its launch in November 2006.[1] She began to regularly appear on-air by 2008, reporting on stories such as attacks in Egypt's Sinai peninsula, and the 2008 Egyptian general strike in Mahalla.[2] In 2010, the channel designated her their full-time Iraq reporter in charge of the Baghdad Bureau.

Egyptian revolution of 2011 and the Arab Spring

On 25 January 2011, Rawya Rageh was the sole Al Jazeera English reporter on the ground to cover the protests during what was the start of the Egyptian revolution of 2011.[1][10][11][12] Her complete reporting experiences including her escape from an angry machete wielding pro-Mubarak mob in the port city of Alexandria has been documented in the book 18 Days: Al Jazeera English and the Egyptian Revolution, by Scott Bridges[1] and Liberation Square: Inside the Egyptian Revolution and the Rebirth of a Nation, by Ashraf Khalil[2] and her live tweets, often utilized by other news outlets in order to reflect the social media of that day, have been preserved in an archived collection maintained by the American University in Cairo Rare Books and Special Collections Library along with other recommended tweets, blogs, and local/regional media reports covering the Egyptian revolution.[13]

She was live on air to report the 11 February resignation of former president Hosni Mubarak, reporting from outside the Al Ittihadia Presidential palace, and later that night from above a jubilant Tahrir Square. Minutes after Mubarak's resignation was announced, she said:

I am trying to gather the words, the sentences to describe to you the sentiment here, but it is simply indescribable. The moment the announcement [of Mubarak's resignation] was made, people were crying, they fell to their knees, praying immediately on the floor. The tears are everywhere, the smiles, the dancing. ... I'm 30 years old. ... All my years of life I have known one president and I can tell you I've never seen this sentiment on the streets of Egypt.[1]

Rageh continued to cover the tumultuous post-revolutionary period in Egypt for the network until 2013.

As the Arab Spring continued, Rageh covered Arab League discussions regarding the unfolding events in the region for the network and reported on the Syrian Civil War from the Syria–Turkey border. Rageh's live Twitter coverage of the region was also frequently cited by major news outlets in their coverage of the regional events through social media.[14][15][16][17]

Reporting in Africa

Beginning in 2013 Rageh began reporting as a roving correspondent for Al Jazeera English in Nigeria and Kenya.[18] Her reports from that time include such stories as the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria's north, attacks along the Kenyan-Somali border by the armed group Al Shabab, and the attempted coup in South Sudan.

Amnesty International

On 17 October 2016 Rageh announced via Twitter she had joined Amnesty International as a Senior Crisis Adviser investigating human rights abuses in emergencies.[19]

Honors and awards

References
  1. Bridges, Scott (2013). 18 Days: Al Jazeera English and The Egyptian Revolution. Australia: Editia. pp. 5, 6, 34–35, 38–39, 51–52, 58–60, 70, 76, 77, 86–87, 92–93, 100–101, 106, 110–111, 117, 123–124, 126–127, 137, 180, 186–187, 188–189, 193–198, 201–204, 206–207, 221, 247, 256, 280, 289, 297–298, 303, 310–311, 315, 327–329, 340–341, 342. ISBN 978-0-9872607-6-5.
  2. Khalil, Ashraf (2012). Liberation Square:Inside the Egyptian Revolution. USA, Worldwide: Macmillan. pp. 60, 165, 168, 184, 249, 320. ISBN 978-1-4299-6244-5.
  3. "N. Ram's Bofors exposé in '50 great stories' by Columbia J-School alumni". The Hindu. 13 April 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  4. Fisher, Max (16 August 2013). "Washington Post – The 23 Accounts you must follow to Understand Egypt". Washington Post. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  5. "Global Journalist". Tweeting from the Heart of Egypt. University of Missouri-Columbia. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  6. AL Nimr, Dalia (Spring 2006). "Higher Returns of Higher Education". AUC Today.
  7. "Scholarship Winners 2006". www.foreignpressassociation.org. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  8. "Mecca, Saudi Arabia: Hajj Pilgrimage". AP World (Summer 2004): 24. Summer 2004.
  9. "2011:Revolution in Egypt". Columbia Journalism Centennial. Columbia University. 12 April 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  10. More, Tell Me. "Deadly Political Unrest Continues in Egypt". NPR.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  11. "Social Media: Catalyst or Hype?". World Policy Institute. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  12. More, Tell Me. "Women Reporters Face Added Risks in Conflict Zones". NPR.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  13. "Archive-It – Egypt Revolution and Politics". archive-it.org. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  14. Rayman, Noah; Katz, Andrew. "RECAP: Egypt's 'Day Of Rejection' Turned Deadly". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  15. Stack, Liam. "Latest Updates on Crackdown in Egypt". Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  16. Flock, Elizabeth (29 November 2011). "Egypt elections marred by allegations of fraud". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  17. Schiavenza, Matt. "Egypt Sentences Three Journalists to Prison for 'Broadcasting False News'". Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  18. "People Column December 2014 | Overseas Press Club of America". www.opcofamerica.org. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
  19. Rageh, Rawya. "Rawya Rageh on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  20. Staff (Spring 2006). "Current Student Updates" (PDF). The Fulbrighter. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  21. "Winners-2006, Overseas Press Club". Overseas Press Club. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  22. "Foreign Press Association". Scholarship Fund 2006/Foreign Press Association. Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  23. "The Peabody Awards – Al Jazeera's Coverage of the Arab Awakening". The Peabody Awards. Grady College of Journalism/University of Georgia. 2011. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  24. "HKW – Participants". Haus der Kulturen der Welt. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
  25. "Press Release:Thirteen Journalists Chosen for Columbia Journalism School's 2014 Dart Center Ochberg Fellowship" (PDF). 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 September 2015 – via Columbia Journalism School Press Office.
  26. "Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma- Ochberg Fellows". DART Center for Journalism & Trauma, Columbia Journalism School. 10 November 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2015.
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