A flash in the night sky. A violent shockwave. Then reality began to sink in — this is what Xinhua reporter Duan Minfu experienced on March 16, when the Al-Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad, long a place of work and temporary home, suddenly became part of the story. Yet his first instinct was to file a news flash, in roughly one minute, before he and other residents were driven into shelter as sirens cut through the night.
The incident occurred amid a surge in attacks targeting foreign missions and military bases in Iraq, following the outbreak of a wider regional conflict on Feb 28 involving Israel and the United States against Iran.
For those reporting on the ground, the distance between observer and participant can disappear in an instant. At HomeofJournalists, we share this firsthand account as a reminder of the realities many journalists face in conflict zones — and the importance of their work in documenting them. For more from the scene, read Duan’s full report here: https://bit.ly/3NXtdO3
Source: “Home of Journalists” Facebook